Microsoft 365 Group: How to Add an External User?

Requirement: Add external users to Microsoft 365 group.

How to Add Guest User to Microsoft 365 Group?

One of the great benefits of Microsoft 365 Groups is that you can add external users to the group, allowing them to collaborate on projects or files with everyone in the group. However, adding an external user can be a little tricky if you’re not familiar with the process. If you are a Microsoft 365 administrator, there may be times when you need to add an external user to a group. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through how to add an external user to a Microsoft 365 Group.

Step 1: Enable External Users for Microsoft 365 Groups:

Before adding a guest user to Microsoft 365 Groups, You have to make sure external users are allowed in the Office 365 groups. Here is how to enable external users or guest users for Office 365 groups.

  1. Login to Microsoft 365 admin center
  2. From the left navigation pane, expand Settings >> Click on Org settings.
  3. In the list, click on Microsoft 365 Groups.
  4. Ensure that the Let group owners add people outside your organization to Microsoft 365 Groups as guests and Let guest group members access group content check boxes are both checked.enable guest user access microsoft 365 group
  5. If you made changes, click Save changes.

Once enabled external users for Microsoft 365 groups, adding an external user is a quick and easy process that can be done from within Outlook (Not from the Office 365 admin center!)

Step 2: Add guest user to Microsoft 365 group

Here are the steps for adding a guest to an Office 365 Group:

  1. Sign in to your Office 365 portal, https://www.office.com.
  2. Click the waffle in the top-left corner of your screen >> Go to Outlook.
  3. Expand the “Groups” from the left navigation tree >> Click the Office 365 Group you want to add guest user.microsoft flow add external user to office 365 group
  4. Click the “Add members” link to add one or more guests to the group.add external user to microsoft 365 group
  5. Enter an email address for the guest and press Enter. Add additional guests if necessary, and then click Save. how to add external users to office 365 group

This allows people who are outside your organization to participate in the group. You can add external users by their email addresses. You can add corporate email addresses or Gmail/Yahoo/Outlook/any valid addresses. When you add an external user, they receive an email invitation to join the group. They can then accept the invitation and join the group.

You can also add external users to Microsoft 365 group using PowerShell. Here is my other article: How to Add Members to Office 365 Group using PowerShell?

Salaudeen Rajack

Salaudeen Rajack - Information Technology Expert with Two-decades of hands-on experience, specializing in SharePoint, PowerShell, Microsoft 365, and related products. He has held various positions including SharePoint Architect, Administrator, Developer and consultant, has helped many organizations to implement and optimize SharePoint solutions. Known for his deep technical expertise, He's passionate about sharing the knowledge and insights to help others, through the real-world articles!

3 thoughts on “Microsoft 365 Group: How to Add an External User?

  • Can this be done with contacts instead? Would rather not give a user guest access if I can avoid it. All I want is to add their contact so they can get the group emails.

    Reply
  • What do guests have to do with Groups? Guest users can be added independently of groups and can be assigned permissions outside of groups too.

    Reply
    • Well, Groups simplify the permission hierarchy, So that we don’t have to add each user with specific permissions to the site.

      Reply

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