Forum Discussion
alexplattfuss
Nov 18, 2021Copper Contributor
Deleting a user is broken
Deleting a user and assigning their Exchange mailbox doesn't delete them any more. The previous/expected process: Delete user in Office365 Admin Center Convert their mailbox to shared and assign...
alexplattfuss
Nov 18, 2021Copper Contributor
"Basically go to Active users for a licensed user with a mailbox, and then un the user flyout select Delete user. Then on the next page with options, you get an option to "Give another user access to (user you are deleting) mailbox. You get a guided experience which would allow you to essentially "move" the mailbox ownership to another account." This part works, the user that you nominate gets access to the shared mailbox, however the would-be deleted user doens't get moved to "Deleted Users", which is not the expected behaviour. What this also means is you can't use the "restore user" action to undo it all. It also means that you can go through the "Delete User" function infinite times, which can't be correct! "I do not think it is right though that it would do it in a way that would result in no account; yes, the account is disabled for logon and the mailbox is 'delegated' to another person by giving them full rights. But the user account is still needed, and if deleted, that mailbox would "go away"." Yes, I agree with this, and I believe that's why the "Deleted User" section exists; it keeps the user and "anchors" the mailbox (if I'm using that term correctly), then after it has been in that state for 30 days, they are fully deleted, including the shared mailbox. I'm not sure if I got this across clearly before, but if I delete a user and do not convert their mailbox, they go directly to the "Deleted Users" section to be removed in 30 days. This is how it used to work for ALL users, converted mailbox or not. This is why it's so frustrating because it used to work but is now broken for some reason.
VasilMichev
Nov 19, 2021MVP
I've never been a fan of this wizard, so I might be missing some detail on how things worked previously, but the bottom line here is that you need the user account. The only way you can end up with a mailbox without a user account is when the Inactive mailboxes functionality is involved, or generally speaking the mailbox is on hold.
- alexplattfussNov 21, 2021Copper ContributorNo problem, I believe I can fill in the gaps. It appeared to keep the user and mailbox attached but just in a different state for 30 days before deleting both. What it's doing now is keeping the user as fully active (just unlicenced) which obviously issues, because I'm not even sure the user will be deleted at the end of the 30 days.