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When you delete a mailbox, Exchange retains the mailbox in the mailbox database and switches the mailbox to a disabled state. The associated Active Directory user account is also deleted. The mailbox is retained until the deleted mailbox retention period expires, which is 30 days by default, and then it's permanently deleted (or purged) from the mailbox database.
Recover Deleted Mailbox from Exchange 2016 Using OWA. Microsoft Outlook or OWA users can restore the deleted items from Deleted Items Folder. They just have to right click on the folder and choose Recover Deleted Items option. After that, they can select individual items and restore them to their appropriate folders.
Until a deleted mailbox is permanently deleted from the Exchange mailbox database, you can use the EAC or the Exchange Management Shell to connect it to an Active Directory user account. You can also use the Exchange Management 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:
What do you need to know before you begin?
- Estimated time to complete: 2 minutes.
- To open the EAC, see Exchange admin center in Exchange Server. To open the Exchange Management Shell, see Open the Exchange Management Shell.
- Create a new user account in Active Directory to connect the deleted mailbox to. Or use the Get-User cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell to verify that the Active Directory user account that you 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 account must exist and the value for the RecipientType property has to be
User
, which indicates that the account isn't already mailbox-enabled.For on-premises Exchange organizations, you can also verify this information in Active Directory Users and Computers.ImportantWhen you connect deleted linked mailboxes, resource mailboxes, or shared mailboxes, the Active Directory user account that you're connecting the mailbox to must be disabled. - To verify that the deleted mailbox that you want to connect a user account to exists in the mailbox database and isn't a soft-deleted mailbox, run the following command:The deleted mailbox has to exist in the mailbox database and the value for the DisconnectReason property 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 procedure or procedures. To see what permissions you need, see the 'Recipient Provisioning Permissions' section in the Recipients Permissions topic.
- For information about keyboard shortcuts that may apply to the procedures in this topic, see Keyboard shortcuts in the Exchange admin center.
- Having problems? Ask for help in the Exchange forums. Visit the forums at: Exchange Server, Exchange Online, or Exchange Online Protection.
Connect a deleted mailbox
When you connect a deleted mailbox, you associate the mailbox with a user account that isn't mail-enabled, which means that it doesn't have an existing mailbox. To connect a deleted mailbox to a user account that has a mailbox, you have to restore the deleted mailbox. For more information, see Restore a deleted mailbox later 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 can also use this procedure to connect linked mailboxes, resource mailboxes, and shared mailboxes that have been deleted to a user account.
- In the EAC, go to Recipients > Mailboxes.
- Click More , and then click Connect a mailbox.A list of mailboxes that are disconnected on the selected Exchange server in your Exchange organization will be displayed.NoteThis list of disconnected mailboxes includes disabled mailboxes, deleted mailboxes, and soft-deleted mailboxes.
- Click the deleted mailbox that you want to connect a user to, and then click Connect.
- In the window that asks if you're sure that you want to connect the mailbox, click Yes.A list of user accounts that aren't mail-enabled is displayed.
- Click the user that you want to connect the deleted mailbox to, and then click OK.Exchange will connect the deleted mailbox to the user account that you selected.
Use the Exchange Management Shell to connect a deleted mailbox
Use the Connect-Mailbox cmdlet in the Exchange 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 following 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 email alias, which is the portion of the email address on the left side of the at (@) symbol. If you don't include the Alias 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 Active 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.
Note
You can also use the values for the
LegacyDN
or MailboxGuid
properties to identify 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 Active Directory user account in the account forest that you want to connect the mailbox to. The LinkedDomainController parameter specifies a domain controller in the account forest.
This example connects a room mailbox.
This example connects an equipment mailbox.
This example connects a shared mailbox.
Note
You can also use the
LegacyDN
or MailboxGuid
values to identify the deleted mailbox.For detailed syntax and parameter information, see Connect-Mailbox.
How do you know this worked?
To verify that you've successfully connected a deleted mailbox to a user account, do one of the following steps:
- In the EAC, click Recipients, go to the appropriate page for the mailbox type that you connected, click Refresh , and verify that the mailbox is listed.
- In Active Directory Users and Computers, right-click the user account that you connected to the mailbox, and then click Properties. On the General tab, notice that the E-mail box is populated with the email address for the connected mailbox.
- In the Exchange Management Shell, run the following command.The UserMailbox value for the RecipientType property indicates that the user account and the mailbox are connected. You can also run the Get-Mailbox <identity> command to verify that the mailbox was connected.
Restore a deleted mailbox
You can use the Exchange Management Shell 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's still retained in the mailbox database until it's permanently deleted by an administrator or purged after the deleted mailbox retention period expires.
After a mailbox restore request is successfully completed, it's retained for 30 days, by default, before it's removed. You can remove the mailbox sooner by using the Remove-StoreMailbox cmdlet.
Note
You 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 have to use the display name, legacy distinguished name (DN), or mailbox GUID of the deleted mailbox. Use the Get-MailboxStatistics cmdlet to display the values of the
DisplayName
, MailboxGuid
, and LegacyDN
properties for the deleted mailbox that you want to restore. For example, run the following commands to return this information for all disabled and deleted mailboxes in your organization.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 can be restored to a different mailbox, one that doesn't have the same legacy DN value.
This example restores Pilar Pinilla's deleted archive mailbox to her current archive mailbox. The AllowLegacyDNMismatch parameter isn't necessary because a primary mailbox and its corresponding archive mailbox have the same legacy DN.
For detailed syntax and parameter information, see New-MailboxRestoreRequest.
How do you 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 about the restore request. If the restore request was successfully created, the Status property will have a value of
Queued
, InProgress
, or Completed
. After the restore request is completed, the contents from the deleted mailbox will appear in the target mailbox.For more information, see:
Jaspreet Singh Devgan | August 11th, 2017 | Data Recovery
Users may accidentally delete their important items from the Exchange mailbox and once they realize that what they did. Their next task is to look for some reliable data recovery procedures using which they can retrieve their deleted mailbox from Exchange Server. The users who are familiar with Exchange might know that there are several ways to extract deleted mailbox items. The deleted mailbox items remain in the database just for 14 days. So, users can recover deleted mailbox from Exchange 2016 by making a user object and then connecting the user to the disconnected mailbox during the time interval of 14 days.
Approaches to Retrieve Mailbox in Exchange 2016
- Recover items via Exchange Management Shell
- Retrieve mailbox using Outlook Web Access (OWA)
- Recover deleted mailbox & its items using a third party tool
Recover Deleted Mailbox from Exchange 2016 Using OWA
Microsoft Outlook or OWA users can restore the deleted items from Deleted Items Folder. They just have to right click on the folder and choose Recover Deleted Items option. After that, they can select individual items and restore them to their appropriate folders.
Note – If users select Purge or Purge Selected Items option then those items will be deleted permanently and the mailbox items cannot be retrieved using manual methods.
Retrieve Disconnected or Deleted Mailbox
Before initiating the recovery process, it is important to mention that only one user can connect to the mailbox because Global Unique Identifiers should be unique.
1. Find the Mailbox Store in the Exchange Server manager which incorporates all the disconnected mailboxes.
2. Now, under Mailbox Store, click on Mailboxes to locate all the deleted or disconnected mailboxes.
3. After that, search for a mailbox and verify that it is not disconnected.
4. Right click on Mailboxes and choose Cleanup Agent. Now, choose the disconnected mailboxes which are to be recovered and click on Reconnect. Select the user account to which the mailbox is to be connected and then click on OK.
2. Now, under Mailbox Store, click on Mailboxes to locate all the deleted or disconnected mailboxes.
3. After that, search for a mailbox and verify that it is not disconnected.
4. Right click on Mailboxes and choose Cleanup Agent. Now, choose the disconnected mailboxes which are to be recovered and click on Reconnect. Select the user account to which the mailbox is to be connected and then click on OK.
How Exchange Server Manages Deleted Items
Exchange stores the deleted items in the Deleted Items Folder for a duration of 30 days. When the time period surpasses the 30 days limit then those items are removed from the folder and then those files are stored in the database for 14 days. So, it provides overall 45 days to recover deleted mailbox from Exchange 2016 if the user wants to. After this period, it is quite impossible to extract deleted items in Exchange 2016.
Users can manually configure the lost items retention settings for mailbox items to an extended term.
1. Open Exchange Admin Center (EAC) and click on Servers from feature panel.
2. Now, select the desired database tab and select a DB.
3. Next, Click on Pencil icon or double click on the DB name to edit the settings.
4. Click on Limits option and alter the limit of days from “keep deleted items for (days)” which is set 14 by default.
2. Now, select the desired database tab and select a DB.
3. Next, Click on Pencil icon or double click on the DB name to edit the settings.
4. Click on Limits option and alter the limit of days from “keep deleted items for (days)” which is set 14 by default.
Restore Deleted Mailbox Items from Exchange 2016
The email retention period can also be extended using Exchange Management Shell. It is explained in the following steps:
To Restore Single User Mailbox – If a user wants to keep the deleted mailbox items for XYZ user for 30 days. Then implement the following command:
“Set-Mailbox-identity “XYZ” -RetainDeletedItemsFor 30”
To Restore Multiple User Mailboxes – To retain deleted data for the period of 30 days for all user mailboxes within the organization. Execute the following command:
“Get-Mailbox-ResultSize Unlimited -Filter {(RecipientTypeDetails -eq’UserMailbox’)} | Set-Mailbox -RetainDeletedItemsFor 30”
After performing the above-mentioned commands, the retention period of the deleted items is extended. Users can then retrieve deleted data within this defined duration. However, all the manual methods are so complex and demand so much concentration. So, these commands should be implemented carefully as there are probabilities of data loss.
Trouble Free Solution
In the above section, we have discussed manual methods but these methods have some limitations. So, to overcome those limitations it is suggested to use an automated solution i.e. Exchange Mailbox Recovery Tool to perform recovery. The tool ensures that no data will be harmed while recovering deleted data.
Conclusion
Now, users know the manual solutions to recover deleted mailbox from Exchange 2016. They can use those methods whenever required but one thing which is to be kept in mind is that these steps require technical knowledge. If users are not confident enough to implement the manual methods then they can go for the automated solution to make the recovery process simple and efficient.