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Managing Two MSFT Licenses
Hi, I had an old hotmail.com email address but it doesn't exist anymore per MSFT. I purchased an annual Excel annual license several months ago but I can't find an email about it on my Gmail inbox. I just signed up for MSFT 365. How can I find the Excel license subscription so that it doesn't auto-renew?Inherited group-based license service plan checkboxes are now editable but fail on save
Hello, We are observing a possible UI regression in the Microsoft 365 admin center related to group-based licensing. Environment / scenario: - Microsoft 365 admin center - User-level “Licenses and apps” screen - The user receives the Microsoft 365 license through group-based licensing - The source group is a Microsoft Entra dynamic security group - The license and service plan settings are intended to be controlled at the group-based license assignment level We understand that when a license is inherited from a group-based license assignment, the apps/services for that inherited license should not normally be changed directly at the individual user level. The service plan configuration should be managed at the group/license assignment level. However, the current UI behaviour is confusing. Observed behaviour: 1. Open a user in the Microsoft 365 admin center. 2. Go to the user’s “Licenses and apps” screen. 3. The user has a Microsoft 365 license inherited from a group-based license assignment. 4. Some app/service checkboxes appear to be enabled and editable. 5. An administrator can actually clear/uncheck those checkboxes. 6. However, when clicking OK/Save, the operation fails with an error. In other words, the UI allows an administrator to make a change that cannot actually be committed. The reason this looks like a regression is that the previous UI behaviour was different. Previously, when a user’s Microsoft 365 license was inherited from a group-based license assignment, the relevant app/service checkboxes on the user-level “Licenses and apps” screen were greyed out or effectively read-only. Administrators could visually understand that those service plan settings could not be changed directly at the individual user level. Recently, those same checkboxes appear to be active and editable. The administrator can uncheck them, but the change fails only after clicking OK/Save. From an administrator UX perspective, this is confusing because the UI appears to allow an unsupported operation and only rejects it at save time. Expected behaviour: If service plan settings for an inherited group-based license cannot be changed at the individual user level, we would expect one of the following behaviours: - The checkboxes should remain disabled/read-only from the beginning. - The UI should clearly state that these apps/services are inherited from a group-based license assignment. - The Save/OK button should be disabled for changes that cannot be applied. - The UI should provide a link or guidance to manage the setting at the group-based license assignment level. Questions: 1. Has anyone else observed this recent change in behaviour? 2. Was this UI change intentional? 3. Is this a known issue or known UX regression in the Microsoft 365 admin center? 4. Is there any scenario where these checkboxes are intentionally editable for a user who receives the license only through group-based licensing? 5. Does this behaviour differ depending on whether the source group is an assigned security group or a dynamic security group? 6. Is there any recommended administrator workflow when troubleshooting service plan settings for a user whose license is inherited from a group-based license assignment? To clarify, this is not a question about how group-based licensing works. The concern is specifically about the UI behaviour where inherited license service plan checkboxes were previously greyed out, but now appear editable even though the change fails on save. If this is not intentional, it would be helpful if the Microsoft 365 admin center could restore the previous read-only/greyed-out behaviour, or clearly explain in the UI why the change cannot be saved. Thank you.
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.
O365 Exchange connectors apply spam filters before checking certificate
If you have devices like multifunction printers which need to send email the MS solution is to configure an inbound email connector. You can use source IP to identify the origen of incoming messages and to associate them with the inbound connector. However the best way is to use a certificate in the TLS session. So far so good. However theres a design problem. MS applies RBL filters seemingly before checking either the source IP or the certificate. If the IP appears in the list MS simply reject the connection. The makes no sense as they are checking against the spamhaus general rbl. This RBL contains all dinamic IP ranges. I don't know for other countries but where I am even if you contract a fixed IP, the IP address they assign you is still in the dynamic IP range, its just fixed. This means that the reverse lookup on the IP address shows a name with dynamic in it. Spamhaus automatically include these in their RBL. Most companies will have a normal fiber connection, with a fixed ip or not. Those fiber connections will almost always be included in a spamhaus rbl as they are not going to be running mail servers. Thus checking the IP against the general spamhaus RBL makes no sense as it is going to automatically block almost everyone who would actually use an inbound mail connector. Does anyone know how to communicate this situation to whoever controls this in MS? Ian
MC1269241 - Can't turn off antropic for agentmode
Hi, I’m trying to figure out how to turn off the new feature where Anthropic is enabled by default for everyone in the EU for agent mode in excel and powerpoint, as described in the Message Center news in the title. It is not possible to press Save when you have unchecked the setting unless you also consent to the terms of use, it is greyed out. Since we want the feature turned off, we do not want to agree to any terms of use. Has anyone found a solution? This seems to be misconfigured.The Admin Center offers a uniquely retro approach to licensed group management
You can see the name of licensed groups from the licensing blade, but you can’t click it or copy the name. Instead, you manually retype it elsewhere—because nothing says “modern cloud platform” quite like a 1997‑era workflow.
Unable to remove Office Store applicaitons in admin center:
Hi! Yesterday I changed the settings in the screenshot below and it worked. It showed that IT blocked access when clicking on the Add-Ins button in Word and Excel. Today it shows the list off add ins and nothing was changed in the settings. Users can install add ins again: Google shows results of an Org setting in M365 admin panel that doesn't exist anymore. Any help would be appreciated.
M365 only admin locked out MFA error 53003
I am learning this the hard way....so here it goes. Currently I am locked out of as the only admin on the tenant with error 53003. I was updating some Microsoft MFA default policy settings in Entra and mistakenly deleted the admin user from the exclusions list, and got locked out. Thankfully I have another tenant, not as big the one locked out. Initiated several support tickets for which everyone calls, and despite of subline mentioning the issue says that they have to assign this ticket to Entra. Then the ticket gets updated and noone has been assigned every since. I have initiated severity A support tickets from Azure portal but no one has called in last 24 hours to help. We area business with Business Premium licenses with over 20 users, and now completely locked out. I have looked almost everywhere online. There is no phone number that takes you to a support agent - PLEASE HELP........Not able to logon office 365 account or change it
If I want to logon to my Office 365 account I have to enter my emailaddress. Its is an @.onmicrosoft.com account. Entering password is ok, but then I am have to verify my phone number. The last two digits are shown, but clicking on this phone number I am getting an error like: 399287. There is no way of resetting this. I already contacted helpdesk but they cannot solve this problem. I have a bussniess account and I need some help about this. Every time I want to reset or want to make a change the account I am stuck in this error screen (endless loop). Please help me.
