How can I forward mail from an unlicensed Microsoft 365 account?
Asked by
MellowPine42
We recently ended contracts with several former employees and need to remove their Microsoft Exchange licenses. Their old addresses may still receive important messages, so I'd like those messages delivered to another mailbox. Forwarding works while the accounts are licensed, but stops as soon as I remove the licenses. The user accounts and data have not been deleted; only the licenses were removed. What is the best way to keep receiving mail for those addresses without paying for additional licenses?
Answers
The usual approach is to convert each mailbox to a shared mailbox before removing its license. Then grant the appropriate users access to it, or configure forwarding from the shared mailbox. Shared mailboxes generally don’t require a license as long as they remain within Microsoft’s usage limits.
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You can handle this with an Exchange mail-flow rule or another tenant-level routing configuration rather than a mailbox rule. A mailbox-level rule stops working when there’s no longer an Exchange mailbox behind the account, while a transport rule can redirect messages before delivery. Make sure the old address isn’t still assigned as an alias elsewhere.
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Be careful with automatic forwarding of former employees’ mail. Depending on your location and the contents of the messages, privacy and data-protection requirements may apply. Define how long the forwarding or shared mailbox will remain active, restrict access, and document the business reason.
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If you don’t need to preserve the old mailbox contents, remove the former address from the old account and assign it as an alias to another licensed mailbox. Mail sent to that address will then arrive in the recipient’s mailbox. You can also assign the address to a distribution list if several people need to receive the messages.
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