Outlook.com Premium ….. Getting away WITH my custom domain

Hello!

So I signed up with outlook premium, found a custom domain I liked, connected it to outlook (the program) and sent an email to everyone about my new address.

What a terrible mistake.

Where do I start. I cant make outlook (the program) default to send out of my custom domain.

Contacts issues, calendar issues and all sorts of other little problems.

I have completely given up trying to fix them.

I just want to leave quietly and take my domain with me.

The outlook.com premium interface offers 0 ability to manage the domain. Nothing. So i have no way to transfer it, manage dns, mx records, forward it, etc.

So I call/chat 50 times with outlook.com premium support. They don’t seem to realize they even have custom domains and the tech people are thrown off when I try to explain it to them. So, I’m not really trusting anything they tell me after that.

I decided to sign up for a Hosted Exchange (business class with much better support) account to transfer my account to. Also thought, they might have resources to help me.

Tech support is WAY better, they under stand me and want to help me, but nope.

Nope. They are as stumped as me and have no internal numbers to call to make it happen.

Best answer i get from outlook.com people is to just cancel my account. I can export PST so data is not the issue. Its my custom domain. i don’t want to lose that, i want it to make a clean transfer to my new hosted exchange.

Whois says the domain is registered with “Wild West Domains, LLC” (which Microsoft must be using to setup these custom domains). So I call them. GoDaddy picks up the phone. Little googling says that Godaddy aquired them years ago. GoDaddy does not seem to realize that 🙂 but anyways, I filled out forms, sent in drivers license, told them I could read them any code they wanted to send to my email address at my custom domain to verify i was the owner – nope. They cant help.

So here I am, stuck. One hand does not talk to the other at Microsoft. Hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction.

Thanks!

Conversation 6 comments

  • Marky_DK

    Premium Member
    20 August, 2017 - 3:23 am

    <p>First I must say that putting the name “Wild West” together with anything in IT is just terrifying…. Unless you are creating a game… But I guess that it is often very fitting for Microsoft.</p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Is your own email address included in your whois information on the domain? It seams that there is a username / password retrieval process on their site based on domain name.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Or do </span>you already have access to the Admin portal at “Wild West Domains, LLC” ? </p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

    • Stephen Campbell

      21 August, 2017 - 10:42 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#167612"><em>In reply to Marky_DK:</em></a></blockquote><p>Its a private registration with a company called Domains By Proxy.</p><p>Admin access with Wild West Domains, LLC must be something microsoft has setup on the back end. I have no username or password or way to interact with it.</p>

  • GarethB

    Premium Member
    22 August, 2017 - 2:43 am

    <p>This is exactly why I always refuse to buy domains through a service like this. The question is who owns your domain? Is it Microsoft in this case? Morally it's yours of course, that doesn't help if you try to move it elsewhere, or want to host a website, or want to setup SPF entries for another mail server etc.</p><p>Buy the domain separately and only point to a service when needed.</p><p>Sorry, this doesn't help you Stephen. That horse has bolted. Best of luck getting control of your domain.</p>

  • ArtieMcD

    22 August, 2017 - 9:39 am

    <p>&gt;I just want to leave quietly and take my domain with me.</p><p>You can't. The outlook.com premium FAQ states that MS retains ownership of any custom domain acquired through the service and will release it back to the registrar 60 days after the outlook premium account is closed. GarethB is exactly right, domain ownership should be dealt with separately from the service bundling it with email/web services to maintain maximum flexibility to fire/switch providers if you are unsatisfied with their services or as your needs change/grow over time. </p><p><br></p>

  • Chris_Kez

    Premium Member
    22 August, 2017 - 5:57 pm

    <p>As others have noted, you're not able to do what you're looking to do. Let this be a cautionary tale for other folks. I was fortunate to have read Paul's articles about Outlook premium and knew to register my custom domain separately, before signing up for Outlook Premium.</p>

    • Stephen Campbell

      22 August, 2017 - 6:12 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#168070"><em>In reply to Chris_Kez:</em></a></blockquote><p>But i don't want to be a cautionary tale ….</p><p>:(</p><p><br></p><p>What a total lack of planning and plugging of Microsoft's own business services. This could have been an opportunity to at LEAST offer a migration path to their own business/enterprise office 365 business or stand alone hosted exchange packages.</p><p><br></p><p>How could any business grow using this outlook.com package. What if you needed more email addresses on that custom domain?</p><p><br></p><p>Now to get back on the phone with India until i can bark up the right tree and get someone to make an exception ;)</p>

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