What is Microsoft 365 and What Are DNS Records For?
Microsoft 365 is a powerful cloud-based productivity suite from Microsoft that includes familiar tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. It also provides robust email hosting through Exchange Online.
If you manage your website and domain through a control panel like Plesk, and you want to use Microsoft 365 for your email, you'll need to set up DNS records correctly.
What Are DNS Records?
Think of DNS records as a digital phonebook. They tell the internet where to send things like email for your domain. If you want Microsoft 365 to handle your email, you need to add specific DNS records in Plesk that point email traffic to Microsoft’s servers.
How to Set Up Microsoft 365 DNS Records in Plesk (for Sticky Hosting clients)
Follow these simple steps to configure your DNS settings and start using Microsoft 365 email with your domain.
✅ Step 1: Log in to Plesk
-
Visit your Plesk login page at
yourdomain.com:8443 -
Enter your username and password.
✅ Step 2: Access DNS Settings
-
Click on the "Websites & Domains" tab.
-
Select your domain name.
-
Click "DNS Settings".
✅ Step 3: Add the Required Microsoft 365 DNS Records
You’ll need to add or update the following records:
MX Record (Mail Exchange)
-
Record Type: MX
-
Mail Domain: (leave blank)
-
Mail Server:
yourdomain-com.mail.protection.outlook.com -
Priority:
0
TXT Record (Domain Verification)
-
Record Type: TXT
-
Domain Name: yourdomain.com
-
TXT Value: (Enter the verification code from Microsoft 365 Admin Center)
CNAME Record (Autodiscover)
-
Record Type: CNAME
-
Domain Name:
autodiscover -
Canonical Name:
autodiscover.outlook.com
SRV Record (Outlook Autodiscover)
-
Record Type: SRV
-
Service:
_autodiscover -
Protocol:
_tcp -
Port:
443 -
Target:
autodiscover.outlook.com -
Priority:
100 -
Weight:
1
✅ Step 4: Save Your Changes
Click "OK" to save all the new DNS records.
✅ Step 5: Verify DNS Propagation
DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate. You can check your configuration via the Microsoft 365 Admin Center or DNS checking tools like MXToolbox or DNS Checker.
