Is there a way around being required to use GoDaddy as the registrar when using a custom domain with Microsoft 365 Family?
I want to use my own domain with my Microsoft 365 Family plan, but there is no way I am transferring it to GoDaddy. Is there way way around this “requirement” or am I stuck?
Solution 1:
This is described in the article Get a personalized email address in Microsoft 365:
Q: I already own a domain that's registered with a provider other than GoDaddy. Can I set up a personalized email address in Outlook.com?
A: At the moment, we only support connecting domains managed by GoDaddy with Outlook.com.
When entering my Premium subscription, I can see the following in Manage my subscription:
The answer is then : Not possible at the moment. I have no information if this will change in the future.
Solution 2:
This related Reddit discussion indicates that it's possible and working at the time. It involves pretending to go to GoDaddy, and then capturing key values from the outlink for manual DNS updating.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Office365/comments/ft15pk/use_personalized_domain_with_outlook_and_office/
Go to outlook, the premium settings and choose the option to "get started" with a personalized domain.
Click the option to buy a new domain with GoDaddy, and a new window opens
Copy the URL of the new window that opens, it should look like this: https://domainconnect.godaddy.com/v2/domainTemplates/providers/outlook.com/services/personalizedoutlookemail/apply?mxRecordValue=XXXXXXXXX&state=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The part that you need is "mxRecordValue=XXXXXXXXX"
The XXXXXXXXX is the unique ID for verification used in DNS
Go to your own domain DNS settings and add the following settings replacing XXXXXXXXX with your ID found in step 3.
The dot on the end of the external domains is not a typo!
Name TTL Type Value Priority @ 1 hour MX XXXXXXXXX.pamx1.hotmail.com. 0 @ 1 hour TXT v=spf1 | include:outlook.com -all autodiscover 1 hour CNAME autodiscover.outlook.com. _dmarc 1 hour TXT v=DMARC1; p=none; _domainconnect 1 hour CNAME _domainconnect.gd.domaincontrol.com. _outlook 1 hour TXT XXXXXXXXX
Return to the premium settings in outlook to set your custom domain.
Choose the option "I already have a domain"
Enter the domain you just configured
You have to click to login to GoDaddy, do this, but just exit the page it goes to.
Congratulations it should now say you connected the domain with GoDaddy!
Solution 3:
Not according to Microsoft.
In their FAQ for personal and family subscriptions (Get a personalised address in Microsoft 365) is this question:
I already own a domain that's registered with a provider other than GoDaddy. Can I set up a personalized email address in Outlook.com?
Their answer is:
At the moment, we only support connecting domains managed by GoDaddy with Outlook.com
Business and enterprise plans allow other registrars - see this MS doc Buy a domain name