Comments on: Why Permanent Removal of an Exchange Online Mailbox Can Take Real Effort https://practical365.com/remove-inactive-mailbox/ Practical Office 365 News, Tips, and Tutorials Mon, 12 Dec 2022 20:42:27 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 By: Tony Redmond https://practical365.com/remove-inactive-mailbox/#comment-241734 Tue, 09 Aug 2022 08:52:35 +0000 https://practical365.com/?p=56837#comment-241734 Thank you for the comment. As I developed the text of this article, I found several inconsistencies in the Microsoft documentation around inactive mailboxes and retention periods. The final text of the article was reviewed by the Microsoft engineering lead for compliance in this area. I knew about the change from 183 days to 30 days for ex-inactive mailboxes, but obviously couldn’t say anything until Microsoft made the announcement (as you point out, this is now available). Rereading my text on the point, it’s not as clear as I would like, so I have rewritten a portion and included the information about the change.

One point I will make time after time: don’t depend on Microsoft documentation. Always test to make sure that your experience aligns with what’s reported.

]]> By: Victor S. https://practical365.com/remove-inactive-mailbox/#comment-241722 Tue, 09 Aug 2022 00:17:24 +0000 https://practical365.com/?p=56837#comment-241722 In the “Removing the Mailbox” section, you mentioned that removing the Azure AD account that owns a mailbox either:

– Starts a 183-day countdown after which Exchange Online permanently removes the mailbox.
– Puts the mailbox into an inactive state. …

The first one happens when there are no holds on the mailbox while the second one happens when there are holds on the mailbox. However, the recoverable countdown for the first one is only 30 days, not 183. (See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/delete-an-inactive-mailbox#more-information for details.) Also, Microsoft is changing the recoverable time period on an inactive mailbox when all holds are removed from 183 days to 30 days. This was just announced today in Microsoft 365 Message Center post MC411428. This change is expected to begin in late August and is expected to be complete by the end of September 2022.

]]> By: Tony Redmond https://practical365.com/remove-inactive-mailbox/#comment-240987 Mon, 25 Jul 2022 15:17:33 +0000 https://practical365.com/?p=56837#comment-240987 In reply to Al.

No, once the Azure AD account is soft-deleted, the license is released. The mailbox gets its license through the Azure AD account.

]]> By: Al https://practical365.com/remove-inactive-mailbox/#comment-240986 Mon, 25 Jul 2022 15:08:19 +0000 https://practical365.com/?p=56837#comment-240986 Hi Tony,

Thanks for sharing, but does it mean the license will still be assigned to the user mailbox if it is in a soft-deleted state?

]]>