How to Disable/ Enable Archive Mailbox in Office 365? Efficiently

Overview: As per the current requirement of storing multiple data such as email, documents, etc. There is a need for extra space due to which organizations use Archive mailboxes. So, here you will find the different methods of the mostly asked queries on the Internet on how to enable Archive mailbox in Office 365.

In today’s world, organizations are regularly using Office 365 services such as Outlook. Due to this, a huge amount of data is generated on a day-to-day basis. However, maintaining this huge amount of data makes the mailbox cluttered and inefficient.

User’s Query:- I am getting too many emails due to which my primary mailbox is about to full. I am aware of the option of Archive mailbox in Office 365, but I don’t know how to enable it. Can anyone suggest to me the required steps for enabling the archive mailbox in Office 365? 

To resolve this issue there is a feature of Archiving in Office 365. But it needs to be enabled first. So stick with the article and you will find the steps to enable archive mailbox in Office 365.

Intro to Archive Mailbox in Office 365

The archive mailbox is not similar to the regular mailbox. It is used to store the older or no longer required data. All the stored emails in the archive mailbox can be retained back by the users as per the requirement. It helps to make the primary mailbox uncluttered. As the archive mailbox is enabled then 100 GB of space is provided to the user. For additional storage, users can get more space till the 1.5 TB.

There are also some retention policies due to which the data can be moved to the archive mailbox automatically. Messaging Records Management (MRM) is used to handle the retention policies in Office 365. The MRM can be customized as per the organization’s requirements.

Benefits of Enabling Archive Mailbox in Office 365

There are different benefits of enabling the archive mailbox in Office 365. Some of the major ones are as follows:-

1. It enhances the search performance in the primary mailbox which saves a lot of time.
2. Moving all the older and no longer required emails to the archive mailbox streamlines the mailbox management.
3. After enabling the archive mailbox users are not required to export their data.
4. The auto-expanding feature is also there in the Archive mailbox. Through this, Microsoft automatically adds 10 GB of storage when the mailbox is about to reach its quota limit.

Permissions to Enable Online Archive Office 365

To enable archive mailbox in Office 365 you need to have several permissions such as:-

1. Exchange Administrator – For the enabling archive mailbox, you need to have the EAC role or permissions.
2. Organizational Management – To get complete privileges in Office 365 there is approval from the management. You need to get this approval to access the Exchange Admin Center.

How to Enable Archive Mailbox in Office 365?

The enabling and disabling of archive mailbox in Office 365 is possible with the different approaches. Exchange Admin Center and PowerShell commands both approaches can be used to enable the Online in-place archive Office 365 mailbox. These are the manual methods that require some technical knowledge so let’s begin the process:-

Method 1. Enable Online Archive in Office 365 Using Exchange Admin Center

Let’s follow the below steps to enable the Archive mailbox in Office 365 using the EAC.

• Step 1. Log in to the Office 365 account and go to Admin.
• Step 2. From the lower-left panel, click on Admin Centers and then Exchange.
• Step 3. Now in the (EAC), move to Recipients -> Mailboxes.
• Step 4. Click on the User > others > manage mailbox archive.
• Step 5. Finally, Enable the Mailbox Archive.

Disable Archive Mailbox in Office 365 Through EAC

To disable the in-place archive mailbox in Office 365 go with the below steps.

• Step 1. After successfully logging in to the Office 365 account.
• Step 2. Move to Exchange from the Admin Center.
• Step 3. Go to the mailboxes and choose the mailbox for disable.
• Step 4. Now, select the mailbox and hit the Disable option.

Also Read: How to Migrate Shared mailbox to Office 365?

Method 2: How to Enable Archive Mailbox in Office 365 Using PowerShell?

Let’s move to another method to enable an in-place archive mailbox in Office 365. The PowerShell is also used to enable or disable the archive mailbox using the below commands.

• Connect to the Exchange Online before enabling or disabling the archive mailbox.

Connect-ExchangeOnline

• To enable an archive mailbox for the particular user.

Enable-Mailbox –Identity user@domain.com –Archive

• To enable the in-place archive mailbox for multiple users.

Get-Mailbox -Filter {ArchiveGuid -Eq “00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000” -AND RecipientDetails -Eq “UserMailbox”} | Enable-Mailbox -Archive

 

Disable Online Archive Mailbox in Office 365 Using PowerShell

• Run this command to disable the in-place archive mailbox of the particular user.

Disable-Mailbox –Identity user@domain.com –Archive

• Disable the in-place archive for multiple users at once.

Get-Mailbox -Filter {ArchiveGuid -Ne “00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000” -AND RecipientDetails -Eq “UserMailbox”} | Disable-Mailbox -Archive

 

This is all about the methods to disable or enable Online Archive Office 365. But what if, you need to migrate the Online archive to another Office 365 account? Because there might be a situation when your organization merges with another or performing Office 365 tenant to tenant migration for compliance and backup purposes. So to resolve this upcoming issue, there is an automated tool that is well-versed in moving the complete data along with the archive mailboxes to another account.

Automated Tool for Moving Archive Mailboxes to Another Office 365 Account

Experts recommend the Migrator Wizard Office 365 Migration Tool to migrate the archive or non-archive mailboxes to another Office 365 account. Because of the simple user interface, even non-tech users can also operate this tool without hassle. It not only transfers the archive mailbox to the destination Office 365 account but also the emails, contacts, tasks, and other data as well. There are multiple advanced options which makes the process easier.

You can use this tool to move the data of multiple users in one attempt. As per the cruciality of the data in the organizations, this tool is the right one for maintaining data security throughout the process. You should also refer to the Microsoft Office 365 Migration Checklist before start the process.

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Conclusion

For creating the space in the Office 365 mailbox, users can enable the archive mailbox. Organizations widely used the archive mailboxes to keep the regular mailboxes clean and organized. Here we have explained the different methods to enable online archive Office 365 mailbox. Choose the method that looks simpler to you. An upcoming problem with transferring the archive mailbox is also resolved with the expert’s recommended solution. Hence the query of how to enable archive mailbox in Office 365 is resolved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How to disable the online archive in Office 365 using the PowerShell commands?

Ans – Execute the below command to disable the online archive mailbox in Office 365.

Disable-Mailbox –Identity user@domain.com –Archive

Q2. How to check whether the Archive is enabled or not?

Ans – Select the particular mailbox then choose the In-Place archive option. Then validate whether is it enabled or not.

Q3. What is the difference between an archive folder and an online archive in Office 365?

Ans – The archive is a folder similar to others. It is used to store a large amount of data without allocating extra space. But online archive provides extra space to store emails.

Q4. What are the steps to enable archive mailbox in Office 365?

Ans – Just follow the below steps in the Exchange Admin Center.

• Step 1. Open Admin Centers and then Exchange.
• Step 2. Move to Recipients then Mailboxes.
• Step 3. Hit on the User > others and then manage mailbox archive.
• Step 4. Now, enable the mailbox archive.

Q5. Can I enable the archive mailbox in Office 365 without admin privileges?

Ans – No, you can’t enable the archive mailbox in Office 365 if you don’t have admin privileges. You can log in with the admin credentials and then enable it for the users that require it.

Q6. What is the maximum storage I can get in the Archive mailbox?

Ans – You can use the 1.5 TB of storage in the Archive mailbox. It is allocated by the Office 365 administrator in batches of 100 GB as per requirement.