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Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 work published on AdminSignal: Exchange Online SMTP AUTH retirement, admin-centre MFA readiness, and Conditional Access policy mapping for the same cutover.
9 published articles in this reading list
Mail flow and admin access are the current published work
The live Microsoft 365 articles on this site cover SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication retirement, mandatory MFA for the admin centre, and Conditional Access policy mapping. They are operational playbooks, not a SharePoint, Teams, or licensing catalogue.
Inventory senders before you close the protocol
Printers, scanners, report servers, and stored-credential Exchange Online scripts fail independently of user MFA. Collect the SMTP AUTH Clients report and Entra sign-in evidence before changing tenant or mailbox controls.
Treat break-glass as part of the MFA project
Admin MFA readiness is incomplete if emergency access accounts, security defaults, and Conditional Access exclusions are still undecided. Locking out the only remaining admin role is a change-control failure, not a security win.
How to use these articles
Start with the SMTP AUTH inventory if printers, scanners, or stored-credential scripts still send mail. Use the admin-centre MFA guide before you close the last password-only admin path. Use the Conditional Access map when those two projects change who can reach Exchange Online.
Latest News
Deep-Dive Tutorials
Entra ID Emergency Access Accounts: Break-Glass Design That Survives MFA Lockout
A practical operational guide to Microsoft Entra emergency access accounts: cloud-only design, Conditional Access exclusions, phishing-resistant factors, offline custody, monitoring, quarterly tests, and recovery when admins are locked out.
18 min read · Advanced
Exchange Online SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication 2026 Migration Planning
A practical operational guide for planning Exchange Online SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication and credential-based Exchange Online PowerShell automation migrations, covering inventory, EAC and Entra checks, mailbox and tenant settings, OAuth, High Volume Email, Azure Communication Services Email, relay caveats, app-only PowerShell, managed identity, rollback, and prevention controls.
32 min read · Advanced
Microsoft 365 Admin Centre Mandatory MFA Readiness for Admins
A practical operational guide for Microsoft 365 admin centre mandatory MFA readiness, covering affected admins, break-glass accounts, security defaults, Conditional Access, per-user MFA, phishing-resistant methods, Graph PowerShell audits, sign-in checks, service-style admin accounts, Phase 2 tooling impact, safe rollout, and recovery planning.
22 min read · Advanced
Configuring Conditional Access for a Microsoft 365 Tenant: The Complete Policy Map
A policy-by-policy walkthrough of building a Conditional Access baseline for Microsoft 365, from MFA requirements and compliant device enforcement to emergency access accounts.
22 min read · Advanced
Troubleshooting Guides
Intune Company Portal Stuck or Enrollment Not Completing: Practical Diagnosis
A practical troubleshooting guide for Company Portal hangs and incomplete MDM enrollment on Windows, covering Entra join state, licensing, automatic enrollment, Conditional Access catch-22s, logs, safe retry, and prevention.
16 min read · Intermediate
Windows Autopilot Device Not Importing: Hardware Hash CSV, Duplicate Records, and Profile Assignment
A practical troubleshooting guide for Windows Autopilot import failures, covering hardware hash collection, CSV validation, duplicate records, tenant permissions, Intune Connector checks, deployment profile assignment, dynamic groups, Graph, safe retry, and recovery.
22 min read · Intermediate
Intune Device Not Syncing: Last Check-in Stale, Sync Button Not Helping, or Policies Not Arriving
A practical troubleshooting guide for Windows devices that stop syncing with Intune, covering portal checks, MDM enrolment state, Company Portal, scheduled tasks, event logs, registry evidence, IME health, network issues, Entra device objects, Graph checks, safe retry, and recovery.
21 min read · Intermediate
Microsoft Entra Dynamic Group Not Updating: Users, Devices, and Intune Assignments
A practical troubleshooting guide for Microsoft Entra dynamic groups that do not update, including rule syntax, user and device attributes, Graph checks, processing delays, Intune assignment impact, Autopilot targeting, stale device objects, and safe recovery.
20 min read · Intermediate