Get support for Microsoft 365 for business

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Need to speak to someone right away? Admins have your account details ready when you call Support.

Start by checking the current health of your services. You can view detailed information about current and past issues on the Service health dashboard. If you're experiencing an issue that isn't listed, you can get support in one of the following ways:

Save time by starting your service request online. We can help you find a solution or connect you to technical support.

1. Go to the admin center at https://admin.cloud.microsoft. If you get a message that says you don't have permission to access this page or perform this action, you aren't an admin. For more information, see Who has admin permissions in my business?.
2. On the bottom right side of the page, select Help & support.
3. Type a question or keyword into the text box. If you get a drop-down list, select the one closest to your question, or continue typing your question, then press Enter.
4. If the results don't help, at the bottom, select Contact Support.
5. Enter a description of your issue, confirm your contact number and email address, select your preferred contact method, and then select Contact me. The expected wait time is indicated in the Contact support pane.

In most countries/regions, billing support for Microsoft 365 for business products and services is provided in English from 9 AM-5 PM, Monday through Friday. Local language support varies by country/region.

Technical support is provided in English 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and in some cases, in local languages as noted.

Admins have your account details ready when you call.

Get the most out of your subscription with expert advice from small business specialists.

Business Assist for Microsoft 365 is designed for small businesses to give you and your users around-the-clock access to small business specialists as you grow your business, from onboarding to everyday use. To learn more, see Business Assist.

There's a dedicated support team for users who access volume licensing (VL) contracts in the Microsoft 365 admin center. To request support for volume licensing, use the following steps:

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, select Help & support.
2. In the query box, type "manage volume licensing" together with your question to help target your query more accurately. If you see a drop-down list, select the item closest to your question, or continue typing your question, then press Enter.
3. If the results don't help, at the bottom, select Contact Support.
4. Enter a description of your issue, specify the license ID or VL agreement number your issue relates to, confirm your contact number and email address, select your preferred contact method, and then select Contact me.

If you're a volume licensing admin but are unable to access the admin center, you can create an online support request.

With every subscription of Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet, 21Vianet support provides technical, presales, billing, and subscription support. Support is available both online through the Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet portal, and by telephone for both paid and trial subscriptions.

Authorized administrators can use the Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet portal to submit service requests online and access support telephone numbers. For instructions, see Contact support.

The Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet technical support team troubleshoots only those issues that are related to Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet. Issues that originate in customer networks fall outside of the Microsoft 365 support boundaries, and in these cases, customers must work with their networking team for assistance.

Self-service support is available for all Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet users, and includes troubleshooting tools and videos, help articles and videos, as well as forums and wikis in the Microsoft 365 community. For more self-help resources, see Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet.

Presales support for Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet provides assistance on subscription features and benefits, plan comparisons, pricing and licensing, and helps to identify the right solution to meet your business needs. In addition, presales support can help you find a Partner, and purchase and sign up for a trial. You can call during local business hours, Monday through Friday. Presales support can be accessed using the same phone number as with technical support. For instructions, see Contact support.

Assistance for billing and subscription management issues is available online or by telephone during China business hours (Beijing Time), Monday through Friday. Billing and subscription management support can be accessed using the same phone number and online service request process as with technical support. The support telephone number can be found on the Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet portal. For instructions, see Contact support.

Here are some examples of billing and subscription management issues:

• Signing up for a trial or purchasing a subscription
• Converting from a trial subscription to a paid subscription
• Understanding the bill
• Renewing a subscription
• Adding or removing licenses
• Canceling a paid subscription

Technical support for Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet subscriptions provides assistance with basic installation, setup, and general technical usage. Some examples of these issues are listed in the following table.

21Vianet assigns a severity level to a case when it's opened, based on an assessment of the issue type and customer impact. Examples of issue types and severity levels are shown in the following table.

Initial response time is based on the severity levels described in Technical support case handling. 21Vianet customer service team follows up with investigation and customer communication in reasonable rhythm according to severity levels. 21Vianet also expect customer to collaborate at reasonable level accordingly.

¹ If the customer can't provide required resource or make response for collaboration with 21Vianet customer support agent investigation in reasonable time, 21Vianet support team might lower down the severity level of a service request.

² Severity A is only available to customers who signed an advanced online service agreement with 21Vianet through a sales account manager. Severity A is available only for technical support. For billing and subscription management support, the highest severity level is B.

Severity A: 24*7 continuous service

Severity B/C: 9:00 ~24:00 (Beijing Time) a day, 365 days.

Save time by starting your service request online. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center, then select Support > New service request.

Call support. If you encounter any problem with online request, phone support is available at (86) 400-089-0365.

21Vianet understands that receiving timely technical support from qualified professionals is a key aspect of cloud services. Equally important is the critical role that the customer's IT department plays in the support of its users.

People with administrator roles are the only ones in the customer's organization authorized to access the Admin section of the Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet portal and to communicate directly with 21Vianet about Microsoft 365 service requests.

With Microsoft 365, you can designate several types of administrators who serve different functions. This service description uses the generic title administrator to refer to all categories of administrators. For more information about the types of administrator roles, see Assign admin roles in Microsoft 365 for business.

The administrator is:

• Responsible for service administration and account maintenance.
• The primary contact that sets up and supports each service user.
• Authorized to submit service requests to 21Vianet.

The administrator's role is to:

• Provide user account setup and configuration to allow users access to the services.
• Address client connectivity, client software, and mobility installation issues.
• Address service availability issues within the customer's organizational span of control.
• Use self-service support resources to resolve support issues.

The administrator is expected to provide initial assistance for the customer's users. However, if the administrator is unable to resolve issues with the help of self-service support resources, they should Contact support.

21Vianet's support role is to:

• Troubleshoot and provide technical guidance for customer issues and escalations.
• Gather and validate information related to specific service requests.
• Provide issue coordination and resolution management.
• Maintain communication with the administrators to help ensure that issues are addressed on an ongoing basis.
• Provide assistance with licensing, invoicing, and subscription inquiries.
• Provide assistance with purchasing and trial inquiries.
• Continually gather customer feedback on how to improve the service through surveys.

To view feature availability across Microsoft 365 plans, see Microsoft 365 Service Description.

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