Technical Support for Microsoft Partners

Introduction

Step by Step: Microsoft Azure technical support

Step by Step: Office 365, Dynamics 365, Intune, Enterprise Mobility Suite

Step by Step: On-Premises products

MPN Technical benefits

As part of the Microsoft Partner Network membership, partners are eligible for the following technical support:

MPN technical Support

This article is for members of  Microsoft Partner Network Partners (MPN) who need to know how a technical support incident can be created using MPN Partner benefits.

1. Cloud services

For Cloud service eg Azure, Dynamics 365 etc Partners use Delegate administration to create support requests for their customers. Delegated administration is where a partner has a relationship with a customer, the partner user creates a support request On behalf Of (OBO) their customer. The request is created on the customer tenant, by the partner user.

Setup delegated administration

1. Enable Delegated Administrative Privileges (DAP) at the customer level

1. Enabled by default for CSP and Indirect provider
2. For Advisor partners: Customers, Request a relationship and email the customer global admin – More information

2. Enable the partner user to support your customer by assigning the admin agent security role for users on your partner tenant

Create support request

3. The partner admin agent user opens the customer in Partner Center and selects the relevant workload eg Azure, Dynamics 365 and creates a new request
4. Start with the Partner dashboard > Support > Customer requests
5. The relevant products portal is opened and a support ticket is created on the customers tenant

For Azure and Dynamics 365, partners need the Access ID and Contract ID for Signature Cloud Support (competency partners only) or Partner Product Support Incidents (Action pack or if competency partners have no Signature incidents remaining) - see 2904733

2. On-premises product support incidents

For on-premises products, there is no On behalf Of (OBO) process, add your support contract and create the support incident with your contact details.

1. Use any MSA or AAD account to sign-in to the Support for Business portal and Create a support request
2. You need the support contract Access ID + Contract ID for Partner Product Support Incidents (excludes Signature) to add a support contract - see 2904733
3. From the Support for Business portal, click Get started then 1. Product Selection and 2. Issue details
4. Page 3. Support plan is where you add contract or click Buy Now to purchase a support incident. Partner on-Premise Product Support Incidents can be used for the 2 most recent product versions. For older product versions partners must purchase support incidents – see 4032154
5. If you need to purchase a support incident for an old products version. 1. Select the relevant locale/ country in the bottom left of the page and 2 Use an MSA Sign-in and a credit card to purchase Pay Per Incident (PPI) – see 4490370

Contact Support

https://partner.microsoft.com/support is your single point of contact for help on all Partner related issues eg MPN program, Licence activation, Partner Center migration, and Technical issues.

Check requirements, benefit activation (Link support benefits) and then submit your New Azure technical support request or check an existing request. After completing online submission you will be contacted by a Microsoft support professional.

1. Requirements:

1.1 Delegated Administrator Privileges (DAP)

CSP and Indirect providers are enabled with delegated administration for all their customers by default.

Advisor partners need to setup delegated administration at the customer level, per customer.

View Customers, Request a relationship and email the customer global admin – More information.

1.2 Assign the delegated admin security role to the relevant users in your partner organisation

Enable the partner user to support your customer by assigning the admin agent security role for users on your partner tenant.

The partner admin agent user opens the customer in Partner Center and selects the relevant workload e.g. Azure, Dynamics 365 and creates a new request.

1.3 Access ID and Contract ID

You need an Access ID and a Contract ID to add a new support plan (Link support benefits) e.g. Signature support, Advanced Support for Partners. This is a one-off activity because the support contracts will be associated to your sign-in for future requests.

Partners participating in the Cloud Solution Provider program (CSP) have a “Cloud Solution Provider” support plan when they open their customer from Partner Center.

2. Benefit activation (Link support benefits)

Cloud Solution Provider using Partner Center

Partners participating in the Cloud Solution Provider program  (CSP) have a “Cloud Solution Provider” support plan and therefore they do not need to Link support contract when they open their customer ticket from Partner Center.

Adding an MPN support contract 

Partners must have the Access ID and Contract ID or already have the benefits linked to their sign-in, before they can submit a new support request. Access ID and Contract ID are displayed in Partner Center following benefit activation – see 2904733

Competency partners should use their Signature Cloud Support (SCS) benefit (Unlimited, 10pack or 5pack).

Action pack partners or competency partners who have used all their Signature incidents should use Partner Product Support Incidents.

Link Support Benefits

Start by opening the customer from Partner Center, then Link support benefits.

1. A partner user with the Admin agents security role searches Customers
   

2. Open the Customer, select service management and New Request
   

   

3. Select Microsoft Azure to open the Azure portal

4. If required click settings to change your theme, language or region format 

5. Help + support

Select Help + Support, Support Plans, then Link support benefits

6. Enter the Access ID and Contract ID (remove any blank spaces), then click Link

Note: If you see the error message “This Access ID is already associated to an account. Please contact your Technical Account Manager to obtain a new Access ID.” For MPN benefits eg Partner Support or Signature Cloud support ignore the error. You see the error if you have already added the support contract to the tenant and you try to add a second time (a shared access ID is used, a per user access ID is not required). If you see the error and you are using Advanced Support for Partners or a Premier support contract. Check if your contract has already been added and if not, you need to contact your Account Manager and they can create a new personal Access ID for authorised users.

7. Click the Link button and you should see the IDs greyed out and the green text Contract linked. The support contracts are now associated with the Sign-in account 

8. Click the blue text Create a support request to continue and create a support request

Linking the support benefits is a one-off activity because the support contracts will be associated to your sign-in information for future requests (until benefits expire or no support incidents remain). 

3. New Azure technical support request

Using https://partner.microsoft.com/dashboard, select the Dashboard, select Customers, click the Customer's subscription, Service management, Click Create or view Service request to open the Azure portal.

Note: Partners participating in the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program have the option to select the "Cloud Solution Provider" support plan.

Start by opening the customer from Partner Center, the azure portal is opened. For issue type Technical, you select the support contract added via Link support benefits (see above).

1. A partner user with the Admin agents security role searches Customers
   
2. Open the Customer, select service management and New Request
   
3. Select Microsoft Azure to open the Azure portal
4. Click Help + support
5. Click Support plans, then option 

6. Select Issue type Technical, then select your Subscription, Service etc

7. Solutions will provide suggestions that may help you to resolve the issue yourself

8. Support plan will display any Support benefit you previously added via Link support benefits

• CSP who start from Partner Center will automatically see the Cloud Solution Provider support plan.
• Partners with Advanced Support for Partners should select their Advanced Support for Partners Support Plan.
• Cloud Competency partners should use Partner Signature Unlimited and non-cloud competency partners should use Signature 10pack or 5pack. When the Signature 10pack or 5pack incidents are all used the support plan will no longer be displayed. Then competency partners should use their Partner Support Gold 20pack or Silver 15pack incidents
• Network members with an Action pack subscription should use Partner support MAPS 10pack.

9. After selecting a support, select Severity, Problem type, Details, Time frame and upload a file if required
10. Review + Create gives you a final opportunity to review information before you click Create

11. Click Help+ Support, All support requests to see the new or existing request

Requesting access ID and contract ID

See Microsoft Partner Network Support contract activation and Access ID in Partner Center

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1. Requirements

1.1 Delegated Administrator Privileges (DAP)

CSP and Indirect providers are enabled with delegated administration for all their customers by default.

Advisor partners need to setup delegated administration at the customer level, per customer.

For Advisor partners: Customers, Request a relationship and email the customer global admin – More information

Enabling Delegated administration at the customer level

An Advisor Partner activates "Partner features" and requests Delegated Administrator Privileges (DAP) via email; the customer global admin approves the relationship to enable DAP at the partner level. The advisor partner requests a relationship by sending the customer a delegate administration offer via an email or when they send a trial invitation or purchase offer (enable “Include authorization for delegated administration”). See Help for partners.

Partners participating in the CSP program and Indirect Providers have a DAP relationship with all their customers by default. If the Indirect Provider chooses not to enable DAP for the Indirect Reseller; the Indirect Reseller may request a relationship themselves.

Enabling Delegated administration at the user

By default, your partner users cannot help customers. The partner’s users, on the partner tenant, must be enabled on a per user level to assist your customers. The selected user permissions must be changed via user management via the Admin Agent security role (Assists your customer as > Admin agent role)

1.2 Assign the delegated admin security role to the relevant users in your partner organisation

Enable the partner user to support your customer by assigning the admin agent security role for users on your partner tenant.

The partner admin agent user opens the customer in Partner Center and selects the relevant workload eg Azure, Dynamics 365 and creates a new request

For Office portal products the Helpdesk agent can log support requests on behalf of their customer. However, they cannot log requests for Azure and Dynamics 365.

2. Benefit activation

Support contracts are not required for Office 365 products.

3. New Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility Suite support request

The Partner selects the customer in Partner Center. When a service request is created, the customer tenant is opened in a new session, under the delegated administrator user’s context. Service request creation is the same as normal, and the request is created by the partner on behalf of their customer.

1. Open the customer from Partner Center

• A partner user with the Admin agents security role searches Customers
  
• Open the Customer, select service management and New Request
  
• Select Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility Suite

2. Need Help? is automatically displayed to start the process to create a new Service request

3. Enter a problem description and click Get Help. View Solutions and Run Diagnostics may help identify common problems. Review the information to resolve the problem without creating a support request!

4.  Enter the contact details and attach files if required, then click the Call me button.

Note: Partners using delegated admin will see their company email address instead of their customers email domain.   

5. The service request is created, and you will be called by Microsoft or contacted via email according to your preference.

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Quick Summary

To submit a request online for a supported on-premises product you sign-in to the Support for Business portal using an MSA or AAD account, then Create a support request and click Get started. Follow the steps in the New support request workflow: 1. Product selection, 2. Issue details and 3. Support plan is where you Add Contract or click Buy now for Pay Per Incident (PPI)*.

*Pay Per Incident is not currently available for an AAD sign-in, please use an MSA Sign-in eg Outlook.com for Pay Per Incident (More info).

Note: Your support contract / support plan will NOT be displayed if:

• You have not added the contract to associate it to your sign-in account
  • To see your Access ID and Contract ID in Partner Center or request contract activation see 2904733.
• The support contract has expired (after 1 year + 30 days).
• There are no available support incidents.
• The product version is not enabled for your support contract / support plan*.
  • Signature Cloud support is for cloud products only, not on-premises products.

If you added a contract and it is not displayed or are attempting to add a new contract and you have problems see 4023619.

1. Requirements:

1.1 Delegated Administrator Privileges (DAP)

There is no On Behalf Of (OBO) process for on-premises products because support incidents are not linked to the customer tenant. You create a support incident as normal. Any person who has the Access ID and Contract ID can create a request.

1.2 Core benefits contracts

Partners with an active Microsoft Action Pack subscription and partners with an active competency are entitled to Microsoft Partner Network core benefits (Partner Support Gold 20pack, Partner Support Silver 15pack, Partner Support MAPS 10pack).

Product entitlement is limited to the current (N) and the next most recent product (N-2) version – see aka.ms/n-1. For older products versions, the workflow includes an option to use Pay per Incident (PPI) for products not covered by MPN core benefits. You need to sign-in with an MSA account (not AAD) to purchase support incidents.

Competency partners receive Signature Cloud support incidents for cloud products only. Therefore, Signature cannot be used for on-premises products.

1.3 Access ID and Contract ID

You need the Microsoft PartnerNetwork core benefit Access ID and a Contract ID for your Partner support contract eg Partner Support MAPS 10pack, the first time you use the benefits. This is a one-off activity because the support contracts will be associated to your sign-in account for future requests (until benefits expire or no support incidents remain).

If you do not know your Access ID and a Contract ID, please contact your primary program contact or follow the process for support contract activation.

1.4 Sign-in required

You need to use a Microsoft account or AAD Sign-in eg Partner Center to use the Support for Business portal.

2. Benefit activation

The primary program contact for your organization's headquarters are sent the Access ID and Contract ID following support benefit activation.

Partners with an active Gold or Silver competency may have their benefits activated proactively.

Partners with an active Action Pack subscription always need to request activation.

In Partner Center, the Global Admin or MPN Admin role can request activation via the Benefits and Technical menu.

See Microsoft Partner Network Support contract activation and Access ID in Partner Center.

If you have purchased an incident before and are familiar with creating a request online, you can go to Step 3 Support Plan.

1. Product Selection: https://support.microsoft.com/supportforbusiness/productselection Select the product, version, category, problem and click Next.
   
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2. Issue Details: Please include a full and detailed description of the problem. A good problem description will enable support to give you an improved initial response.
   Note: You can also ''Upload your files'' with more details after the request is created.
   
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3. Support Plan: View the contracts associated with your Sign-in account and select an existing support plan. Add Contract or purchase a support plan.
   There are 3 expandable sections and a link to Learn more about Microsoft support for business.

Select a support plan

This is where your current support contracts are available for selection; if they are valid for the selected product version.

Note: You can see the incidents remaining eg 17 of 20 incidents remaining, start date, end date.

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Unavailable support plans

This section is only displayed if there are problems with a contract associated with your account. If you do not see a support plan that your previously used or you added a contract and it is not displayed under select a support plan. Please expand this section.

If you see Support plan cannot be used for support on the specified product (Code:8). The product version you selected is not entitled for your support contract. You cannot use your support contract and need to buy support for the product version you selected – see aka.ms/n-1.

See 4023619 for more information.

Add or purchase a support plan

You can add a support contract (using access ID and Contract ID) or purchase support incidents.

a. Click Add contract to associate a new support contract
b. Click buy now for Single or 5-pack incident purchase

a. Click "Add contract" to associate a new support contract
Click Add contract to associate a new support contract to your current Sign-in. You will only need to enter the Access ID and Contract ID once because the support contract is associated with your sign-in and automatically available next time you use the workflow.
                         
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If you add and existing support contract you will see an error message “The support plan details provided have already been mapped to the logged in user. If you do not see your support plan listed, please expand and review the "Unavailable support plans section”. This occurs most commonly when the product version selected is not supported - see aka.ms/n-1.

If the "Unavailable support plans section” is not displayed, you may need to close the browser session and restart before the new support plan is refreshed.

b. Click "Buy Now >" for Single or 5-pack incident purchase

If you need to purchase a support incident click the Buy Now option button and use a credit card to purchase support.

Note: If you see an incorrect currency displayed, for example $ instead of your local currency such as Euro or £. Check the locale by scrolling to the end of the page  and selecting a different country / region.

When the Credit card has been saved, use to purchase the support incident. As stated in the workflow "You will be charged immediately. This transaction is subject to the Microsoft Services Agreement." To change your settings, go to account.microsoft.com.

Note: Pay Per Incident is not currently available for an AAD sign-in, please use an MSA Sign-in eg Outlook.com for Pay Per Incident (In the workflow click Learn more)

4. Select the severity of the issue based on the business impact and if you will work during business hours only.

As a guideline

Severity A – you are prepared to work 24 hours a day 7 days a week and you have a critical business down production server, service or application

Severity B – you will work during business hours only and the issue has the potential to cause a company-wide work stoppage or you cannot deploy on schedule

Severity C - you will work during business hours only and the issue will not cause a major company-wide work stoppage
Note: the Business hours are based on the browser country eg en-us is United States. Scroll to the end of the page and if your country is not listed, select the nearest country with the relevant language

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5. You have the option to add multiple contacts to the support request and change the primary contact.

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6. Review the support request.

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7. Click change to modify any items (eg Change the primary contact, severity).

8. Click Submit to create your request.

Note: “Upload your files” allows you to add or remove files at any time.

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9. Click View my support requests to see request that you have submitted.

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10. Click the Title to view your request.

11. You have the option to Manage files, add New messages or view communications related to your request and add / change the primary contact.

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• Azure Support Plans
• Microsoft Advanced Support for Partners
• Office 365 Help for partners
• How to Activate your Partner Features
• CSP report problem on behalf of a customer  
• MPN Partner support N-1 policy for on-premises products
• Online submission “These contracts cannot be used with” error message
• My benefits and activities
• Microsoft Partner Network technical benefits summary
• Using Technical Presales Assistance and Deployment Services
• Microsoft Partner Network Support contract activation and Access ID in Partner Center
• MPN Support contract 30 day extension
• Missing a support plan or An error occurred / Add Contract fails
• Professional Support (pay-per-incident) support plans are not available for Azure Active Directory accounts

Contact Microsoft Partner Support