How to Fix Quarantine Preview and Download Errors in Microsoft 365
Question details
Microsoft 365 administrators are unable to preview or download quarantined messages due to operation and object reference errors.
- Product
- Microsoft 365
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Administrators attempting to manage, preview, or download multiple quarantined emails in the Microsoft 365 Defender portal.
- Observed behavior
- The system fails to display or download the messages, instead returning operation errors and object reference errors.
Ensure you have the Global Administrator role in your Microsoft 365 tenant, as standard administrative permissions may sometimes cause portal access issues.
Verify Access with Another Global Administrator
Determine if the issue is isolated to your specific user account or if it is a tenant-wide problem.
Browser cache issues, session timeouts, or localized permission glitches can sometimes trigger object reference errors. Testing with an alternate administrator account helps isolate the root cause.
Find another user within your organization who currently holds active Global Administrator credentials.
Ask the other administrator to log into the Microsoft 365 Defender portal using their own account.
Have them go to 'Email & Collaboration' in the left menu, select 'Review', and then click on 'Quarantine'.
Instruct them to select multiple quarantined messages and attempt the preview or download action to see if the same error appears.
Escalate to Microsoft 365 Support
Open a support ticket with Microsoft to investigate potential backend server issues.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why am I getting an object reference error in Microsoft 365 Quarantine?
This error generally indicates a backend synchronization glitch or database failure on Microsoft's servers when the portal attempts to process or retrieve the files for bulk quarantined emails.
Can standard users preview their own quarantined messages without getting this error?
Standard users can typically preview their own quarantined messages from their personal quarantine notification emails if the organization's policies allow it. The bulk preview error usually affects administrators managing tenant-wide queues.
How long does Microsoft 365 keep quarantined messages before deleting them?
By default, Microsoft 365 retains quarantined messages for 15 to 30 days depending on the specific security policy in place. Once this retention period expires, the messages are permanently deleted and cannot be downloaded or previewed.
