SOLVED

Covert users mailbox to shared mailbox?

Copper Contributor

We are running into a case where we are running out of licenses for user mailboxes. Because of this when a users is suspended pending an investigation we were pulling the license from their mailbox. Well, I found the hard way that after 30 days all emails are deleted. Once the users returns to work and I issue them a license to their mailbox again, they have an empty mailbox. Ooops!

 

Would the solution to this be converting their mailbox into a shared mail, pull the license and convert back once they return again? Would that preserve the emails in the mailbox?  

 

The problem is the company doesn't want to purchase more licenses.

2 Replies
best response confirmed by finsfree (Copper Contributor)
Solution

Hi @finsfree 

 

You are correct - convert the mailbox to a shared mailbox, then remove the licence and the emails will remain. If the person returns, then convert back to a user mailbox and assign a licence.

 

One thing to be wary of is if a mailbox is converted to a shared mailbox and the user account it was associated with is deleted or removed from AzureAD then the mailbox will be deleted - this is because a shared mailbox requires an "anchor" object.  

@HidMov 

 

Thank you for confirming this. I thought there was a way to solve this. 

 

Thanks for the added bonus about deleting a user.

1 best response

Accepted Solutions
best response confirmed by finsfree (Copper Contributor)
Solution

Hi @finsfree 

 

You are correct - convert the mailbox to a shared mailbox, then remove the licence and the emails will remain. If the person returns, then convert back to a user mailbox and assign a licence.

 

One thing to be wary of is if a mailbox is converted to a shared mailbox and the user account it was associated with is deleted or removed from AzureAD then the mailbox will be deleted - this is because a shared mailbox requires an "anchor" object.  

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