M365 Changelog: (Updated) Microsoft Loop app transitioning to the cloud.microsoft domain

MC699714 – Updated March 11, 2024: Microsoft has updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

This post is about the Microsoft Loop app transitioning to the cloud.microsoft domain in the near future. The cloud.microsoft domain was provisioned in early 2023 to provide a unified, trusted, and dedicated DNS domain space to host Microsoft’s first-party authenticated SaaS products and experiences.

When this will happen:

By late April 2024, the Microsoft Loop app will become available at the cloud.microsoft domain, accessible at https://loop.cloud.microsoft. 

How this will affect your organization:

The cloud.microsoft domain has been a part of standard Microsoft network guidance on domains and service endpoints since April 2023. If you are currently following this guidance, this change should not impact users in your organization using the above applications under the new domain. 

Users will be redirected from https://loop.microsoft.com to https://loop.cloud.microsoft automatically. No specific user action is required. Links from the previous domains are backwards compatible and continue to be supported. Users may notice that the new application domain lacks the “.com” extension. This is by design, as “.microsoft” is Microsoft’s own top-level domain – and this exclusivity allows for additional security and protection against spoofing. 

What you need to do to prepare:

• Educate users to recognize and expect cloud.microsoft as a key domain for Microsoft cloud experiences. 
• If your organizational websites, tools, or other materials reference the old URL, those links will be automatically redirected. However, it would be good practice to update those assets to avoid user confusion.
• Admins should ensure that connections to *.cloud.microsoft are not blocked from their clients and enterprise networks. This should require no action if standard Microsoft network guidance on domains and service endpoints is being followed.

Blog