Microsoft 365 Lighthouse frequently asked questions (FAQs)

This article contains answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Microsoft 365 Lighthouse.

If you can't find an answer to your question, let us know by leaving a comment and we'll add it to this article.

What is Microsoft 365 Lighthouse?

Microsoft 365 Lighthouse is an admin portal that helps Managed Service Providers (MSPs) secure and manage devices, data, and users at scale for small- and medium-sized business (SMB) customers. Lighthouse simplifies onboarding of tenants by recommending security configuration baselines tailored to SMBs and providing multi-tenant views across all customer environments. For more information, see Overview of Microsoft 365 Lighthouse.

What's the difference between Microsoft 365 Lighthouse and Azure Lighthouse?

Microsoft 365 Lighthouse is focused on Microsoft 365 services rather than Azure services. While Azure Lighthouse is built into the Azure portal and allows IT partners to manage multiple tenants for Azure, Microsoft 365 Lighthouse is a standalone portal that helps MSPs manage multiple Microsoft 365 customer tenants. For more information about Microsoft 365 Lighthouse, see Overview of Microsoft 365 Lighthouse. For more information about Azure Lighthouse, see What is Azure Lighthouse?

How much does Microsoft 365 Lighthouse cost?

No additional costs are associated with using Lighthouse to manage multiple Microsoft 365 customer tenants. Lighthouse is available to MSPs servicing small- to medium-sized businesses and who have a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) relationship with their customers. Note that indirect providers aren't currently supported by Lighthouse. For more information, see Requirements for Microsoft 365 Lighthouse.

What are the requirements to use Microsoft 365 Lighthouse?

For a list of current requirements, see Requirements for Microsoft 365 Lighthouse.

In which countries and regions is Microsoft 365 Lighthouse available?

Lighthouse is available in all countries where Microsoft 365 is available, except China and Palestinian Authority. However, features in Lighthouse such as device management and threat management rely on Microsoft Intune, and user management relies on Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), and Intune and Azure AD may not be available in certain countries and regions. For a complete list of Microsoft 365, Azure AD, and Intune availability, see International availability.

Lighthouse is not available in national clouds.

How do I sign up for Microsoft 365 Lighthouse?

To sign up for Lighthouse, you'll need to be registered with the CSP program. We're currently unable to support indirect providers. For instructions on how to sign up, see Sign up for Microsoft 365 Lighthouse. To learn more about the CSP program, see the Cloud Solution Provider program overview.

I finished signing up, so why don't I see any customer tenant data?

It can take up to 48 hours for customer tenant data to load within Lighthouse. If it's been more than 48 hours since you completed onboarding, reach out to our Support team for help. You'll need to let them know when you completed onboarding and provide any relevant screenshots and logs. For more information, see Get help and support for Microsoft 365 Lighthouse.

Why do I see data for some customer tenants but not others?

For customer tenant data to show up in Lighthouse, MSPs must establish delegated access to manage the customer tenant. Either Granular Delegated Admin Privileges (GDAP) plus an indirect reseller relationship or a Delegated Admin Privileges (DAP) relationship is required to onboard customers to Lighthouse. We recommend establishing GDAP with your customers to enable more secure delegated access. If DAP and GDAP coexist in a customer tenant, GDAP permissions take precedence for MSP technicians in GDAP-enabled security groups. Coming soon, customers with GDAP-only relationships (without indirect reseller relationships) will be able to onboard to Lighthouse. For more information on delegated access, see Request a reseller relationship with a customer in Partner Center. Tenants also must have at least one Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, Windows 365 Business, or Microsoft Defender for Business license and no more than 2500 licensed users in their tenant. For more information, see Requirements for Microsoft 365 Lighthouse and Overview of the Tenants page in Microsoft 365 Lighthouse.

If GDAP is established with the customer, an MSP technician must be in a GDAP-enabled security group that is assigned the appropriate roles to be able to manage that customer's data in Lighthouse. GDAP roles assigned to that security group impact which customer data can be managed within Lighthouse. See Overview of permissions in Microsoft 365 Lighthouse for details on which delegated and partner tenant roles are recommended to use Lighthouse. For instructions on how to view which GDAP roles have been assigned to you for different customer tenants in Lighthouse, see View your Azure Active Directory roles in Microsoft 365 Lighthouse.

What if I don't want to see certain tenants in Microsoft 365 Lighthouse?

If you don't want to see certain tenants and their data in Lighthouse, you can inactivate those tenants. To inactivate a tenant, follow these steps:

  1. Select Tenants in the left navigation pane to open the Tenants page.
  2. Find the tenant that you want to inactivate, select the three dots (more actions) next to the tenant name, and then select Inactivate tenant.
  3. In the confirmation dialog, select Confirm to inactivate the tenant.

    Note

    Once you inactivate a tenant, you can't take action on the tenant until inactivation is complete. It may take up to 48 hours for inactivation to complete.

To learn more about tenants, see Microsoft 365 Lighthouse tenants page overview.

Will Microsoft 365 Lighthouse work if my customer tenants have other subscriptions besides Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, Windows 365 Business, or Microsoft Defender for Business?

Lighthouse helps you manage customer tenants that have at least one Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, Windows 365 Business, or Microsoft Defender for Business license. Lighthouse capabilities will vary based on the licenses assigned to the user. For example, if a user is missing a license that includes Intune, that user's devices, device compliance status, and threats status will be unavailable; and if a user is missing a license that includes Azure AD P1, that user's password and sign-in management will be unavailable. For more information, see Requirements for Microsoft 365 Lighthouse.

How do I qualify to manage customer Cloud PCs in Microsoft 365 Lighthouse?

If you meet the requirements to use Lighthouse, then you're qualified to manage customer Cloud PCs in Lighthouse. For a list of current requirements, see Requirements for Microsoft 365 Lighthouse.

Where can I purchase Windows 365 (Cloud PC) licenses for my customers?

You can purchase Windows 365 licenses through all available Microsoft commercial sales channels. One license purchased is equivalent to the purchase of one Cloud PC. Currently, each user can be assigned only one Cloud PC of the same SKU type, but they can be assigned multiple Cloud PCs if they are of different SKU types. To compare Windows 365 plans and pricing, see Get the Windows 365 Cloud PC that’s right for you.

How do I get help and support?

In Lighthouse, select the ? icon at the top of the portal to open the Help pane. From here, select Help + support to access self-help articles or contact support. For more information about help and support options, see Get help and support for Microsoft 365 Lighthouse.

Where can I submit feedback and ideas?

Your feedback matters and is important to us! There are a few different ways for you to submit feedback:

  • Go to the Microsoft 365 Lighthouse Feedback page. You can start conversations about Lighthouse and Windows 365 features, post questions for other partners or Microsoft employees, provide feedback and feature ideas, and more.
  • Select the Feedback icon in the upper-right corner of Lighthouse.
  • Respond to the occasional (not more than once a month) pop-up window in Lighthouse that asks you to provide feedback.