Outlook can't set up a new profile by using Exchange Autodiscover for an Exchange Online mailbox in Office 365

Article ID: 2404385 - View products that this article applies to.
Not sure what release of Office 365 you're using? Go to the following Microsoft website:
Am I using Office 365 after the service upgrade?
(http://office.microsoft.com/redir/HA103982331.aspx)
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PROBLEM

When you try to set up a new mail account for Office 365 by using the Add New Account wizard in Microsoft Outlook, your Outlook profile isn't automatically set up. Additionally, you receive the following error message when Outlook tries to set up the server settings for your profile:
An encrypted connection to your mail services is not available
This issue occurs for one of the following reasons:
  • The wrong email address was entered on the Auto Account Setup page of the Add New Account wizard in Outlook.
  • The required updates for Outlook to automatically connect to Exchange Online aren't installed for the version of Outlook that you're running.
  • The Autodiscover CNAME record for your domain doesn’t exist or isn’t set up correctly.
To keep your service upgrade experience as seamless as possible, we recommend that you take a few minutes to check that your current environment is set up correctly. Before the service upgrade to Office 365 occurs, it's important to check that your Autodiscover record is set up correctly in DNS. Otherwise, Outlook clients may be unable to connect to mailboxes after the upgrade.

To determine whether your organization was recently upgraded to Office 365, go the following Microsoft website:
Am I using Office 365 after the service upgrade?
(http://office.microsoft.com/redir/HA103982331.aspx)
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SOLUTION

If you're using a custom domain

To resolve this issue if you're using a custom domain with Office 365, use the following methods in the order in which they're listed. If the first method doesn't resolve the issue, go to the next method.

Method 1: Run Office 365 Desktop Setup

First, make sure that you enter the correct email address and password on the Auto Account Setup page of the Add New Account wizard in Outlook.

Then, if you're using Outlook 2010 or an earlier version, run Office 365 Desktop, and make sure that you install all the required updates. For more information about Office 365 Desktop, go to one of the following Microsoft websites: For more information about how to set up Outlook for Office 365, go to the following Microsoft websites, and then click the link that matches the version of Outlook that you're running: Note If this method doesn’t resolve the issue, go to Method 2.

Method 2: Make sure that the Autodiscover CNAME record is set up correctly

The Autodiscover CNAME record must exist and must be set up correctly. We strongly recommend that you set up Exchange Autodiscover when you are using Outlook to connect to Exchange Online mailboxes. Administrators can use the Domain Troubleshooting wizard in Office 365 or Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer to confirm that the records are set up correctly.
Use the Domain Troubleshooting wizard in Office 365
To use the Domain Troubleshooting wizard in Office 365, follow these steps.
  • In Office 365
    1. Sign in to the Office 365 portal (https://portal.microsoftonline.com
      (https://portal.microsoftonline.com/)
      ) by using an administrator account.
    2. Click Admin, and then click Office 365 to open the Office 365 Admin Center.
    3. In the left navigation pane, click Domains, select the domain name that's used by the affected user, and then click Troubleshoot to start the wizard.
  • In Office 365 pre-upgrade
    1. Sign in to the Office 365 portal (https://portal.microsoftonline.com
      (https://portal.microsoftonline.com/)
      ) by using an administrator account.
    2. In the header, click Admin, and then in the left navigation pane, click Domains.
    3. Select the domain name that's used by the affected user, and then click Troubleshoot to start the wizard.
Use Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer
To use Remote Connectivity Analyzer to test whether Exchange Autodiscover is working correctly, follow these steps:
  1. Make sure that the Autodiscover CNAME record is created correctly for your email domain at your Domain Name System (DNS) host. For more information about the Autodiscover CNAME record, go to the following Microsoft website:
    Use a CNAME Record to Enable Outlook to Connect
    (http://help.outlook.com/en-us/cc950655.aspx?sl=1)
  2. In a web browser, browse to https://www.testexchangeconnectivity.com
    (https://www.testexchangeconnectivity.com/)
    .
  3. On the Office 365 tab, under Microsoft Office Outlook Connectivity Tests, click Outlook Autodiscover, and then click Next.
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  4. Complete all the required fields on the form, and then click Perform Test.

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  5. When the test is finished, confirm whether it's successful. If the test is successful, Autodiscover is working correctly. If the test isn't successful, use the information that's provided to troubleshoot the issue.

    Note If your organization is in a hybrid confirmation, your Exchange Autodiscover records may still point to an on-premises Exchange server. For more information, go to the following Microsoft website:
    Microsoft Exchange Server Deployment Assistant
    (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/jj657516.aspx)

If you're not using a custom domain

If you’re not using a custom domain together with Office 365, you can use the Add New Account wizard in Outlook to set up your Outlook profile by using the default "onmicrosoft.com"-based email address that’s associated with users’ Exchange Online mailboxes when you signed up for Office 365. When you use the Add New Account wizard to set up a new mail profile, you specify your default Office 365 email address in the form of <user>@<domain>.onmicrosoft.com (for example, kim@contoso.onmicrosoft.com) and your Office 365 password.

This method is supported and works for customers who may not plan to have their own vanity or custom domain. This method also supports Autodiscover. If your mailbox server location changes, Outlook will be updated accordingly with the new location of your mailbox server.
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REFERENCES



For more information, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:
  • 977968
    (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977968/ )
    Users cannot use Outlook Anywhere to open a shared mailbox that was moved to Exchange Server 2010
  • 2576096
    (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2576096/ )
    Adding an Office 365 Exchange Online account in Outlook 2011 for Mac results in error "Account cannot be added"
  • 2555008
    (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2555008/ )
    How to troubleshoot free/busy issues in a hybrid deployment of on-premises Exchange Server and Exchange Online in Office 365

Video: Office 365: Troubleshooting Autodiscover in Exchange Online

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uuid=e8db028a-06f4-45fb-aff1-e8ac896d29c5 VideoUrl=http://aka.ms/xo23ky
(http://aka.ms/xo23ky)
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Still need help? Go to the Office 365 Community
(http://community.office365.com/)
website.
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Properties

Article ID: 2404385 - Last Review: June 18, 2013 - Revision: 38.0
Applies to
  • Microsoft Office 365 for enterprises (pre-upgrade)
  • Microsoft Office 365 for small businesses  (pre-upgrade)
  • Microsoft Office 365 for education  (pre-upgrade)
  • Microsoft Exchange Online
Keywords: 
o365 o365a kbgraphxlink o365e o365p o365m o365062011 pre-upgrade o365022013 after upgrade gwt guided walk through kbtshoot KB2404385
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