Autodiscover Not Working When Connecting to Office 365

Updated On - November 27, 2023 by Armaan | Reading Time: 6 minutes

In this blog, we explain simple manual guide and steps to fix Autodiscover Not Working When Connecting to Office 365 issue and their reasons. Lets start.

Outlook has an Auto discover feature that allows users to connect other email service accounts to Outlook with minimum information. However, sometimes when the feature doesn’t work, an error pops up showing:

Autodiscover cannot process the given email address. Only mailboxes and contacts are allowed.

There are several reasons which result in this error which we’ll discuss later in this blog. Below are some of the symptoms that will appear before the Autodiscover issue.

• Inaccessibility to public folders
• Mailbox connection failure with Outlook
• Mapping failure with the shared mailbox
• Issues with calendar entries
• Dysfunctional sharing invitation

In this write-up, I’ll enlighten a few ways you can resolve the Autodiscover Not working when the connection to Office 365 problem. So, let’s start with the reasons for the above error.

Reasons for Autodiscover not working when the connection to Office 365 Error

• If you’re trying to set up an automatic account, the email address you entered is invalid.
• If you want to use Exchange Online (Office 365), you need to upgrade MS Outlook, but you don’t have those updates.
• The on-premises Active Directory lacks proxyAddress, displayName, mailNickname, and the Mail, all of which are critical components of a functioning network infrastructure.
• Either the CNAME record is not set up properly, or it does not exist.

So these are a few reasons for Autodiscover not working when connecting to Office 365. Now let’s move to the solution part.

How to Fix Autodiscover when connecting to Office 365?

Same as the reasons, there are several ways available to fix the error. Below are all of them.

Verify whether Autodiscover is working or not

The first and foremost step is to verify if it is an Autodiscover issue or any other issue. There are two ways for the same one is using Outlook, and you can also check it with a PowerShell command.

Using Outlook

• Open Outlook and go to the menu option.
• Now, navigate to the Test Email Auto Configuration option and click it.
• In the open wizard, provide the email and password of the Office 365 mailbox and check the Use Autodiscover checkbox.
• At last, click on the Test button.

If it successfully gets connected, your Autodiscover feature will work effectively.

Apart from the above method, you can use the PowerShell command and check why Autodiscover is Not Working When Connecting to Office 365.

Using PowerShell

Below are the PowerShell commands to fix Autodiscovery not connecting issue when connecting to Office 365.

• Firstly, open Windows PowerShell as an administrator and use the following command.
  $UserCredential = Get-Credential
• Now in the pop window, provide your Office 365 credentials and click Ok.
• Following use the below commands in sequence
  

  $SESSION = New-PSSession -ConfigurationNameMicrosoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://ps.outlook.com/powershell -Credential $UserCredential -Authentication Basic –AllowRedirection Import-PSSession $SESSION Connect-MsolService -Credential $UserCredential

• Once done with the above command, run the last command
  

  Test-OutlookWebServices -identity: useraccount@domainname.com –MailboxCredential (Get-Credential)

Troubleshoot the AutoDiscover problem

An administrator has several options for diagnosis and troubleshooting the auto-discover problem. One by one, let’s examine some helpful strategies

1. CNAME DNS record

Check the functionality of the CNAME DNS record at the Autodiscover URL https://mail.company.com/autodiscover/autodiscover.xml.

Access the URL in Outlook Web Apps. If ErrorCode 600 is returned, adding the CNAME record to the public DNS is safe.

• Name: Autodiscover
• TTL: 3600
• RR Type: CNAME
• Value: Mail.companydomainname.com

2. SRV Domain Name System Record

The alternative is to employ the SRV DNS entry to restore functionality to autodiscover.

• Name: _autodiscover._tcp
• TTL: 3600
• RR Type: SRV
• Value: 0 443 companydomainname.com

3. Domain-level XML redirection

The hosting domain’s web server should host the XML redirect file. The autodiscover XML file hosting your site must be restored to the web server.

After the file has been placed, the autodiscover function can be tested with the use of Microsoft’s Remote Connectivity Analyzer.

All three strategies can potentially get autodiscover back up and running with just a few tweaks to the hosting web server.

End user-level fixes

All of the aforementioned techniques work well on the back end, but you can also utilize various workarounds to address the problem on the user’s end.

1. Verify the default Autodiscover URL.

In the first approach, we look to see if the domain account’s URL has been changed. For this procedure to function, you must access Outlook Web Access from outside your company’s network and then use the Autodiscover URL

https://emailname.organizationname.com/autodiscover/autodiscover.xml

A notice indicating that the above URL is incorrect should appear. If you want the Autodiscover URL to work within your company’s network, then that’s exactly what should happen.

2. Create a new XML file notepad with the following entries:

?xml version====================================== For example: Autodiscover xmlns=”http://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/autodiscover/responseschema/2006″> Response xmlns=”http://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/autodiscover/outlook/responseschema/2006a”> <Account> \s<AccountType>email</AccountType> \s<Action> redirectUrl</Action> \s<RedirectUrl> https://emailname.organizationname.com/autodiscover/autodiscover.xml </RedirectUrl> \s</Account> \s</Response> \s</Autodiscover>

In a convenient location, save the file with the name Autodiscover.xml. Confirm that you have converted the file from TXT to XML format.

3. Open the Registry Editor. The following information is required:

Searchkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Office16.0/Outlook/AutoDiscover Value name: organizationname.com (Regainsoftware) Value type: REG SZ Value: F:Autodiscoverautodiscover.xml

Make sure the Value and Value name is consistent with your business’s specifics.

• Enter your name, email address, and password into Outlook’s “Auto Account Setup” and see whether it works. Your account will connect to Exchange automatically if the Exchange Server is properly set up. Depending on the security measures, you may be asked to reenter your credentials at various points along the procedure.
• Only the most recent versions of Outlook, namely 2010 and beyond, enable autodiscover, so you should upgrade if you want to take advantage of it.
• To find out what’s wrong with your Office 365 account, run the “Support and Recovery Assistant.” In addition to identifying the causes and providing workarounds, Outlook will also show you how to fix the problem so that you may access the account.

After switching to Office 365, many people have trouble with Auto discover. Using the aforementioned techniques, such problems can be resolved. On the other hand, customers can use a dedicated Office 365 migration tool if they are having problems with the migrating process. You may rest easy knowing you have this tool on hand for your next Exchange or Office 365 transfer.

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 Conclusion

We hope you can resolve Autodiscover not working when connecting to Office 365. This guide has discussed almost every possible solution. If you want a hassle-free migration from Exchange Server to Office 365, then you can use the Regain EDB Converter Software, a reliable tool for Exchange administrators.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ques1. Can I try the CNAME DNS Record to resolve the AutoDiscover issue while connecting with Office 365?
Ans. Adding CNAME DNS Record troubleshoots issues if it is at the primary level and just missing information. But, in most of the scenarios, it doesn’t help. It is primarily for the Error Code 600.

Ques2. What PowerShell Command should I use to get an Office 365 connection with Outlook if the AutoDiscovery function isn’t working?
Ans. Use the “$UserCredential = Get-Credential” command to use PowerShell as an alternative to the AutoDiscovery direct feature.

Ques3. Instead of using AutoDiscovery and connecting Office 365, I am looking for Office 365 migration; what should I do for that?
Ans. Migration to Office 365 is not a big task if you use an advanced utility developed by professional software developers. Use Regain EDB Converter for the Office 365 Migration. It comes with a simple GUI and user-centric features. You can also connect 24*7 with Regain’s support executives for any migration suggestions.

Ques4. I cannot map the Shared mailbox; should I cross-check my AutoDiscovery settings?
Ans. If you fail while mapping the Shared mailboxes, the AutoDioscovery setting and function should be checked. In several cases, the AutoDiscovery issue remains the root cause.