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Why is Microsoft 365 setup (Groups + SharePoint + Domains) still so complex?
Microsoft 365 Setup Feedback Summary Summary of Experience: Setting up two small business workspaces (Cork & Clarity and Stone Clarity Consulting) in Microsoft 365 required navigating multiple disconnected systems including the Admin Center, Outlook, SharePoint, and an external DNS provider. The process was significantly more complex than expected and not intuitive for a non-technical user. Key Issues Encountered: 1. Identity and Account Confusion - Unclear whether to create separate users or use one account with aliases - Creating multiple users caused login confusion, broken permissions, and access issues 2. Domain and DNS Setup Complexity - Required switching between Microsoft and external DNS (Looka) - Instructions were unclear and required manual troubleshooting - No clear distinction between required and optional DNS records 3. Default Domain Confusion - New groups defaulted to the wrong domain - No visible option to change domain during group creation - Required changing global default domain (non-intuitive) 4. Inconsistent Group Behavior - Outlook groups and Teams-backed groups behave differently - No indication of differences or consequences - Groups appeared in some places but not others 5. Membership and Ownership Issues - Group creator was not consistently added as member - Ownership did not always persist after changes - Groups existed but were inaccessible or invisible 6. Outlook UI Limitations - Groups not visible despite existing and being correctly configured - No clear instructions on how to 'activate' or 'follow' groups 7. SharePoint Site Not Created Automatically - SharePoint sites were not created when groups were created - Required hidden steps: Outlook → Files → Open in SharePoint - No indication that the site did not exist yet 8. SharePoint Discovery Issues - Sites do not appear until manually accessed or followed - No onboarding or guidance for discovering sites 9. Ghost/Deleted Items Still Visible - Deleted group (Cork & Clarity Hub) remained visible - No clear distinction between deleted vs followed sites 10. Fragmented User Experience - Required switching between multiple platforms - No single place to manage or understand setup status - High cognitive load for basic configuration Conclusion: While Microsoft 365 is a powerful platform, the initial setup experience is overly complex and fragmented, especially for small businesses. Simplifying group creation, making SharePoint provisioning automatic and visible, and improving UI consistency across apps would significantly improve usability and adoption.
Help on MS365 Business Std license issue
Hi Community - Issue with MS365 Business Standard license I have a ms365 biz standard subscription/license attached to my email (email address removed for privacy reasons) - Australian subscription. I am global admin to the account. It expired on 5/9/26. I bought a new one on 5/9/26 from a office supplies store (Officeworks, a large chain in Australia) I took help of MS telephone support to add the new product key. so far so good. However, it appears that the new subscription's license is not attaching to my id. under my id, Under 'Your Products' - it is showing both the expired subscription; and the new subscription. Under the 'Licenses' - it is showing MS 365 Biz Standard - 'Available licenses - 1' and 'Assigned licenses - 1/2' - if i click on MS 365 Biz Std - it tells me - 'Licenses - 2 purchased' - under Assigned Licenses - 1 ; and under its drop down - 'user's name' - 'Type' -> 'user' / Assigned licenses - blank / email - user's email. Under 'active users' -> my id -> 'licenses and apps' - it is showing MS 365 Biz Std - check - and 1 of 2 licenses available. After much engagement with MS telephone support; I am assured that everything that needs to be done has been done; the expired subscription will simply disappear after a time; and licenses has been properly applied. We did much poking around over Quick Assist - including unassign / assign license. However, the fact that that the account continues to show an expired subscription and active subscription at the same time; and the fact that there seems to be one license still available (there should technically be no extra license available - as old has expired and new one should be in use) is kinda bothering me. This is an id for my business, and I am naturally concerned of any abrupt disruption / data loss etc. Can someone please help to clarify / give suggestions that whether all is well, and i should have a peaceful sleep, as MS tele support suggests; or is there a cause for concern? Kind regards Manish
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Entra MFA for seniors using W365 Biz Basic
Entra MFA for seniors using W365 Biz Basic, these folks cannot and will not deal with mobile auth apps or keyfobs. This is a Historical Society. Need MFA bypass or non-technical solution that Senior Citizens with only enough knowlege to work MS Word can handle. There is zero risk of data loss or hackers or the like. We have nothing to lose as all is websearch and simple word docs. MFA without SMS or voice is going to put a lot of non-tech seniors out of their livelihoods. Need a simple non-tech solution. MS is so worried about CYA with regard to security, that they are pushing people out of technology. Do I have to go to Google Docs for a solution? Libre? It's not MS responsibility to remove all possibilities for poor decisions. Give us the tools for wise decisions, but quit binding us up. I need a solution or I'll have to move these folks off M365.Security Admin Center Tenant Allow/Block List Not Able to Block IPv4?
While using the Security Admin Center Tenant Allow/Block List we have been able to block specific email addresses and IPv6 IP addresses but are unable to block IPv4 IP addresses. We have tried both using the console and the CLI but have turned up unsuccessful both times when it comes to IPv4. A large majority of the phishing attempts that we encounter come from IPv4 addresses but we have been unable to block any of these. Will there ever be functionality for IPv4 within the Tenant Allow/Block list or is the only option to use conditional access policies? Also why is this enterprise tool only functional with IPv6 and without documentation stating that it does not work for IPv4?AI agent ownership change
I was just in the M365 Admin Center because I needed to transfer ownership of an agent for a colleague – but it now suddenly looks like Microsoft has changed something in their permission structure. As a result, I can no longer transfer ownership of agents, and the system tells me that I don't have permission to manage that particular app. So, the question is: do I now also need the Application Administrator role in order to continue managing this? I get this message:
File Sharing between licensed account holders
From a starting point of this year, we have been finding that any to most file shares that happened between licensed MS account users are being flagged and quarantined by the anti-malware policy. This should be, we are looking to resolve this issue. Has anyone else experienced this issue and what was your resolve. At the moment we have to monitor the quarantines and manually go in to release the share notifications.
Not For Profit Licence suddenly disappeared and then deleted
Hi All Have a big issue. Have a not for profit account for our charity. Renewed licence earlier in the year and all was ok and working. Then a few days ago I had reports of not being able to access data. After much hunting I found the below. Seems account was suddenly and without warning disabled and then reported as deleted a few days later. What do I do? I desperately need to recover the files that were on the associated teams? Any help would be much appreciated
Where does Teams get its user list from? I can't make sense of which accounts I see vs which I can't
OK, so I have a currently rather unusual situation. I am looking at a 365 Tenant. A number of users have four accounts on the same tenant (let's not even get into why, cleaning things up is part of the reason I got called in). When you start typing their name into teams it comes up with three of them as a suggestion (I only want one) Account 1: has just been used for ActiveDirectory for permissions to the company's Distributed File System (stored in on on premises servers in various locations). This account has to the best of my knowledge never had a license or mailbox associated with it, and so has never been on the global address list, it's also never had the teams app enabled for it. I don't want this one to show, but it does Account 2: A now defunct account which used to have a Business Standard license assigned to it, but has now had the licensed removed. Before the license was removed this account was hidden from the GAL and its teams app disabled. I don't want this one to show, but it does Account 3: An now defunct account which still has a Business Standard license, but with Teams deselected in the Apps. I don't want this one to show... and it doesn't Account 4: An account shared via a multi tenant organization (the users in question have been migrated to a new tenant). So these are members (not guests) but external ones. I want this to show, and it does. Now, accounts 2 and 3 will be deleted soon, whether we can get rid of account 1 depends on whether the necessary access to the DFS can be done using account 4 (which I need to look into next). However for the time being they are all there so I was trying to hide accounts I don't want users trying to message on teams from teams, and I cannot make any sense of which I see which I don't. To sum up. Account that has never been on the Global Address List and never been activated for Teams - Shows Account that used to have a license and was on the GAL, and used in teams - Shows Account that still has a license, but has been removed from GAL and had teams app disabled - Doesn't show Account that has no license and is not on the GAL, but has teams on it's host tenant - Shows After a previous inquiry I set "Scope directory search using an Exchange address book policy" in the teams setup, but I have not set up any specific address book policy as yet. I have tried showing and hiding people from the global address list, and also the "ShowInAddressList" setting in Entra (which seems to only be available through graph?). Nothing seems to make a difference (it doesn't help that Teams takes forever to update its local cache for this stuff, so maybe a change DID make a difference at some point and I missed it). I cannot find any logic as to which of these accounts is showing in the auto suggests and which not, most notably that account 1 shows but account 3 doesn't. So, where is Teams getting its list of contacts from?
Microsoft Customer Agreement created without Billing Profile after CSP deauthorization
I am the Global Administrator of a Microsoft 365 tenant that previously had an Exchange Online Plan 1 subscription supplied through Endurance International Holding B.V. (Bluehost). This is not a mailbox migration issue. My mailbox already resides in Exchange Online within my existing Microsoft 365 tenant. The only intended change is to move from the former Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) to direct Microsoft billing after the CSP was deauthorized. The Partner Relationships page now displays: Endurance International Holding B.V. (Netherlands)'s account is closed. Find a new partner using Partner app finder or buy from Microsoft directly. Following Microsoft's guidance, I have: Created a Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) Created a Billing Account ("Pecten Development") Added and verified a SEPA payment method Updated the Sold-to and Technical Contact details However: Purchasing Exchange Online Plan 1 continually requests a Billing Profile. Completing the Billing Profile workflow never creates one. My Billing Account contains no Billing Profile or Billing Scope. Azure Cost Management reports that there is no supported billing account or subscription. I therefore cannot purchase Exchange Online Plan 1 directly from Microsoft before the existing subscription expires. I have also confirmed that: The former reseller account is closed. There are no delegated partner roles remaining. Microsoft support repeatedly directs me back to the former CSP. Bluehost have confirmed they can no longer escalate through Microsoft CSP channels because their reseller relationship has ended. My current diagnosis is that the Microsoft Customer Agreement has been created successfully, but the associated Billing Profile/Billing Scope was never provisioned. This leaves the tenant unable to purchase services directly from Microsoft despite the former CSP relationship having been closed. Has anyone encountered this after a CSP deauthorization? Does this require intervention by the Microsoft Commerce team, or is there another way to force creation of the missing Billing Profile? If a Microsoft moderator requires my tenant ID or billing account details, I would be happy to provide them by private message. Thank you.
