How to Change SharePoint Domain in Microsoft 365 Without Downtime

Changing the SharePoint domain in Microsoft 365 lets you update the .sharepoint.com URL across your tenant, mainly due to rebranding the business. This guide outlines how to change SharePoint domain without disruption.

Here I’ll explain:

• Can You Change Office 365 SharePoint Domain?
• Key Considerations Before Changing SharePoint Domain
• How to Change Domain Step-by-Step
• When Changing SharePoint Domain Requires Full Data Migration
• What Changes & What Doesn’t
• Limitations I Encountered
• Do Old SharePoint URLs Still Work?
• Best Practices Before Renaming
• Author’s Verdict
• Here are Some Recently Asked User Queries

Can You Change Office 365 SharePoint Domain?

Yes, you can change your SharePoint Online domain name. Microsoft introduced this capability in 2021, and it allows you to update the domain part of SharePoint and OneDrive URLs, specifically the *.onmicrosoft.com part.

For example:

You can only do this once per Microsoft 365 tenant, and the process has some strict limitations. This infographic explains the complete concept concisely:

How to Change SharePoint Domain – Key Considerations

Before moving to the solution, I carefully reviewed these important considerations:

• The rename applies only to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business.
• The process can only be done once per Microsoft 365 tenant.
• Only the .onmicrosoft.com domain can be changed; you cannot use a custom domain.
• The rename can take several hours or longer, depending on the tenant size.
• Need to be the Global Administrator in the Microsoft 365 tenant to initiate the rename.
• Some features, like Microsoft Teams URLs, won’t be affected.

These are all the points that are essential to keep in mind. Now, let’s learn how to proceed in the next section.

How to Change Office 365 SharePoint Domain in Microsoft 365 Step-by-Step

Here are the answers to how to change SharePoint domain:

#Step 1. Check Tenant Eligibility

To begin, I confirmed whether my tenant was eligible for a domain rename by running this PowerShell command:

If the result is Allow, it means you could proceed.

#Step 2. Set Up PowerShell for SharePoint Online

I installed the SharePoint Online PowerShell module:

Then, I connected to my SharePoint Admin Center:

If you are facing issues related to the same, then read this guide, Connect-SPOService: Could Not Connect to SharePoint Online, to resolve.

#Step 3. Schedule the Rename

Once connected, I started to change Office 365 SharePoint domain using the following command

I scheduled the rename during non-business hours to minimise impact on users.

#Step 4. Monitor Rename Progress

To change SharePoint domain, I monitored the status of the rename using:

It returned one of the following statuses: Queued, In Progress, Complete, or Error.

To see detailed site-level progress or issues:

#Step 5. Post-Rename Actions

After the rename was complete, I made sure to:

• Inform users of the new URLs
• Resync OneDrive clients
• Update internal links, documentation, scripts, and workflows
• Verify that Power Automate flows and Power Apps were still functioning correctly
• Test external sharing links

When Changing SharePoint Domain Requires Full Data Migration

It’s important to understand that the SharePoint domain rename feature in Microsoft 365 only applies to your existing tenant’s .onmicrosoft.com domain. But if you’re changing to a completely different domain, for example, technical.sharepoint.com to forensics.sharepoint.com under a new tenant, Microsoft’s native rename option won’t work.

In this scenario, you’re not just renaming, you’re moving to a new environment altogether.

That’s where I used the Professional SharePoint Migration Solution to change SharePoint domain between tenants.

Here’s how it helped:

• I migrated documents, libraries, lists, sites, and subsites from the old domain to the new one.
• All permissions, version history, metadata, and site structure were preserved during migration.
• The tool supported domain-to-domain transfer.
• It also handled bulk migrations and user mappings efficiently, reducing downtime.

So, if you’re changing your SharePoint domain as part of a SharePoint tenant to tenant migration, you must migrate the data manually or using an automated solution. Here’s how:

• Step 1. Run the tool, and mark both Microsoft 365 options, as shown below.

• Step 2. Now, scroll down and select the Sites option. Opt for the Date Filter option if you need to move specific data.

• Step 3. Provide the proper Admin credentials, i.e., Email ID & Application ID. Hit Validate. You have to do this for the target platform also.

• Step 4. Now, load the source users via Fetch Users & Sites.

• Step 5. Press the Start Migration button

What Changes & What Doesn’t Change Office 365 SharePoint Domain

Changes Automatically:

• All SharePoint site URLs
• OneDrive personal URLs
• Admin portal URLs

Doesn’t Change:

• Microsoft Teams links
• Email addresses
• Custom domain URLs
• Azure AD identifiers

Limitations I Encountered

Here are some limitations I had to consider seriously while trying to change SharePoint domain:

• Only one domain rename is allowed per tenant.
• Users had to manually resync OneDrive clients.
• The new domain must be unique across Microsoft’s entire cloud.
• I couldn’t rename the domain to a custom domain like mycompany.com.
• PowerApps and Flows require reconfiguration if they use hardcoded URLs.

Do Old SharePoint URLs Still Work?

Yes. All old SharePoint and OneDrive links redirect to the new URLs automatically. Microsoft maintains these redirects indefinitely for now, but I still updated my major documentation and public links to reflect the new domain.

Best Practices Before Renaming

Here are a few key tips:

• Communicate early with users about what to expect
• Run the rename outside of business hours
• Backup SharePoint Online to local storage
• Review and test all automations and workflows

Author’s Verdict

Today, I explained how to change SharePoint domain step by step. I shared my tested solutions, i.e. PowerShell, and automated. You can opt for any of them without any doubt to change Office 365 SharePoint domain, as both are effective and have been tried by me.

Here are Some Recently Asked User Queries

1. 1. Can I use a custom domain like mycompany.com instead of onmicrosoft.com?
      No, you can only use Microsoft-provided domains like newdomain.onmicrosoft.com.
   2. Will users need to resync OneDrive?
      Yes. OneDrive will stop syncing after the domain change and must be reconnected.
   3. Can this be undone?
      No. The change is permanent. Microsoft allows only one rename per tenant.
   4. Do Microsoft Teams URLs change, too?
      No. Teams URLs and other Microsoft 365 workloads are not affected by this rename.