Send & Receive Issues

Fix Shared Mailbox Messages Arriving When Forwarding Is Disabled

Huda Qurayshi Oct 22, 2026 868 views

Question details

A user needs to completely stop unwanted emails forwarding from a shared mailbox to a personal inbox after standard methods fail.

How to Fix Shared Mailbox Messages Still Arriving Despite Forwarding Being Disabled

Product: Exchange Online / Microsoft 365
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: An administrator is attempting to stop messages from a former employee's shared mailbox from being routed to another user.
Observed behavior: Messages from the shared mailbox continue to arrive in the user's inbox even though the forwarding option appears completely disabled in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Before you start

Ensure you have Exchange Administrator permissions in your Microsoft 365 tenant and that the Exchange Online PowerShell module is installed on your computer.

Solution 1Recommended

Clear Forwarding Properties via Exchange Online PowerShell

The Microsoft 365 Admin Center UI may not always reflect hidden SMTP forwarding addresses. Using PowerShell ensures all forwarding attributes are completely cleared.

Sometimes an email forwarding configuration remains active in the backend even if the visual toggle in the admin center says 'Off'. The surest way to remove these phantom forwards is by using Exchange Online PowerShell to clear both the ForwardingAddress and ForwardingSmtpAddress parameters simultaneously.

Connect to Exchange Online

Open PowerShell as an administrator and connect to your Exchange Online environment by running the command: Connect-ExchangeOnline.

Execute the Mailbox Command

Run the following command to strip away the hidden configurations: Set-Mailbox <MailboxIdentity> -ForwardingAddress $null -ForwardingSmtpAddress $null (replace <MailboxIdentity> with the actual shared mailbox address).

Verify the Changes

Confirm the settings have been wiped by running: Get-Mailbox <MailboxIdentity> | select ForwardingAddress, ForwardingSmtpAddress. Both fields should now return empty.

Clear Forwarding Properties via Exchange Online PowerShell

Command Executed: Clearing both of these properties forcefully overrides the GUI settings and resolves most hidden forwarding issues in Microsoft 365.

Solution 2

Investigate Inbox Rules, Transport Rules, and Delegates

If PowerShell confirms that server-level forwarding is turned off but messages still arrive, other routing configurations might be redirecting the mail.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the Microsoft 365 admin center show forwarding as disabled when it is actually active?

The admin center interface primarily checks the 'ForwardingAddress' property. Sometimes, a forwarding rule is set via the 'ForwardingSmtpAddress' property instead, which may only be visible and editable through Exchange Online PowerShell.

Can a regular user disable forwarding on a shared mailbox?

A regular user with Full Access permissions might be able to disable standard inbox rules via Outlook on the web. However, if forwarding was set at the mailbox level by an admin, only an Exchange Administrator can remove it using PowerShell or the Admin Center.

What is the difference between ForwardingAddress and ForwardingSmtpAddress in Exchange?

The 'ForwardingAddress' property typically points to a recipient object within your Exchange organization (like a contact or another mailbox), while 'ForwardingSmtpAddress' is specifically used to forward emails to an external email address outside your organization.

Outlook & Email Problems