Managing User Mailboxes with PowerShell

Managing user mailboxes in Microsoft Exchange or Exchange Online (Microsoft 365) is an essential task for administrators. PowerShell provides a powerful way to automate and streamline mailbox management. This guide covers essential PowerShell cmdlets for managing user mailboxes effectively.

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have the necessary permissions and modules installed:

On-Premises Exchange:

• Open the Exchange Management Shell (EMS).
• Use administrative privileges to run commands.

Exchange Online (Microsoft 365):

• Install and connect to the Exchange Online module:

Install-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement
Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName admin@yourdomain.com
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Viewing Mailbox Information

To list all mailboxes in your organization:

Get-Mailbox
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To get detailed information about a specific user:

Get-Mailbox -Identity user@yourdomain.com | Format-List *
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Creating a New Mailbox

To create a new mailbox for a user in on-premises Exchange:

New-Mailbox -Name "John Doe" -UserPrincipalName john.doe@yourdomain.com -Password (ConvertTo-SecureString -String "P@ssword123" -AsPlainText -Force)
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For Exchange Online, assign a license first using Microsoft 365 Admin Center or PowerShell:

New-Mailbox -UserPrincipalName john.doe@yourdomain.com -Alias johndoe
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Modifying Mailbox Properties

To update mailbox properties, such as display name or email address:

Set-Mailbox -Identity john.doe@yourdomain.com -DisplayName "Johnathan Doe"
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To enable or disable mailbox features, such as OWA (Outlook Web Access):

Set-CASMailbox -Identity john.doe@yourdomain.com -OWAEnabled $false
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Managing Mailbox Permissions

To grant another user full access to a mailbox:

Add-MailboxPermission -Identity john.doe@yourdomain.com -User admin@yourdomain.com -AccessRights FullAccess
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To remove permissions:

Remove-MailboxPermission -Identity john.doe@yourdomain.com -User admin@yourdomain.com -AccessRights FullAccess
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Setting Mailbox Forwarding

To forward emails from one mailbox to another:

Set-Mailbox -Identity john.doe@yourdomain.com -ForwardingSMTPAddress user@anotherdomain.com -DeliverToMailboxAndForward $true
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To disable forwarding:

Set-Mailbox -Identity john.doe@yourdomain.com -ForwardingSMTPAddress $null
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Managing Mailbox Size Limits

To check mailbox size limits:

Get-Mailbox -Identity john.doe@yourdomain.com | Select-Object ProhibitSendQuota, ProhibitSendReceiveQuota, IssueWarningQuota
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To increase the size limit:

Set-Mailbox -Identity john.doe@yourdomain.com -ProhibitSendQuota 10GB -ProhibitSendReceiveQuota 12GB -IssueWarningQuota 9GB
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Deleting or Disabling a Mailbox

To disable a mailbox but retain the user account:

Disable-Mailbox -Identity john.doe@yourdomain.com
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To remove a mailbox completely:

Remove-Mailbox -Identity john.doe@yourdomain.com
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Conclusion

Using PowerShell to manage user mailboxes helps administrators efficiently handle large-scale mailbox operations, saving time and effort. By leveraging these cmdlets, you can automate everyday tasks and maintain your Exchange environment effectively.

For more advanced PowerShell scripts, check Microsoft’s official documentation or the Exchange Online PowerShell reference guide.