AutoDiscovery is not working on MAC - Outlook app connected using EWS protocol

Question

• MAC OS Outlook app version - 16.96.2 (25042730)
• Device type and OS version: MAC OS
• Exchange environment: EWS server
• Specific issue: AutoDiscover fails
• Steps already tried:
  Configured DNS A record & DNS CNAME records. Using the Microsoft Connectivity Analyser able to successfully achieve Auto-discover. Below is the screenshot attached for successful discovery through the analyser.
  But the Autodiscovery fails from the Outlook app on MAC OS. Below are the request responses received for the Autodiscovery attempt from the app:
  Request: https://AutodiscoveryURL?services=office365,outlook,google,icloud,yahoo,yahoo.co.jp&protocols=all&timeout=30
  Response:
  { "email": "******@domain.com", "services": [], "protocols": [ { "protocol": "imap", "hostname": "domain.com", "port": 993, "encryption": "ssl", "validated": false }, { "protocol": "smtp", "hostname": "domain.com", "port": 465, "encryption": "ssl", "validated": false }, { "protocol": "pop3", "hostname": "domain.com", "port": 995, "encryption": "ssl", "validated": false } ] } Please help us identify if any configuration is missing or if any additional steps are to be followed so that Autodiscovery is working correctly with the Outlook Mobile app.

Answer 1

Hi Preshita Agrawal,

Welcome to our forum!

Please Check the following configuration first:

1. Ensure EWS is properly enabled on your Exchange server;
2. Verify virtual directories are correctly configured in IIS;
3. Check authentication methods - Outlook for Mac typically requires Basic authentication for AutoDiscover;
4. Test with a different client (like native Mail app) to isolate the issue.

Meanwhile, here are some steps you may take:

1. Verify AutoDiscover URL Format

Ensure your AutoDiscover URL follows the exact pattern:

https://autodiscover.yourdomain.com/autodiscover/autodiscover.xml

(Replace "yourdomain.com" with your actual domain)

2__. Check SSL Certificate__

• The certificate must be valid and trusted by macOS
• Must cover both your mail domain (mail.domain.com) and autodiscover.domain.com
• Must be issued by a trusted CA (not self-signed unless explicitly trusted on the Mac)

3. Examine AutoDiscover Response

The proper EWS response should include something like:

{

  "Protocol": "ews",

  "Server": "mail.domain.com",

  "ServerDN": "...",

  "ServerVersion": "...",

  "MdbDN": "...",

  "ASUrl": "https://mail.domain.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx",

  "OABUrl": "https://mail.domain.com/OAB/...",

  "EwsUrl": "https://mail.domain.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx"

}

If AutoDiscover continues to fail, you can manually configure the EWS server in Outlook:

1. Go to Outlook > Preferences > Accounts
2. Select your account
3. Click "Advanced" and enter the EWS server URL manually

Hope it helps.

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