Forum Discussion
Ron Ron
Dec 22, 2023Brass Contributor
User mailbox without license doesn't get deleted.
I was wondering how long it would take for a mailbox to get deleted when no valid license is assigned to the user.
So I created a test user with a mailbox, but without a valid Exchange license and started waiting, checking almost every week if the mailbox still existed.
I've done this since June 2nd, and today the mailbox is still there: More than 6 months later.
We are a community college with about 20,000 students, with a fluctuation of about 4,000 students leaving us every year after graduation. After the legal retention policy the user account is deleted, so the mailbox get's deleted after all.
But I'm still wondering why a mailbox without license doesn't get deleted automatically?
Could it be that we are using a Exchange Hybrid environment and use ADConnect to sync the accounts, so Exchange Online doesn't know if it's allowed to delete the mailbox?
I'm curious what your ideas are in this matter.
- Gavi43Copper Contributor
In a hybrid Exchange environment with ADConnect, the lack of automatic mailbox deletion for unlicensed users could be due to the hybrid configuration.
Exchange Online may rely on local ADConnect synchronization, which might delay or prevent automatic mailbox deletion without a valid license.- Ron RonBrass ContributorThat was what I also was thinking but it's nowhere to be found that this is the standard operating procedure.
- Depending on how the mailbox was provisioned, there's an up 30 days grace period. In addition, any mailbox put on hold or subject to M365 retention policy will be kept for the duration of the hold, regardless of any license assignments.
- Ron RonBrass ContributorI know that there is a 30 day grace period, but already wrote: "and today the mailbox is still there: More than 6 months later."
And it is only a mailbox for test purposes, so no reason to put the mailbox on hold.