On January 5, 2018, I announced that Visual Studio Team Services will no longer allow creation of new MSA users with custom domain names backed by AzureAD.  While most customers agree with the direction of this change, I got clear feedback that they could not connect their VSTS to AzureAD by the March 31 deadline.  Based on this feedback, we are changing our tactics and extending the deadline to the end of September.

PLEASE NOTE: VSTS will continue to work the way it does today and current users will never lose access. The only restriction starting in October will be on the creation of new MSA users; existing users will continue to have access to VSTS.

From talking to hundreds of customers going through this process, we have heard clear feedback that customers see this as a Microsoft problem, not something specific to VSTS.  They’re looking for Microsoft to provide a clear path to not only change the way users login to VSTS but to ensure their complete developer ecosystem stays intact including access to their VS and Azure subscriptions.  We have updated our documentation to provide clearer guidance on how you can continue to access these as well as migrate them to an AzureAD identity if you so choose.

We are extending the deadline to allow administrators to move to AzureAD by the end of September, at which time no new MSAs can be created with custom domain names backed by AzureAD.  We are also working on a new technical solution that will allow new users to sign into VSTS with their AzureAD identity while existing users continue to sign in with their MSA identity.  I will post more about this once we have a firm plan in place.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued use and support of VSTS.

Thank you,

Justin Marks, Principal PM, VSTS Identity