How to Disable Exchange Online Archive for a Synced Mailbox
Question details
The user needs to fully disable an archive mailbox in Exchange Online for a mailbox synced from an on-premises Active Directory.
- Product
- Microsoft Exchange Online
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Deprovisioning an archive mailbox after a directory synchronization.
- Observed behavior
- The archive mailbox remains enabled even after changing the msExchRemoteRecipientType attribute from 6 back to 4.
Ensure you have the necessary administrative privileges in your on-premises Active Directory and access to run Azure AD Connect synchronization commands.
Modify msExchRemoteRecipientType Attribute to Deprovision Archive
Correctly set the remote recipient type attribute to deprovision the archive and force an Azure AD sync.
A value of 4 represents a migrated mailbox, while 6 represents a migrated mailbox with an archive provisioned. Simply changing it from 6 to 4 does not trigger the deprovisioning correctly. The value needs to be set to 20 to successfully disable the archive.
Access your on-premises Active Directory where the user account is located.
Locate the synchronized mailbox user, open the Attribute Editor, and change the 'msExchRemoteRecipientType' attribute to 20.
Launch PowerShell as an Administrator on your Azure AD Connect server.
Run the command 'Start-ADSyncSyncCycle -PolicyType Delta' to force a delta synchronization.
Wait several minutes for the sync to complete, then check Exchange Online to confirm the archive mailbox has been disabled.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does msExchRemoteRecipientType value 6 indicate?
A value of 6 indicates that the synchronized user is a migrated mailbox that currently has an archive provisioned in Exchange Online.
Why didn't setting the attribute to 4 disable the archive?
A value of 4 represents a standard migrated mailbox. However, changing it to 4 does not actively trigger the deprovisioning process for an existing archive. Setting the value to 20 is required to force Exchange Online to properly disable the archive.
How long does it take for the archive to be disabled after running the sync?
After running the Azure AD Connect delta synchronization command, it typically takes a few minutes for the changes to replicate and reflect in Exchange Online. Wait several minutes before verifying the mailbox status.
How can I re-enable the archive mailbox later?
To provision the archive again, change the msExchRemoteRecipientType attribute back to 6 in your on-premises Active Directory, and run the Start-ADSyncSyncCycle delta synchronization command again.
