How do I bypass auto-discover and manually configure Outlook 2021 to point to my current Exchange server?

Question

• Brand new desktop computer running Windows 11 home.
• Brand new install of Office Professional Plus 2021, never installed on any machine.
• Microsoft Exchange 2019 server hosted by ionos

When setting up Outlook, the auto-discovery feature is pointing to an old exchange server (that hasn't been used since May of 2012 when I moved from Microsoft Office Live Small Business to IONOS).

I have updated all autodiscover, cname, and dns records on my exchange server with no change in behavior from the auto-discover feature in Outlook on the desktop. OWA works with no problem, as does the email client on my phone (which I configured manually to point to the correct exchange server).

Older versions of Outlook have allowed me to manually configure email set-up, but I cannot find a way to do that with Outlook 2021. When trying to add an account, none of the usual fields to enter the server address, port #, password etc. show up.

I'm at a loss as what to try next.

Answer 1

Hi @Todd Smith ,

I tried deleting and then creating a new Outlook profile in Control Panel,

From the last screenshot you shared above, seems like you selected "Manual setup or additional server types" and choose ExchangeActiveSync, right?

As aforementioned, Exchange accounts can now only be set up through the Auto Account Setup, so please select "Email Account" instead, enter your name, email address and password, click Next:

If this still only sync the old mails back to 2013, add the registry below and then try reconfiguring the mail account again:

Important: Follow the steps in this section carefully. Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Before you modify it, back up the registry for restoration in case problems occur.

1. Open the Registry Editor by typing regedit in the Windows Search or open the run and type regedit.exe.
2. Find this location below in the regedit:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\AutoDiscover
3. Create a DWORD (32-bit) value for ExcludeExplicitO365Endpoint and change the value to “1” to enable it.

By the way, since your new Exchange server 2019 is hosted by IONOS, I'd recommend reaching out to IONOS as well to see if they have seen similar issues or potential solutions.

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Answer 2

To manually configure Outlook 2021 to point to your current Exchange server, follow these steps:

1. Open Outlook and click on the "File" tab.
2. Click on "Add Account".
3. In the "Add an Account" window, select "Manual setup or additional server types" and click "Next".
4. Select "Microsoft Exchange Server or compatible service" and click "Next".
5. In the "Microsoft Exchange Server Settings" window, enter your name, email address, and password.
6. In the "Server" field, enter the name of your Exchange server.
7. Check the box for "Use Cached Exchange Mode" if you want to work offline, and then click "More Settings".
8. In the "Microsoft Exchange" window, click on the "Connection" tab.
9. Check the box for "Connect to Microsoft Exchange using HTTP", and then click on "Exchange Proxy Settings".
10. In the "Exchange Proxy Settings" window, enter the URL for your Exchange server in the "Use this URL to connect to my proxy server for Exchange" field.
11. Check the box for "Only connect to proxy servers that have this principal name in their certificate" and enter "msstd:<your exchange server>" in the field below.
12. Select the authentication method that your Exchange server requires, and then click "OK".
13. Click "Next" and then "Finish" to complete the setup.

If you continue to experience issues with auto-discovery, you can use the Domain Troubleshooting Wizard in Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer to confirm that the records are set up correctly. You can also use the Microsoft 365 Support and Recovery Assistant to diagnose and fix issues with Outlook setup.

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References:

• Outlook can't set up a new profile by using Exchange Autodiscover for an Exchange Online mailbox in Microsoft 365
• A mobile device can't connect to Exchange Online by using Exchange ActiveSync

Answer 3

Hi @Todd Smith ,

Exchange accounts can only be added using the auto account setup through Autodiscover starting from Outlook 2016, so I am afraid it's not feasible to bypass the autodiscover and set up your account manually in Outlook 2021.

When setting up Outlook, the auto-discovery feature is pointing to an old exchange server

Just wondering how you find out that Outlook is pointing to the old Exchange sever. Is there an error prompt or you checked it via the "Test Email Autoconfiguration"? Could you share the output of the Logs tab of the "Test Email Autoconfiguration" after removing all sensitive data like domain name or email addresses?

Is it a domain-joined computer?

Besides, below are some steps which may help for your reference:

1. Flush DNS on the client.
2. Create a new Outlook profile via Control panel and see if it can make any difference.
3. Try creating a local Autodiscover xml file and see if it can work:
   Create a local Autodiscover.XML File
   (Please Note: Since the web site is not hosted by Microsoft, the link may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.)

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