Can't access email after switching to MS 365

[Clitheroekid]

I suspect that this problem is too specific to my own situation to be solvable by advice, but there's no harm in trying.

The company that use to host my email wrote to me recently saying they would stop doing so at the end of February, and recommend that I transfer to MS 365. After quite a few problems, with which I needed assistance, I succeeded, and got confirmation that I could now use Outlook.

During the process of signing up I was assigned a very long email address ending in @[my business name].onmicrosoft.com. I obviously didn't want to use this, so gave them my own domain name and it appeared to register it. However, when I send an email to that address nothing happens, and it doesn't appear in my new inbox. Likewise, emails sent by third parties don't appear in my inbox, which remains resolutely empty. I tried sending an email from 365 to a gmail address I have, but it didn't appear there.

When I contacted the company that used to host my domain they basically said it was no longer their problem, as I was now hosted by MS.

The net result is that I'm now completely unable to send or receive any email at all. I've spent hours trying to work through the MS `help' sections, which were anything but, or assumed a degree of tech know how that I don't possess (i.e. anything above zero!)

It's a serious problem not to have an email facility, and I'll probably have to contact an IT firm in the morning, but in the meantime I'd be most grateful for any advice as to what might have gone wrong and how to fix it.

[monabri]

I wonder if you were to Google MS365 email settings and look at the "IMAGES" found by the search and then compare the settings with what you have typed in .

Google

ms365 mail server settings

[stewamax]

During the process of signing up I was assigned a very long email address ending in @[my business name].onmicrosoft.com. I obviously didn't want to use this, so gave them my own domain name and it appeared to register it.

It sounds as if the (re-)registration of your domain name hasn't worked.
Microsoft have a fairly automated process for connecting users' domain names to a Microsoft 365 account, but this depends on which domain name registrar you were using. In tedious IT jargon, this registrar 'hosts your DNS zone file', and it is this file that is accessed every time someone (including you) try to use your domain name: it 'translates' the domain name into a numeric address that is used to connect the user to your Microsoft 365 account. (The file also points to your website if you have one).
Behind the scenes at Microsoft, your domain name is aliased to [my business name].onmicrosoft.com.

DNS zone files are not difficult but are cryptic, and you may need some professional help.

In passing, Microsoft 365 email is excellent, and - given your line of work - has the best range of security features, far more comprehensive than those available with Google 'Workspace' (Google's equivalent of Microsoft 365).
Usual disclaimers.

[Lanark]

Most likely the issue you have is DNS propagation time. This is set by the MX record in your domain settings.

If you lookup your domain here it will show the TTL in days https://mxtoolbox.com/

So the correct way to switch a mail host is the following:

1) Lookup your current TTL, lets say it is 2 days
2) Shorten the TTL to 10 minutes in your domain control panel.
3) Wait 2 days so that all email servers and clients now have the shorter TTL
4) Move your domain settings to the new host and wait 10 minutes.
5) Test that everything works
6) Reset the TTL back to 2 days (or whatever you prefer).

As you have already moved the host, you probably just have to wait for all the DNS caches to expire and then it will (hopefully) start working.

You may be able to force a cache refresh on your own machine, but that won't help with delivery to any third parties.
Your old hosting company really should have explained this to prepare you for a smooth transition or even reduced the TTL for you before the expiry.

[Clitheroekid]

If you lookup your domain here it will show the TTL in days https://mxtoolbox.com/

Thanks for your attempt to assist. I did as you suggest, but received the following rather depressing response:

Sorry, we couldn't find any name servers for '[Clitheroekid].co.uk'

[Clitheroekid]

During the process of signing up I was assigned a very long email address ending in @[my business name].onmicrosoft.com. I obviously didn't want to use this, so gave them my own domain name and it appeared to register it.

It sounds as if the (re-)registration of your domain name hasn't worked.
Microsoft have a fairly automated process for connecting users' domain names to a Microsoft 365 account, but this depends on which domain name registrar you were using. In tedious IT jargon, this registrar 'hosts your DNS zone file', and it is this file that is accessed every time someone (including you) try to use your domain name: it 'translates' the domain name into a numeric address that is used to connect the user to your Microsoft 365 account. (The file also points to your website if you have one).
Behind the scenes at Microsoft, your domain name is aliased to [my business name].onmicrosoft.com.

DNS zone files are not difficult but are cryptic, and you may need some professional help.

Thanks for the explanation, but I have zero technical knowledge and I haven't a clue what this means. I'm desperately hoping to get some help tomorrow morning, as the loss of email is causing me serious problems.

[Infrasonic]

Which exact MS365 package did you sign up to?

Presumably direct with Microsoft?

It is also possible to buy these type of packages via a domain host as a package add on, which is often easier for non techies as they will do all the DNS for you. e.g Ionos..https://www.ionos.co.uk/office-solution ... oft-office

[Clitheroekid]

Which exact MS365 package did you sign up to?

Presumably direct with Microsoft?

Yes.

It is also possible to buy these type of packages via a domain host as a package add on, which is often easier for non techies as they will do all the DNS for you. e.g Ionos..https://www.ionos.co.uk/office-solution ... oft-office

I wish someone had told me that!

[Clitheroekid]

I thought I'd solved the problem, as after much watching of YouTube etc it turned out that although my domain name had been successfully set up in 365 I hadn't actually assigned any user names

I duly did so, and it's now showing my full email address as an `active user' - hooray! Or so I thought. I tried sending myself an email and got the following response (I've altered my actual email address):

Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:

[CK]@[clitheroekid].co.uk
Your message wasn't delivered because the recipient's email provider rejected it.

Diagnostic information for administrators:

Generating server: LO2P123MB2463.GBRP123.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM

[CK]@[clitheroekid].co.uk
Remote server returned '550 5.7.501 Service unavailable. Spam abuse detected from IP range. For more information please go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=526653. S(2017052602) [CWLP123MB6622.GBRP123.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM 2024-02-29T22:59:35.457Z 08DC37F92A6558C8]'

Original message headers:

Received: from LO2P123MB2463.GBRP123.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM
([fe80::e345:3bc:69d:8f27]) by LO2P123MB2463.GBRP123.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM
([fe80::e345:3bc:69d:8f27%3]) with mapi id 15.20.7316.037; Thu, 29 Feb 2024
22:59:35 +0000
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
Date: Thu, 29 Feb 2024 22:59:35 +0000
Message-ID:
<LO2P123MB2463277373F6303C0C1A706DED5F2@LO2P123MB2463.GBRP123.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM>
Subject: Get the latest Office apps

This seems totally bonkers, as the `recipient's email provider' is surely Microsoft?

There are days when I hate and detest technology, and this is one of them.

[Clitheroekid]

Sorry to keep posting on my own thread, but I realised that I was looking at the inbox for the onmicrosoft.com address that I'd been originally assigned. I clicked on `open another mailbox' and was pleased to see my [CK]@[clitheroekid.co.uk] listed.

Bingo I thought - I should by now have known better.

When I clicked on it I got yet another depressing message:

Something went wrong

Please try the recommended action below

Refresh the application

Needless to say, when I clicked on the Refresh button the same message just kept repeating, with the following string of incomprehensible stuff:

UTC Date: 2024-02-29T23:41:01.387Z
Client Id: 56C14E40AFA84580B5872FAE28F87268
Session Id: f5ca019d-fe67-4e60-8f7b-4d5b3aa6d35a
Client Version: 20240209002.24
BootResult: accessDenied
Back Filled Errors: Unhandled Rejection: Error: 500:undefined|undefined:undefined
err: Microsoft.Exchange.Data.StoreObjects.AccessDeniedException
esrc: StartupData
et: ServerError
estack: Microsoft.Mapi.MapiExceptionNoAccess
st: 500
ehk: X-OWA-Error
efe: LO4P123CA0417
ebe: LO6P123MB7366
ewsver: 15.20.7316.39
emsg: ErrorPermissionDenied

I've had enough, so I'm going to bed, no doubt to have Microsoft-inspired nightmares. But if anyone has the slightest clue what's going on and, even more unlikely, any idea how to fix it I'm happy to try any suggestions before attempting to get professional help in the morning.