Tag Archives: windows live mail for your domain

Windows Live Domains Migration

windows-live-mail-alternatives

I am writing this post for all those users who were using Windows Live Domains for their Business Emails and are currently facing problems due to their shut down (upgrade to Office 365).
Your business emails are configured on Microsoft Outlook formerly known as Hotmail.
The emails were made on Window Live Domains portal where one could use their own domain and create emails to make email accounts for your domain.

Last year, Microsoft closed the Windows Live Domains portal and migrated all the accounts to Office 365.
Now, all those users who have been using Windows Live Domain and created their business emails using it, they can continue using the emails without any problem. But now, they cannot sign in to the Admin Console, therefore, they cannot create any additional email accounts or even delete the already created ones.
Instead, they shall ask you to upgrade your account to Office 365.
Pricing: here

What is the solution now?
Solution No.1
You can stop using Outlook Emails and shift to some other third party business email providers like Google Apps for Business (recommended if you are willing to spend a little)
Google Apps for Business Pricing: here

Solution No.2
You can ask your website hosting provider to host the emails on the web server itself.
Cost: none (mostly all the website hosting providers give free business emails to configure)

Please note that you’ll lose all your data related to the emails when we’ll be shifting your emails to your web server.
To keep a backup, you can configure the old emails in Outlook Email Client and let it download.
Once, you can see all your emails downloaded, you can begin with the migration process.

In case, you are not able to back up your local computer, you will still be able to access your old emails on outlook.com as you did earlier but the only difference would be that the incoming and outgoing emails would not work.

Outlook.com for your Domain closes free signup

So finally, Microsoft has also made the Free Signup for Custom domains on http://domains.live.com/ paid.

This is what they have on their webpage now (screenshot below):

The most important thing to worry is their following statement:

We will continue to support the ability to log in to Outlook.com with your existing custom domain email address, but in the future, you will no longer be able to add or remove accounts in your domain.

Anyhow, their pricing can be read here but they haven’t informed anything about the migration of the old email account to Office 365 yet.

The most used 3rd party email provider for your domains / business emails was Google apps for Business (http://google.com/a), then Outlook.com (http://domains.live.com). Also zoho mail was providing email setup for your domain for free, but sadly it is also paid now.

So, what are the options left for people who do not wish to use their boring web server’s email? Please give your suggestions or post comments below.

Update added on July 07, 2014
Microsoft has finally announced the Migration Guide http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/migrate-custom-domain