Recently we performed an email migration for a client, and while the migration itself went smoothly, we notices that some of the Outlook desktop clients had difficulties connecting to the newly migrated email accounts. Our experts went through a lengthy troubleshooting process and were able to resolve the issue. There is a lot of info scattered around the Internet about this specific problems, but we weren’t able to find a concise step-by-step guide. So our team decided to write one, in the hope that it will help another company in the future.
Are you having trouble adding an email account that has been migrated from another Microsoft 365 tenant to Outlook on your Windows 10/11 desktop? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. This issue can be frustrating, but there are steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve the problem.
At first, we tried starting a new Mail Profile in Windows which didn’t work. We also tried to reset the credentials in Credential Manager, and used the Microsoft SARA tool to troubleshoot Outlook and “fix it.” We even used the SARA tool to uninstall and reinstall Office on the computer. It didn’t work. We then tried changing a few registry keys according to Microsoft documentation, specifically: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/troubleshoot/profiles-and-accounts/cannot-connect-web-service-not-working-migrated-to-office-365 . None of these steps worked.
Then, we came across an article that suggested deleting registry keys pointing to the old account from Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity\Identities{specific Identity on the computer} and restarting Outlook. This step didn’t work because the registry key would be rewritten every time Outlook started.
However, this made us think about the location of the registry keys, and we decided to look at HKEY_USERS, specifically Computer\HKEY_USERS{User ID}\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity\Identities. We deleted the same keys from this location, restarted the computer and Outlook, and tried to add the account again in Outlook. This time, Outlook asked for a password! But it was stuck in this state and asked for the password repeatedly, so we closed Outlook and removed the keys from HKEY_USERS again. After restarting the computer, we tried to add a new profile in Windows (using Control Panel -> Mail), and this time it worked. We were finally able to open Outlook, and the email started showing up correctly!
In summary, if you’re struggling to add an email account that has been migrated from another Microsoft 365 tenant to Outlook on your Windows 10/11 desktop, try the following steps:
1. Start a new Mail Profile in Windows.
2. Change the registry keys as per Microsoft documentation.
3. Reset credentials in Credential Manager.
4. Uninstall and reinstall Office on your laptop.
5. Use the Microsoft SARA tool to troubleshoot Outlook.
6. Delete registry keys pointing to the old account from Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity\Identities{specific Identity on the computer}.
7. Delete the same keys from Computer\HKEY_USERS{User ID}\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity\Identities.
8. Restart your computer and try to add a new profile in Windows (using Control Panel -> Mail).
With these troubleshooting steps, you should be able to successfully add your migrated email account to Outlook on your Windows 10/11 desktop.