How do I transition MS365 subscription/account with GoDaddy to direct with MS?

Question

I have MS365 Premium with GoDaddy, attached to my domain email. GoDaddy has my domain. I have a personal MS365 account. Both are about to expire so it's a good time to move out from under GoDaddy.

How do I move the domain email and cancel the godaddy ms365 and then set it up with MS directly?

1. GoDaddy has my domain email and some, but not much, content under my MS365 account (onedrive, outlook). I could manually move out what I need to save if the data will be deleted when I 'leave' GoDaddy. I have already turned off auto-renew.
2. I have a personal MS365 under my yahoo.com email. That has a LOT of data. I'm actually OK to keep this as the constant home base and upgrade it to premium, but I need the domain email/MS to get out from under GoDaddy.
3. I use outlook for email and calendar, and all the other apps, etc.

Answer 1

To transition your Microsoft 365 subscription from GoDaddy to a direct subscription with Microsoft, follow these detailed steps:

1. Backup Your Data: Before making any changes, ensure you back up all essential data from your GoDaddy Microsoft 365 account. This includes:
   • OneDrive: Sync your OneDrive files to your computer. You can use the OneDrive sync client to download all files.
   • Outlook: Export your emails, contacts, and calendar items from Outlook. You can do this by creating a .pst file. Instructions for exporting can be found in the Microsoft support documentation.
2. Set Up a New Microsoft 365 Subscription: Sign up for a new Microsoft 365 subscription directly with Microsoft. Choose the plan that fits your needs, such as the Premium plan. Make sure to use a different company name than your existing GoDaddy subscription to avoid conflicts.
3. Remove Domain from GoDaddy: Once your new subscription is active, you need to remove your custom domain from your GoDaddy Microsoft 365 account. To do this:
   • Log in to your GoDaddy account.
   • Navigate to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
   • Follow the required steps to remove the domain, ensuring that all email addresses associated with that domain are updated to avoid service interruptions. This may involve removing DNS records for email and other services.
4. Add Domain to New Subscription: After successfully removing the domain from GoDaddy, you can add it to your new Microsoft 365 subscription:
   • Log in to your new Microsoft 365 admin center.
   • Go to the Domains section and add your custom domain.
   • Follow the prompts to verify ownership of the domain, which may involve updating DNS records.
5. Transfer Data: After setting up your domain in the new account, you can transfer your data:
   • Emails: Users can access their old emails using their initial usernames and can move their emails to the new account by importing the .pst file created earlier.
   • OneDrive: Upload the files you synced to your computer back into your new OneDrive account.
   • Outlook: Set up Outlook with your new Microsoft 365 account and import the .pst file to restore your emails, contacts, and calendar items.
6. Test the New Setup: Ensure that all services are working correctly in your new Microsoft 365 subscription. Check that email is functioning, and all data has been transferred successfully.
7. Cancel GoDaddy Subscription: Once you're confident that everything is working in your new subscription, you can cancel your Microsoft 365 subscription with GoDaddy. Make sure to contact GoDaddy support if you need assistance with the cancellation process.
8. Upgrade Personal Account (Optional): If you want to keep your personal Microsoft 365 account as a base, you can upgrade it to a premium plan after ensuring that your domain email is set up correctly in your new subscription.

By following these steps, you can successfully transition your Microsoft 365 subscription from GoDaddy to a direct subscription with Microsoft while ensuring that your data remains intact and accessible.