Connect or restore a deleted mailbox in Exchange Server

  • Article
  • 7 minutes to read

When you lot delete a mailbox, Commutation retains the mailbox in the mailbox database and switches the mailbox to a disabled state. The associated Agile Directory user account is as well deleted. The mailbox is retained until the deleted mailbox retentiveness period expires, which is 30 days by default, and then it'south permanently deleted (or purged) from the mailbox database.

Until a deleted mailbox is permanently deleted from the Exchange mailbox database, you lot tin apply the EAC or the Exchange Management Shell to connect information technology to an Active Directory user business relationship. You tin also apply the Exchange Direction Shell to restore the contents of the deleted mailbox to an existing mailbox.

To learn more about disconnected mailboxes and perform other related management tasks, see the following topics:

  • Disconnected mailboxes

  • Disable or delete a mailbox in Exchange Server

  • Connect a disabled mailbox

  • Permanently delete a mailbox

What practice yous need to know before you begin?

  • Estimated fourth dimension to consummate: 2 minutes.

  • To open the EAC, see Commutation admin centre in Commutation Server. To open up the Exchange Direction Shell, meet Open the Exchange Management Shell.

  • Create a new user account in Active Directory to connect the deleted mailbox to. Or utilise the Go-User cmdlet in the Substitution Management Shell to verify that the Agile Directory user business relationship that y'all want to connect the deleted mailbox to exists and that it isn't already associated with another mailbox. To connect a deleted mailbox to a user account, the business relationship must exist and the value for the RecipientType property has to be User, which indicates that the business relationship isn't already mailbox-enabled.

    For on-premises Exchange organizations, you can likewise verify this information in Active Directory Users and Computers.

    Of import

    When you connect deleted linked mailboxes, resources mailboxes, or shared mailboxes, the Active Directory user account that you're connecting the mailbox to must exist disabled.

  • To verify that the deleted mailbox that yous want to connect a user account to exists in the mailbox database and isn't a soft-deleted mailbox, run the following command:

                      Get-MailboxDatabase | foreach {Get-MailboxStatistics -Database $_.name} | where {$_.DisplayName -eq "<display name>"} | Format-List DisplayName,Database,DisconnectReason

    The deleted mailbox has to be in the mailbox database and the value for the DisconnectReason belongings has to be Disabled. If the mailbox has been purged from the database, the command won't return any results.

  • You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this process or procedures. To see what permissions y'all need, come across the "Recipient Provisioning Permissions" department in the Recipients Permissions topic.

  • For data about keyboard shortcuts that may apply to the procedures in this topic, see Keyboard shortcuts in the Substitution admin centre.

  • Having problems? Ask for aid in the Substitution forums. Visit the forums at: Commutation Server, Exchange Online, or Exchange Online Protection.

Connect a deleted mailbox

When you connect a deleted mailbox, you acquaintance the mailbox with a user account that isn't postal service-enabled, which ways that it doesn't have an existing mailbox. To connect a deleted mailbox to a user account that has a mailbox, you accept to restore the deleted mailbox. For more data, see Restore a deleted mailbox later on in this topic.

Use the EAC to connect a deleted mailbox

The following procedure shows how to connect a deleted user mailbox to a user account. You lot tin also use this process to connect linked mailboxes, resources mailboxes, and shared mailboxes that accept been deleted to a user account.

  1. In the EAC, get to Recipients > Mailboxes.

  2. Click More More Options icon., and then click Connect a mailbox.

    A listing of mailboxes that are disconnected on the selected Exchange server in your Exchange system will be displayed.

    Annotation

    This list of disconnected mailboxes includes disabled mailboxes, deleted mailboxes, and soft-deleted mailboxes.

  3. Click the deleted mailbox that you want to connect a user to, and then click Connect.

  4. In the window that asks if you're sure that you want to connect the mailbox, click Yep.

    A list of user accounts that aren't postal service-enabled is displayed.

  5. Click the user that yous want to connect the deleted mailbox to, and and then click OK.

    Exchange will connect the deleted mailbox to the user business relationship that you selected.

Use the Exchange Management Shell to connect a deleted mailbox

Utilise the Connect-Mailbox cmdlet in the Substitution Management Shell to connect a deleted mailbox to a user account that isn't mail enabled. You have to specify the type of mailbox that you're connecting. The post-obit examples show the syntax for reconnecting user, linked, room, equipment, and shared mailboxes. In all examples, the optional Alias parameter is used to specify the electronic mail alias, which is the portion of the electronic mail accost on the left side of the at (@) symbol. If you lot don't include the Allonym parameter, the value specified in the User or LinkedMasterAccount parameter is used to create the alias for the email address for the reconnected mailbox.

Note

As previously stated, when you connect linked, resource, or shared mailboxes, the Agile Directory user account that you're linking the mailbox to must be disabled.

This example connects a deleted user mailbox to a user account that isn't mail enabled. The Identity parameter specifies the display name of the deleted mailbox retained in the mailbox database named MBXDB01. The User parameter specifies the Active Directory user account to connect the mailbox to.

              Connect-Mailbox -Identity "Paul Cannon" -Database MBXDB01 -User "Robin Woods" -Alias robinw

Note

You lot can as well use the values for the LegacyDN or MailboxGuid backdrop to place the deleted mailbox.

This example connects a linked mailbox. The Identity parameter specifies the deleted mailbox on the mailbox database named MBXDB02. The LinkedMasterAccount parameter specifies the Agile Directory user account in the account wood that you want to connect the mailbox to. The LinkedDomainController parameter specifies a domain controller in the account forest.

              Connect-Mailbox -Identity "Temp User" -Database MBXDB02 -LinkedDomainController FabrikamDC01 -LinkedMasterAccount danpark@fabrikam.com -Alias dpark

This example connects a room mailbox.

              Connect-Mailbox -Identity "rm2121" -Database "MBXResourceDB" -User "Conference Room 2121" -Allonym ConfRm2121 -Room

This case connects an equipment mailbox.

              Connect-Mailbox -Identity "MotorPool01" -Database "MBXResourceDB" -User "Van01 (12 passengers)" -Alias van01 -Equipment

This instance connects a shared mailbox.

              Connect-Mailbox -Identity "Printer Support" -Database MBXDB01 -User "Corp Printer Support" -Alias corpprint -Shared

Note

You can also use the LegacyDN or MailboxGuid values to identify the deleted mailbox.

For detailed syntax and parameter data, see Connect-Mailbox.

How do you know this worked?

To verify that yous've successfully connected a deleted mailbox to a user business relationship, do one of the following steps:

  • In the EAC, click Recipients, go to the appropriate folio for the mailbox type that you lot connected, click Refresh Refresh icon., and verify that the mailbox is listed.

  • In Active Directory Users and Computers, right-click the user account that you continued to the mailbox, and so click Properties. On the General tab, find that the Electronic mail box is populated with the e-mail accost for the connected mailbox.

  • In the Commutation Direction Shell, run the post-obit command.

                      Go-User <identity>

    The UserMailbox value for the RecipientType property indicates that the user business relationship and the mailbox are connected. You can besides run the Become-Mailbox <identity> control to verify that the mailbox was connected.

Restore a deleted mailbox

You can employ the Exchange Management Beat to restore a deleted mailbox to an existing mailbox using the New-MailboxRestoreRequest cmdlet. When you restore a deleted mailbox, its contents are copied to an existing mailbox, which is referred to as the target mailbox. After a deleted mailbox is restored, it'due south still retained in the mailbox database until it's permanently deleted by an administrator or purged later on the deleted mailbox memory catamenia expires.

After a mailbox restore request is successfully completed, information technology's retained for 30 days, by default, earlier it'south removed. You can remove the mailbox sooner by using the Remove-StoreMailbox cmdlet.

Note

Y'all tin can't use the EAC to restore a deleted mailbox.

Use the Exchange Management Shell to restore a deleted mailbox

To create a mailbox restore request, you lot take to use the display name, legacy distinguished proper name (DN), or mailbox GUID of the deleted mailbox. Employ the Get-MailboxStatistics cmdlet to display the values of the DisplayName, MailboxGuid, and LegacyDN backdrop for the deleted mailbox that yous want to restore. For case, run the following commands to return this information for all disabled and deleted mailboxes in your organization.

              $dbs = Get-MailboxDatabase $dbs | foreach {Become-MailboxStatistics -Database $_.DistinguishedName} | where {$_.DisconnectReason -eq "Disabled"} | Format-Table DisplayName,MailboxGuid,Database,DisconnectDate

This example restores the deleted mailbox, which is identified by the SourceStoreMailbox parameter and is located on the MBXDB01 mailbox database, to the target mailbox Debra Garcia. The AllowLegacyDNMismatch parameter is used so the source mailbox tin can be restored to a dissimilar mailbox, 1 that doesn't accept the aforementioned legacy DN value.

              New-MailboxRestoreRequest -SourceStoreMailbox e4890ee7-79a2-4f94-9569-91e61eac372b -SourceDatabase MBXDB01 -TargetMailbox "Debra Garcia" -AllowLegacyDNMismatch

This example restores Pilar Pinilla's deleted archive mailbox to her electric current annal mailbox. The AllowLegacyDNMismatch parameter isn't necessary because a primary mailbox and its respective archive mailbox have the aforementioned legacy DN.

              New-MailboxRestoreRequest -SourceStoreMailbox "Personal Archive - Pilar Pinilla" -SourceDatabase "MDB01" -TargetMailbox pilarp@contoso.com -TargetIsArchive

For detailed syntax and parameter information, come across New-MailboxRestoreRequest.

How exercise y'all know this worked?

To verify that you've successfully restored a deleted mailbox to the target mailbox, run the Get-MailboxRestoreRequest cmdlet to display information well-nigh the restore request. If the restore request was successfully created, the Status property will take a value of Queued, InProgress, or Completed. After the restore request is completed, the contents from the deleted mailbox volition announced in the target mailbox.

For more information, come across:

  • Manage Mailbox Restore Requests

  • Become-MailboxRestoreRequest

  • Get-MailboxRestoreRequestStatistics