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.
Microsoft Feedback Portal account issue
I changed my Microsoft email a year ago, and it updated everywhere other than the Feedback Portal. As a result, I get an error when I try to login, or do anything on the page. Microsoft account support's suggestion was to login to the Feedback Portal which is insane given I'm having issues accessing it. How can I get this issue resolved? I've got three separate support tickets now and they keep asking me to wait 24 hours to get the issue resolved. Can someone from the Feedback Portal team please contact me to resolve this? This is what Microsoft Support have said: "understand your frustration, and yes—this is an account‑related issue because the Feedback Portal is still tied to your old alias, which causes login conflicts and forces you out. Your Microsoft account itself signs in correctly, but the Feedback Portal is pulling outdated identity data that you cannot update on your own. Since you cannot access the Portal to submit feedback, directing you back there is not a workable solution. What you need is for Support to escalate this to the internal Identity/Feedback Platform engineering team so they can manually correct the outdated alias mapping on the backend. In this situation, the Feedback Portal and Tech Community teams are the ones who manage and maintain that specific platform. Because the issue appears on the Feedback Portal side—even though your Microsoft account is working normally—only their dedicated team can make the necessary corrections on their end. That’s why we are guiding you to connect with them through the links provided: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/ or https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback. They will be able to review the portal‑specific account data and assist you further. I understand why this is frustrating. Since you’re unable to stay signed in to the Feedback Portal, I completely see why posting there isn’t possible for you. However, I do need to be transparent: I’m not able to escalate this issue directly to the Feedback Portal team, as they don’t provide internal escalation channels for us and only accept requests through their own platform."
Changing the default @onmicrosoft domain
We recently have started to use sharepoint and noticed that the domain is our old business name. It is using the @onmicrosoft.com domain. Is there a way to change the domain that was created when we made the O365 account? The main reason this is wanted is because our sharepoint sites will show the old company name, that was used to signup for O365, and not the new domain that we added. If we share out a sharepoint site or folder to a client, having the new company name would be better. Anyone have any thoughts on a way to change this, besides creating a new O365 account?
Remove domain and recover licence.
I have a very small business (sole property) and I recently hired a sales employee. I bought a business basic licence with the firm Combell that hosts my website and basic mailboxes. When activating 365 I was asked to make a tenant and link my domain with that tenant. I now want to go back to the basic mailboxes as It don't need the 365 environment. Combell states that I can't do this when I want to use the same domain..This seems strange to me as I own the domain, not Microsoft. Kind regards KrisExtend M365 Archive Quota capacity
In my organization, we are currently on the O365 E5 License with default 100GB mailbox size per user and 1.5TB archive quota. However, due to organizational policy and regulatory requirements, we are expected to keep all the data from inception. Hence, the requirement for a solution to extend our archive size from 1.5TB. From the official Microsoft documentation, https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/exchange-online-archiving-service-description/exchange-online-archiving-service-description#archive-storage-quota the maximum expansion of the archive mailbox is 1.5TB. Is it possible to extend the archive storage to an Azure blob? Like an automated script that moves the data from the Archive mailbox for each user to the Azure blob or any other storage service that does not have storage size limitation. I am open to suggestions. Thanks
Adding Outlook add-ins and permissions
Wonderoig if someone can answer a question for me. I'll use the process in this link as context https://help.draftable.com/hc/en-us/articles/46382047949977-Configuring-Redline-in-Email-Outlook-with-Draftable In short when adding an Outlook Addin and selecting a group to assign the add-in too and the accepting the permission requests does this: Apply the permissions to ONLY those nominated users' mailboxes; or Applies the permissions to ALL mailboxes and applies "security" by limiting the users who can see the add-in I assume it does one of the two. Any ideas?
OneDrive for Business Offline folder issue
I have a series of left over OneDrive business offline folders from the companies that I were associated with before. My access were removed and I do not need them now. Yet I am not able to remove them off from my PC. My respective company ITs do not know what they need to do to allow me the deletion on my PC. The problems of these folders have componded to an extent that it started to conflict with my personal OneDrive. Now I cannot open any file or folder on my offline folder using explorer. Something terrible must have happened to that Cloud module that appears on the top ribbon of File explorer. On taking this issue with L1 they did a W10 update. after which other cloud services as dropbox have started to malfunction the same way as OneDrive. Later from the OneDrive forum, https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/onedrive-offline-file-explorer-window-hangs/ed575ad0-54b1-45c5-8318-9ff943e2f819?page=2 I found that by creating a new profile that is an escape. Only I notice that is short lived. As there are differences in the folders synched to offline. I am trying out with the admin center for a solution other than having to format my hard disk and reinstall everything.Interface Views in Microsoft 365 Admin Center
1. Simplified View Purpose: Designed for small businesses or organizations with limited IT resources. Features: Streamlined dashboard with essential tasks like user management, license assignment, and password resets. Minimal configuration options to reduce complexity. Quick access to support and basic service health info. Use Case: Ideal for admins who need to perform routine tasks without diving into advanced settings. 2. Dashboard View (Advanced View) Purpose: Tailored for medium to large enterprises with complex IT environments. Features: Full access to all admin centers (Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, etc.). Advanced analytics, reporting, and configuration tools. Role-based access control and security management. Customizable widgets and navigation for personalized workflows. Use Case: Suitable for IT teams managing multiple services, users, and compliance requirements. Customization Needs Are there specific tasks we perform frequently that can be automated in the dashboard?
Activating Microsoft Office 365 Business Standard ESD license on NCE account.
Hello, We have purchased Microsoft Office 365 Business Standard ESD licenses that we wish to activate on an NCE account through the admin center or perhaps through separate accounts, could somebody assist in how this can be done? A step by step tutorial would be very highly appreciated.Org Explorer - Issues
Hi, I have a weird issue, We have a user that has gone crazy on Org Explorer. Basically this person is showing that she has 926 Reports, and 7 Direct. Our company only has 120 Users. Also a every couple of seconds this users Reports keeps increasing :s I have checked on Exchange, this user has only 1 Manager and 7 Direct, same data is also showing on Entra. Anyone have a clue ?
