Transfer My Email from GoDaddy to Microsoft

Question

GoDaddy has completely screwed up my eMail account that is actually an Office365 account that does some alias thing for my email and it interferes with my real Office365 Family account that uses the same email as my login. At times it won't let me log in and right now Outlook does not work but the webmail does. I just want my email removed from GoDaddy and handled by Microsoft. Any suggestions? Any help from the Microsoft team?

Thanks,
Brad

Answer 1

Hello,

If you purchased an email from GoDaddy, it is a custom domain email address, right?

GoDaddy is basically a reseller of Microsoft commercial products. Even if you leave them and set it up with Microsoft directly, your email address is still a commercial account; Microsoft calls it a work/school account.

Because Microsoft's consumer and commercial products are from two separate ecosystems. It is not best practice to use a commercial email address for consumer subscriptions/products like Microsoft or Office 365 personal/family. So, the real issue is not because of GoDaddy, but you just simply cannot use a commercial email address for your Microsoft 365 personal.

To make sure your Microsoft 365 personal works properly, you should give it a proper alias. Can you sign into your personal account via this link: https://account.live.com?

If so, go to Your Info > Sign in preference, Add an alias.

You have two options here:

Create new: this will allow you to use the native domain outlook.com to create a new alias.

Add existing: this will allow you to add a 3rd party email address, such as yahoo, gmail, as long as they are not already associated with another Microsoft account.

Once added, make this new alias your primary alias, then you can delete the other email as alias, and that email is free from this Microsoft account instantly.

Answer 2

To move mail handling from GoDaddy to Microsoft and stop the GoDaddy “alias” setup from interfering, the supported path is to defederate from GoDaddy and then use Microsoft 365 directly.

1. Follow GoDaddy’s defederation/move-away process
   • The Microsoft 365 tenant is currently federated/managed through GoDaddy. To break that relationship cleanly, use GoDaddy’s official process to move Microsoft 365 email away from GoDaddy.
   • Microsoft directs admins to GoDaddy’s own guide for this: see Move my Microsoft 365 email away from GoDaddy referenced from the Microsoft article on defederation.
   • This process is required so that sign-in and mail routing are no longer controlled by GoDaddy’s integration.
2. Coordinate DNS and migration timing
   • As part of moving away from GoDaddy’s Microsoft 365, DNS records (MX, Autodiscover, etc.) must be updated to point directly to the target Microsoft 365 tenant instead of GoDaddy’s configuration.
   • When migrating with GoDaddy tools (for example, when moving from Gmail or other services), the documented flow is:
     1. Verify the domain via TXT record.
     2. Provide account passwords to the migration partner (SkyKick) via the secure link they send.
     3. Download and run Outlook Migration Assistant (Windows only) if applicable.
     4. Change DNS on the chosen migration day so new mail flows to Microsoft 365.
     5. Allow a 48‑hour window post‑migration for final sync and monitoring.
   • When leaving GoDaddy, a similar DNS cutover is required: once DNS points to the desired Microsoft 365 tenant, Outlook and other clients should be configured directly against that tenant instead of GoDaddy.
3. If the domain itself came from Microsoft (Outlook.com Premium scenario)
   • If the custom domain was originally obtained from Microsoft via Outlook.com Premium, ownership must be transferred to GoDaddy first, then used with Microsoft 365:
     1. Sign in to the premium features section of Outlook.com.
     2. Use the Transfer your domain tab to unlock and transfer the domain to GoDaddy.
     3. Complete the transfer purchase at GoDaddy.
     4. Buy a Microsoft 365 subscription and then manage the domain from the personalized email section in Outlook.com.
   • If the domain was purchased from another registrar and only connected to Outlook.com Premium, simply purchasing Microsoft 365 and managing the domain from Outlook.com premium features is enough, as long as DNS remains correctly configured.
4. Get direct Microsoft 365 support once GoDaddy is out of the loop
   • After defederation and DNS cutover, sign-in and mail flow are handled directly by Microsoft 365, not GoDaddy.
   • For tenant-level issues (sign-in conflicts, alias conflicts between a GoDaddy‑provisioned tenant and a Microsoft 365 Family account), use the Microsoft 365 admin center → Help & Support → Contact support to have Microsoft support review and correct tenant/account configuration once GoDaddy’s federation is removed.
5. Important notes
   • Microsoft and GoDaddy do not support using unofficial third‑party steps or sites for defederation; doing so can break sign‑in to SharePoint, mailbox access, or other Microsoft 365 services.
   • If any part of the GoDaddy-managed tenant is still active (DNS, federation, or licenses), it can continue to interfere with sign-in and Outlook configuration, so the defederation/move-away process must be completed end‑to‑end.

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References:

• Defederation Process for Microsoft 365 Admins Using GoDaddy
• Migrate Gmail to Microsoft 365 or Office 365 using GoDaddy
• Premium features in Outlook.com have changed