Outlook defaults to Microsoft 365 version: Wrong domain Logging into Outlook on the Web (also known as OWA), I get the login page (shown below) and can log in fine without an error. The challenge (I would not say problem as it has a workaround) is that when you have entered your credentials as I mentioned above and Outlook opens, you will notice it shows your domain like instead of Do you see what happened here? Your credentials were accepted, but it took you to your Office 365 mailbox and not your on-premises Exchange 2016 mailbox. You will also notice there was no auto-discover popup to accept and then tick the box to not remind you again. What I have found is if a customer moves to a hosted Exchange 2016/2019 solution but does not have an Office 365 tenant, you do not experience the challenge above. Your account sets up with the correct mailbox on Exchange 2016, and you get the auto-discover record popup. I have also seen this error when customers migrate from on-premises Exchange - it can be 2007 or 2010 - to a hosted platform on Exchange 2016 or 2019 using MigrationWiz. The workaround that you can put in place to get the Outlook 2013/2016/2019 profile to set up with the correct mailbox is to add a host file entry to the local hosts file on an end-user’s machine. To do this, you need to first launch Notepad from the Start Menu or the shortcut you have pinned to the Taskbar.
You must do this with elevated permission, as you cannot edit files in a standard Notepad window that reside in the Windows directory.
HOW TO TELL WHAT OUTLOOK VERSION I HAVE WINDOWS You should have a window, as shown below: Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc and open the “hosts” file, as shown below:Ĭlick the open button to open up the hosts file. Your hosts file should now look like this: We now need to add the following entry to the hosts file: This is a straightforward hosts file without modification. When you start with a new Outlook profile, you should now be presented with options under “advanced” with the option to select Exchange. You can now enter your email and password, and then your account setup should go through and your Outlook client will show your on-premises mailbox.
One caveat: f you are an admin and look after customer Office 365 tenants and you make use of the portal a lot, you will not be able to use the Exchange Admin Center because you pointed it to your loopback adapter in the hosts file to set up your account. Now go back to the web page and click the reload button and then you should see the Exchange Admin Center: If you forget to remove the entry and if you try to manage the Exchange Admin Center, then this is what you will be presented with:ĭon’t panic and log a call with Microsoft to say you cannot manage your environment! Here’s what you do to fix this: Let’s go back to our Notepad, where we had the hosts file open and simply put a # hash in front of that entry we created and then save the file again. This is the classic Exchange Admin Center. HOW TO TELL WHAT OUTLOOK VERSION I HAVE WINDOWS.