If Outlook shows “Something went wrong and Outlook couldn’t set up your account” while you add a Microsoft 365 account on a custom domain or an Outlook.com account with a personalized email address, Microsoft identifies a possible cause: the domain’s web server is replying unexpectedly to Outlook’s Autodiscover request. Contact the domain’s web or hosting provider first. Microsoft documents a temporary registry workaround only if the provider cannot resolve the server issue.
What causes this Outlook setup error?
Outlook uses Autodiscover to find an email account’s settings. In the scenario Microsoft documents, a third-party web server responds to a lookup at the domain’s root address with what Outlook interprets as a successful Autodiscover response. Outlook then attempts authentication using protocols advertised in that response, such as POP or IMAP, and account setup fails.
Normally, if the root-domain lookup does not produce a usable response, Outlook can try the domain’s Autodiscover endpoint: https://Autodiscover.<RootDomain>/AutoDiscover/AutoDiscover.xml. The unexpected root-domain response can prevent that discovery process from proceeding as expected. This explanation applies to the custom-domain Microsoft 365 and personalized Outlook.com cases covered by Microsoft Support; it does not establish the cause of every Outlook account setup error.
Ask your domain provider to correct the server response
Microsoft’s recommended fix is to contact the web service provider or website hosting provider for the domain. Ask them to ensure the web server does not respond to Autodiscover requests. This addresses the server behavior that Microsoft describes as causing the failure.
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Use Microsoft’s registry workaround only if the provider cannot fix it
If the provider cannot resolve the issue, Microsoft documents setting one or more Outlook Autodiscover registry values to 1. This changes which discovery methods Outlook uses; it does not correct the server’s response.
Before changing the registry
- Registry edits can affect Outlook behavior. Do not treat this workaround as a permanent fix.
- Use the Office version number that matches your installation: Microsoft maps
16.0to Office 2016, Office 365, and Office 2019, and15.0to Office 2013. - Microsoft lists these locations, depending on whether the setting is applied through the usual user registry location or the policies location:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOfficex.0OutlookAutodiscoverandHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftOfficex.0OutlookAutodiscover.
Apply the workaround
- Open Registry Editor and go to the applicable Outlook
Autodiscoverkey shown above, replacingx.0with your Office version number. - Create or set the applicable DWORD value or values to
1. Microsoft listsExcludeLastKnownGoodUrl,ExcludeHttpsRootDomain, andExcludeSrvRecord. Its description of whatExcludeSrvRecordprevents uses the wording “the HTTPS root domain”; do not assume a different effect from that wording. - Close Registry Editor and restart Outlook.
- Try adding the account again. If needed, create a new Outlook profile and try setup in that profile.
Remove the workaround after the provider fixes the issue
Microsoft warns: “Excluding the HTTPS root domain isn’t a long-term solution for this issue, and we don’t recommend it.” Once your web service or hosting provider resolves the server problem, remove the Outlook registry key you added. The workaround is intended to provide immediate relief, not to remain enabled as a substitute for correcting the server response.
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