Releasing a domain before a Microsoft 365 contract ends

If you want to cancel your Microsoft 365 product with IONOS, but continue using your associated domain for other email services (such as Mail Business) or for Microsoft 365 with another provider, you must release the domain before the cancellation takes effect. This article will show you how to do this.

Caution

Once your Microsoft 365 contract has completely ended, you will no longer have access to user management. Therefore, be sure to complete these steps while your contract is still active.

Note

When using Microsoft 365, your domain will be connected with Microsoft. Unless you remove this connection, you cannot use this domain with another Microsoft 365 provider. The use of Mail Business or Mail Basic is also initially blocked. You have to delete both the users at IONOS and the aliases at Microsoft.

Log in to your IONOS account.
Click on Menu > Microsoft 365 in the title bar. If you are also using other IONOS Office products, then click on Menu > Office and then select the Microsoft 365 tile.
Next to the desired user in the Actions column, click the three dots. A selection list will open.

Option A: Delete user.

Proceed to the next step if you want to delete the user. If you want to keep the user for another use, skip to step 7.
Select Delete user in the drop-down menu. A message box opens.
If you are sure you want to delete the user, click on Delete user. This also deletes the user in Microsoft 365 and the data stored in the cloud.

Option B: Keep the user and switch to the Microsoft system domain.

To continue using the user in Microsoft 365 with a different email address, complete the following:
In the user overview, click the three dots next to the desired user in the Actions column.
Select Edit user from the drop-down menu.
Click on the user name row.
Click Select another domain.
Select the domain ending with .onmicrosoft: This is a system domain from Microsoft that was created automatically during setup.
Log into Microsoft 365 and follow the instructions in this Microsoft help article to delete the alias you want to release.

Once you've made these adjustments for all users, your domain is released. You can now let your Microsoft 365 contract expire and use the domain for Mail Business or another provider.