Forum Discussion
Office 365 email configuration
Hi itbookham
I re-read my last post and I realize I wasn't very clear.
itbookham wrote:Hi HidMov ,
a. "Export out the mails from imap": Do you mean do an imap migration or just export and import the pst file in Outlook, as outlined above?
Poor wording from me - I mean just export out then import the pst as you outlined correctly above.
b. "make sure the username/primary smtp is set to user@abc.com": Do you mean make the xxx@xxx.onmicrosoft.com account/mailbox which the pst file was imported into the 'Default' account in Outlook?In Outlook 365 admin center, you can set the primary smtp address of an account - this is used not only as the email address but also the logon for the account. You can have additional alias' associated, but only one primary SMTP. If my understanding is correct, only the xxx.onmicrosoft.com domain is set up on your clients Office 365, so in order to log on your client probably uses something like user@xxx.onmicrosoft.com to connect on. Once you have set up the abc.com domain in Office365, you can then change the primary smtp user@xxx.onmicrosoft.com to user@abc.com. Example on how this looks below
In the admin center, go to users > active users > click on a user and on the 'account tab' click on the 'manage username'
you can then select the domain associated with the user - in this case I have two domains plus the original xxx.onmicrosoft.com. Change it from the xxx.onmicrosoft.com to the newly added abc.com
My personal approach would be
1. Set up the abc.com domain in 365 first. Run through the wizard and add the TXT identifier DNS record if required (the 3rd party will need to do this). The wizard will show you what MX records you need to change to to get mail flowing to Office 365, but it will not change them for you. The 3rd party in control of the DNS records will need to do that. You can complete the wizard without changing the MX Records - in fact, I would hold off doing so just now. When you pull the trigger on the MX records, it going deliver to O365 and you'll want to get everything set up before that happens to make sure emails don't go missing.
I would however get them to to add autodiscover.abc.com records at this point so Outlook can find the Office365 mailbox.
2. once abc.com is set up, change the primary smtp/logon to user@abc.com from user@xxx.onmicrosoft.com - this will make logging on a bit easier
3. In Outlook, add the Office365 mailbox so you have the two running side by side. It should come up as empty. This'll also confirm that autodiscover is working too.
4. Ask the 3rd party to change the MX records and wait for them to propagate. Send a couple of test emails and when the new emails appear in the Office 365 mailbox you know that the changes have gone through.
5. Export the old email to PST, then import to the new mailbox
6. once you are happy that everything has moved over, you can get rid of the old account.
This should provide minimal disruption for your client. Changing the DNS records can take a while (and that's assuming the 3rd party is pretty prompt when you request the changes).
Hope this clarify things a bit more - let me know if I've added any additional confusion.
Cheers,
Hi itbookham
O365 Business Premium comes with Exchange Online, so unless you specifically disabled the application within the admin portal like below, then they likely already have a xxx.onmicrosoft.com mailbox already
the mailbox will be empty unless anyone has been sending to the user@tenant.onmicrosoft.com address already.
You can check this from the admin portal. the Exchange Online portal or ask the user to try to load up OWA for O365 (outlook.office.com iirc)
Hope this helps,
Yes, he has two accounts in Outlook, an xxx.onmicrosoft.com mailbox which he doesn't use at the moment and another third party account xxx@abc.com which he uses for his business and which is 'separate' from his O365 tenancy. In other words the third party mailbox is not shown as a mailbox in Exchange Online.
His xxx@abc.com account is hosted by a third party mail hosting company which he is charged quite a lot for each year for hosting. It would be simpler and cheaper for him to leverage the O365 functionality (Exchange Online) to manage his xxx@abc.com mailbox.
To do this, presumably, he will need to 'migrate' his abc.com mailbox into an onmicrosoft.com mailbox. Is this just a matter of exporting the abc.com pst file into his onmicrosoft.com mailbox in Outlook and then changing the MX record to point to his 365 account. He has a website, so it is probably best that Microsoft does not manage all his DNS settings but only the MX record.
I've come across a number of Technet articles that Microsoft suggests to migrate emails into O365, such as imap migration, network upload of pst files (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/securitycompliance/use-network-upload-to-import-pst-files#step-1-copy-the-sas-url-and-install-azure-azcopy) and a simple pst export/import (https://support.office.com/en-us/article/import-email-contacts-and-calendar-from-an-outlook-pst-file-431a8e9a-f99f-4d5f-ae48-ded54b3440ac). If it is just one mailbox to migrate what is the most practical way commensurate with good practice?
Many thanks.
Hi itbookham
To do this, presumably, he will need to 'migrate' his abc.com mailbox into an onmicrosoft.com mailbox. Is this just a matter of exporting the abc.com pst file into his onmicrosoft.com mailbox in Outlook and then changing the MX record to point to his 365 account. He has a website, so it is probably best that Microsoft does not manage all his DNS settings but only the MX record.
Pretty much spot on. Make sure abc.com is an accepted domain in office 365. Might be set up already, if not you'll need to add a TXT record with a unique code so Microsoft know you have control over the domain; it;ll also confirm the what you need to point the MX Records to.
Export out the mails from imap, connect outlook to O365, make sure the username/primary smtp is set to user@abc.com and switch the MX records to the ones 365 tell you.
As for website; yes, MS won't need to touch they. They just want all email to be routed through to Exchange.
Hope this helps,
Hi HidMov ,
Many thanks for your advice.
So, just to confirm the steps:
1. In Outlook, export the xxx@abc.com pst file and save to Desktop.
2. In Outlook, import the pst file into the correct xxx@xxx.onmicrosoft.com mailbox.
3. In the O365 Admin Portal, go to Setup, select 'Connect your domain'. Go through the wizard and just set up the MX record to point to the O365 tenancy, rather than the existing mail service provider. Presumably, this will require a manual set up in O365 rather than requesting Microsoft to automatically set up all the DNS entries. Although I don't think this would be possible in this scenario anyway, as the domain is hosted with a rather obscure registrar, and not Go Daddy.I am not too sure what you mean when you mention: "Export out the mails from imap, connect outlook to O365, make sure the username/primary smtp is set to user@abc.com".
a. "Export out the mails from imap": Do you mean do an imap migration or just export and import the pst file in Outlook, as outlined above?
b. "make sure the username/primary smtp is set to user@abc.com": Do you mean make the xxx@xxx.onmicrosoft.com account/mailbox which the pst file was imported into the 'Default' account in Outlook?Many thanks.