How to connect to MS 365 Admin and Exchange via Powershell

If you manage Microsoft 365, you will typically use two PowerShell modules:

• Exchange Online PowerShell (ExchangeOnlineManagement) for mail, recipients, transport rules, and mailbox settings.
• Microsoft Graph PowerShell (Microsoft.Graph) for broader Microsoft 365 and Entra ID administration (users, groups, licensing, devices, and more).

This guide shows the exact commands to get connected, plus a detailed breakdown of what each command does.

Prerequisites

• Use an account with the required admin roles (Exchange Admin, Global Admin, or delegated roles as appropriate).
• Modern authentication is used, and MFA is supported.
• Run these commands in an elevated PowerShell window only if your environment requires it. In most cases, -Scope CurrentUser avoids needing admin rights.

List of Commands

# 1) Session-only execution policy (does not persist)
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy Bypass

# 2) Exchange Online module install + load
Install-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement -Scope CurrentUser
Import-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement

# 3) Microsoft Graph module install (general Microsoft 365 admin tasks)
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph -Scope CurrentUser

# 4) Connect to Exchange Online
Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName [email protected]

Optional (recommended) if you also want to connect to Microsoft 365 via Graph PowerShell:

 #5) Connects to Microsoft 365 via Microsoft Graph
Connect-MgGraph

Command-by-command breakdown

1) Set a session-only execution policy

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy Bypass

What it does

• Temporarily changes PowerShell execution rules for the current PowerShell process only.
• Bypass means execution policy restrictions will not block scripts in this one session.

Why it matters

• Some environments have restrictive execution policies that can interfere with module installation or loading.
• Using -Scope Process is the safest approach for a quickstart because it does not permanently change your system. Close the PowerShell window and the setting resets.

Key parameters

• -Scope Process: affects only the current PowerShell window.
• -ExecutionPolicy Bypass: disables enforcement of execution policy restrictions for this session.

2) Install the Exchange Online PowerShell module

Install-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement -Scope CurrentUser

What it does

• Downloads and installs Microsoft’s supported Exchange Online PowerShell module from the PowerShell Gallery.
• This module provides Connect-ExchangeOnline and Exchange Online cmdlets used for day-to-day administration.

Why it matters

• If this module is not installed, Exchange Online connection and management commands will not be available.

Key parameters

• Install-Module: installs a module from a repository (typically PSGallery).
• ExchangeOnlineManagement: the module name.
• -Scope CurrentUser: installs to your user profile so you usually do not need local admin rights.

What you might see

• A prompt to trust the PowerShell Gallery repository the first time you install a module.
• A prompt to install or update the NuGet provider if it is missing.

3) Load the Exchange module into the current session

Import-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement

What it does

• Loads the module into memory for the current PowerShell session, making its cmdlets immediately available.

Why it matters

• PowerShell can auto-load modules, but it is not always reliable in locked-down environments.
• Importing explicitly makes your documentation consistent and repeatable.

Quick verification

• Confirm the command exists after import:

Get-Command Connect-ExchangeOnline

4) Install Microsoft Graph PowerShell (Microsoft 365 admin tasks)

Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph -Scope CurrentUser

What it does

• Installs the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK, which provides cmdlets for Microsoft 365 and Entra ID administration.
• The Graph SDK covers users, groups, licensing, applications, devices, and many other services exposed through Microsoft Graph.

Why it matters

• Exchange cmdlets manage Exchange Online, but they do not cover everything in Microsoft 365.
• Graph cmdlets are the standard way to automate many modern Microsoft 365 admin tasks.

Key parameters

• -Name Microsoft.Graph: installs the main Graph module package (Graph is split into many submodules behind the scenes).
• -Scope CurrentUser: installs to your profile without requiring admin rights.

Important note

• Installing Graph does not automatically connect you to your tenant. You still run Connect-MgGraph to authenticate.

5) Connect to Exchange Online

Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName [email protected]

What it does

• Authenticates to Exchange Online using modern authentication and establishes a session so Exchange cmdlets can run against your tenant.
• Supports MFA and modern sign-in flows.

Why it matters

• This is the actual “connect” step for Exchange Online administration.

Key parameters

• -UserPrincipalName: the user principal name (UPN) used to sign in, often an email-style login.

Behind the scenes (high level)

• The module obtains an authentication token for Exchange Online.
• A management session is established so cmdlets can query and update tenant configuration.

Quick verification

• Run a simple command to confirm you are connected:

Get-EXOMailbox -ResultSize 1

Optional: Connect to Microsoft 365 with Graph PowerShell

If your goal includes “Microsoft 365 admin” tasks like managing users, groups, or licenses, connect to Graph as well:

Connect-MgGraph

In many environments, you should request the least privilege scopes required for what you are doing. Example:

Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.Read.All","Group.Read.All"

After connecting, you can run Graph commands such as:

Get-MgUser -Top 5
Get-MgGroup -Top 5

Disconnect when finished

Disconnecting is a good habit, especially if you work across multiple tenants or admin contexts.

Disconnect-ExchangeOnline
Disconnect-MgGraph

Troubleshooting tips

• Repository trust prompt: If prompted to trust the PSGallery repository, choose Yes to continue module installation.
• Command not found: Close and reopen PowerShell, then run Import-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement again.
• Access denied or insufficient privileges: Confirm your account has the necessary Microsoft 365 roles for the tasks you are attempting.