(1) Getting started setting up Microsoft Azure Tenant

To get started with creating your own Microsoft Azure Tenant for free, I will be showing a step by step on how to get started with this.

This post will cover with setting up in the following:

- Setting up Microsoft Developer Tenant

- Setting up a hosted domain

- Adding a domain to the tenant

What are the benefits of using a Microsoft Developer Tenant?

- It initally starts with a 3 month free subscription (it automatically renews up to 12 months free)

- 25 Microsoft E5 licenses

Setting up Microsoft Developer Tenant:

1. Create a developer tenant using this link: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/dev-program

2. If you have an existing Microsoft account, you can use that, if not create a new Microsoft account that ends with @hotmail.com or @outlook.com. You will be prompted to enter your login details (that includes your first and last name).

3. Go back to the Developer Portal: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/dev-program then select Sign In. Run through the setup process.

4. Wait up to 10 minutes or more, and it will load straight to the Microsoft 365 Developer Program. Select "Go to subscription"

Setting up a hosted domain:

1. Search for free domain hosting sites.

2. I have setup using Google Domains which is set for a 1 year subscription. If you have plans to use it long term like I do, https://domains.google.com/

Adding a domain to the tenant:

1. Log into Office 365 Admin Portal: https://portal.office.com/AdminPortal/#/homepage

2. Select Setup on the left hand column, then select "Guided Setup"

3. You can ignore the Install Office and proceed with "Continue"

4. Under Add domain, enter the domain name, for this: soetunedevice.com

5. Select "Add a TXT record to the domain's DNS records"

6. Going back to the hosted domain, where mine is Google Domains, enter the required details and hit "Save"

7. Under Verify you own this domain, select "Verify"

8. Now it's time to add some users and assign licenses, enter the required first name, lastname and usernames.

9. The option is available to share the "Sign-in" information (optional)

10. Optional for the next few prompts, as this is a how to guide. For this I have skipped added DNS records for Exchange and Exchange Online Protection, including Microsoft Teams.

11. Now Setup is Complete.

12. Under Microsoft 365 Admin Center, selecting Active Users, you will find the list of users created in Step 8.