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Ahmed_Masoud97
Steel Contributor
Joined May 09, 2020
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Re: Migrate my Office 365 accounts
I've migrated a bunch of GoDaddy setups to direct Microsoft 365 and yeah it's more involved than a typical migration since you're dealing with federation. The main thing is you can't just do a standard mailbox migration - you're actually defederating from GoDaddy's federated identity setup. We put together a full walkthrough on this since it comes up constantly: https://mstack360.com/break-free-from-godaddy-defederate-to-microsoft-365-the-smart-way/ Basic process is backup everything first, convert federated domains to managed, do the actual migration, then update DNS. The timing matters a lot - GoDaddy federation adds some quirks around domain ownership verification that'll bite you if you don't handle it right. There's also an FAQ here if you want the quick version: https://mstack360.com/godaddy-de-federation-from-microsoft-365-your-complete-faq-guide/ How many mailboxes are you moving? That'll affect how you approach the cutover timing.24Views0likes0CommentsRe: Google workspace migration - Automatic doesn't download the JSON while creating the migration endpoi
Great find, this is a very common blocker and not obvious at all. Google disabling service account key creation by default is exactly what causes the JSON download to fail during Microsoft automated migrations. Your steps are spot on and this fix saves a lot of time and frustration. I’ve documented this issue and workaround as part of a full Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration guide, including screenshots and validation steps https://mstack360.com/google-workspace-to-microsoft-365-migration/ There’s also a live migration walkthrough where this exact scenario comes up in real time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8f1YssSgXM Thanks for sharing this, very helpful for the community. Best, Ahmed Masoud121Views0likes0CommentsRe: microsoft 365 vs google workspace?
One standout feature that makes Microsoft 365 superior is native automation and extensibility. With Power Automate and Power Apps built into Microsoft 365, you can automate workflows, approvals, notifications, and even build custom business apps without relying on third party tools. In many cases this replaces services like Zapier, forms tools, and internal apps while staying fully integrated with email, files, Teams, and security. This video explains it clearly with real examples https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxu0mrdS9QE Best, Ahmed Masoud71Views0likes0CommentsRe: Google Workspace to microsoft 365 migration
Good questions, these come up often with Google Workspace migrations. Email duplication and labels Google labels do not create duplicate emails in Microsoft 365. During automated migration, each message is migrated once. Labels are converted to folders where possible, but the email itself is not duplicated even if it had multiple labels in Gmail. Migration limits Microsoft does not publish a strict per day data cap for Google Workspace migrations. In practice, limits depend on tenant throttling, mailbox size, and network conditions. For small and mid size tenants, migrating all users concurrently is common and supported. Large mailboxes simply take longer. I’ve covered these points with real world examples and best practices here https://mstack360.com/google-workspace-to-microsoft-365-migration/ And this live migration video shows how the process behaves during execution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8f1YssSgXM Best, Ahmed Masoud32Views0likes0CommentsRe: How to migrate a business from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365? Users email, docs, sheets, Teams
High level steps 1 Set up Microsoft 365 users using your prepaid licenses 2 Verify your domain in Microsoft 365 3 Migrate email calendars and contacts from Google Workspace using the Exchange admin center 4 Migrate Google Drive docs and sheets to OneDrive and SharePoint using Migration Manager 5 Configure Microsoft Teams and map shared files to SharePoint 6 Run a pilot with one user before switching everyone I’ve documented this exact process with screenshots and real examples here https://mstack360.com/google-workspace-to-microsoft-365-migration/ And here is a full live step by step migration walkthrough https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8f1YssSgXM These cover email files and Teams setup end to end and are kept practical for small teams. Best, Ahmed Masoud58Views0likes0CommentsRe: Migrating from Google Workspace with Multiple Domains
This is fully supported and commonly done. Microsoft 365 allows migrating mailboxes regardless of the source primary domain, then lets you add multiple domains and choose any one as the default. After migration, you can switch the primary email to domain2.com while keeping domain1.com and domain3.com as aliases with no data loss or downtime. Helpful resources Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 Migration Guide https://mstack360.com/google-workspace-to-microsoft-365-migration/ Live step by step migration walkthrough https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8f1YssSgXM Best, Ahmed Masoud18Views0likes0CommentsRe: DLP USB Block
Is the DLP policy currently in Test mode? If so, switch it to On/Enforced to apply the Block action. Is user override enabled (“Let users override the policy”)? If so, users can bypass the block and the action will appear as Audit....disable overrides to enforce blocking. Are you using Windows Information Protection (WIP)? If so, is the protection mode set to Block? Modes like Allow Overrides or Silent will only log activity instead of preventing USB copies. Were the policy changes made recently? If so, allow up to one hour for policy replication to endpoints before validating the behavior again. Best, Ahmed Masoud LinkedIn63Views0likes0CommentsRe: Case 2512040040001886 - Cannot Access Account
I’m really sorry you’re going through this—being locked out for so long is incredibly frustrating, especially when it affects your business. Just to clarify, this community is made up of fellow Microsoft 365 users, not Microsoft employees, so we don’t have the ability to access accounts or escalate support cases. That said, I’ve been supporting Microsoft 365 services for over 5 years and have helped many customers in similar situations. If you’re willing, feel free to share a bit more about the issue, and I’ll do my best to listen and help where possible. Best, Ahmed Masoud LinkedIn34Views0likes0CommentsRe: Is there an acceptable method to convert pub to docx?
Unfortunately, there isn’t an acceptable or reliable way today to convert complex Publisher layouts (especially text boxes and brochure-style pagination) into clean, fully editable DOCX files. All current methods involve compromises and manual rework. Rebuilding in Word is realistically the cleanest option at the moment. I’ll keep this in mind, and if I come across a better solution in the future, I’ll be happy to share it. Best, Ahmed Masoud LinkedIn80Views0likes0CommentsRe: Microsoft 365 admin center support
Hi, I completely understand your frustration—losing Global Admin access after migrating from GoDaddy to Microsoft 365 is stressful, especially when it impacts day-to-day business operations. I’m sorry to hear about the experience you’ve had. Regarding the refund request, this community isn’t able to process or approve refunds. For any billing or subscription-related requests, you’ll need to contact Microsoft Support directly, as they are the only ones who can review and take action on refunds. Participants here are fellow Microsoft 365 users, not Microsoft employees. That said, I do want to clarify something important about the GoDaddy-to-Microsoft migration issue. In most cases, when Global Admin access is lost due to GoDaddy’s federation, there is no need to contact either GoDaddy or Microsoft Support. The issue can typically be resolved by defederating (disconnecting) GoDaddy from Microsoft 365, which restores full administrative control. I’ve documented the exact steps here: Video walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7hIjTW-_Tc Step-by-step blog: https://mstack360.com/break-free-from-godaddy-defederate-to-microsoft-365-the-smart-way/ Following this process has helped many customers regain access quickly without waiting on support queues. I hope this helps you resolve the admin access issue as soon as possible, and I agree that Microsoft should continue improving response times for business-critical support cases. Wishing you the best in getting this sorted out quickly.16Views0likes0CommentsRe: Photos App - OneDrive Memories does not work
Quick question first: are you signed into the Photos app with a personal Microsoft account (outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com) or a work/school account? Memories only works with personal OneDrive accounts. Work accounts show folders but Memories is disabled by design. If it is personal, try this: Go to onedrive.com and sign in Click Settings (gear icon) then Options Look for Notifications and make sure "On This Day" is enabled In the Photos app, sign out completely then sign back in Let me know which account type you're using and we can narrow it down from there. Best, Ahmed Masoud LinkedIn141Views0likes1CommentRe: "On this Day" feature, where does it get photos from?
"On This Day" pulls from more places than just your OneDrive files. I think it scans photo attachments in your Outlook emails, images shared in Teams chats, photos embedded in Word or PowerPoint files, and even screenshots. Best, Ahmed Masoud LinkedIn56Views0likes0CommentsRe: SharePoint Online global storage limits
Tenant storage = 1TB base + 10GB per licensed user. No published maximum cap - keep adding licenses or purchase storage add-ons. Per-site limit is 25TB. Check usage in SharePoint Admin Center → Active Sites → Storage. Happy to help plan your storage strategy! Best, Ahmed Masoud LinkedIn90Views2likes0CommentsRe: How is the SharePoint Online file path length counted?
Hey! Good question. This confuses a lot of people. The 400 character limit counts the decoded URL path starting after your tenant domain. So contoso.sharepoint.com doesn't count. Everything after it does. Site path, library name, folders, file name, all the slashes. Here's the key part most people miss. URL encoding doesn't affect the count. A space shows as %20 in the browser but SharePoint counts it as one character, not three. Same with apostrophes and other special characters. Quick example. If your file lives at: contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/HR/Shared Documents/Policies/2024/Handbook.pdf SharePoint counts this part: /sites/HR/Shared Documents/Policies/2024/Handbook.pdf That's 50 characters. You've got 350 left to play with. Pro tip1. Watch out for OneDrive sync. It adds your local Windows path on top of the SharePoint path. That's usually where things break first. Pro tip2. Migrations are the danger zone. Files that worked fine in network drives often break when moved to SharePoint Best, Ahmed Masoud LinkedIn168Views2likes1CommentRe: How to convert from a GoDaddy Office 365 Email Essentials account to a full M365 Business Standard?
You're spot on — GoDaddy’s Microsoft 365 setup is technically a Microsoft tenant, but it’s managed through GoDaddy’s federation, which limits admin access, available features, and support for advanced configurations. The good news: You don’t need to migrate in the traditional sense (no PST exports or tenant-to-tenant moves). Instead, your client can go through a process called defederation. This allows you to: Purchase Microsoft 365 Business Standard licenses directly from Microsoft Remove GoDaddy’s federation and delegated admin control Update DNS records Keep all data, users, and services intact with no downtime Once done, the tenant becomes fully native and is managed directly in the Microsoft 365 admin center — no more GoDaddy limitations. We’ve handled this process for clients in similar situations and documented it here if it helps: ▶️ Video walkthrough 📝 Step-by-step blog 🔗 Connect on LinkedIn Let me know if you need a quick checklist or run into any snags — happy to share what’s worked for us. Ahmed Masoud66Views1like0CommentsRe: Office 365 Business Premium + GoDaddy Hosting
Hi Jebb, Great question .... and a common one when it comes to GoDaddy and Microsoft 365 setups. When you purchase Microsoft 365 Business Premium through GoDaddy, you're technically getting Microsoft 365 services, but with limited admin access and some restrictions compared to buying directly from Microsoft. Here’s how it breaks down: Microsoft 365 Services You get access to core Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook, Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, etc. But the environment is managed under GoDaddy’s federation, so advanced admin features are restricted unless you remove GoDaddy’s control. GoDaddy Hosting Their web hosting is completely separate from Microsoft 365 services. You can host websites there, but it doesn’t integrate directly with SharePoint or any other M365 app. There’s no automatic way to link www.domain.com or blog.domain.com to Microsoft 365 tools. Subdomain Routing You can point subdomains (like blog.domain.com) to different hosted services ... but that’s handled through DNS, and won’t connect directly to M365 apps unless you build something custom. As for discounts on hosting, it varies depending on GoDaddy’s offers and isn’t directly tied to your M365 subscription. If you're running into limitations or want more control, there’s also an option to defederate your Microsoft 365 tenant from GoDaddy — without needing to migrate or lose data. You keep your domain, users, and setup, but gain full Microsoft admin access. Here’s a quick guide if you're exploring that path: ▶️ Video walkthrough 📝 Step-by-step blog 🔗 Connect on LinkedIn Hope this helps clarify things. Ahmed Masoud23Views0likes0CommentsRe: GoDaddy says i must pay for email 365 even though I have an office 365 subscription
I put together a quick guide and video for exactly this situation if it helps you or your techs: ▶️ Walkthrough video 📝 Full blog post Happy to answer questions if you run into anything tricky. – Ahmed Masoud 🔗 LinkedIn471Views0likes0Comments
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