How to Enable or Disable Archive Mailbox in Office 365

Updated On - October 25, 2024 by Nasir Khan | Reading Time: 10 minutes

Several Office 365 users can’t benefit from an archive mailbox because they don’t know how to enable or disable archive mailbox in Office 365. They frequently get the warning the user archive mailbox is offline. If you’re unaware of this, this write-up is for you.

Archiving mailboxes in Microsoft Office 365 (also known as In-Place Archiving) provides users with additional mailbox storage space. An archive mailbox provides an alternate storage location for users to store old messaging data. In-Place Archiving helps you regain control of your organization’s messaging data and eliminates the need for MS Outlook PST files. Also, In-Place Archiving allows for meeting your organization’s message retention and eDiscovery requirements.

After turning on archive mailboxes, the user’s current mailbox becomes the primary mailbox, and an additional mailbox is created called Archive Mailbox. With archiving enabled, users can store messages in an archive mailbox that can be accessed with MS Outlook and Outlook on Web.

Verified methods to Enable Archive mailbox in Office 365

1. In Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal
2. Using PowerShell
3. Using Exchange Admin Center (EAC) or Exchange Management Shell
4. In the Security and Compliance Center

Method 1: Enable an Archive Mailbox Using Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal

Perform the following steps to enable an archive mailbox using Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal and getting a warning the user archive mailbox is offline.

1. Visit Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal and sign in.
2. In the left pane of the compliance portal, select Data lifecycle management > Archive.
   On the Archive page, the Archive mailbox column identifies whether an archive mailbox is enabled or disabled for the user.
   Note: The Archive page displays information for 500 users. Use the search box to find the desired username.
3. In the list of mailboxes, select the user to enable their mailbox for archiving. Click Enable archive.
   
   A warning message appears stating “If you enable the archive mailbox, items in the user’s mailbox that are older than the archiving policy assigned to the mailbox will be moved to the new archive mailbox”.
4. Click Enable to confirm.
   Creation of archive mailbox might take a few moments, once created Enabled is displayed in the Archive mailbox column for the selected user. It is recommended to refresh the page to see the change of status.

Disable an Archive Mailbox Using Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal

Archive page in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal to disable a user’s archive mailbox. Perform the following steps to disable an archive mailbox using Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal:

1. Visit Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal and sign in.
2. In the left pane of the compliance portal, select Data lifecycle management > Archive.
3. On the Archive page, the Archive mailbox column identifies whether an archive mailbox is enabled or disabled for the user.
   Note: The Archive page displays information for 500 users. Use the search box to find the desired username.
4. In the list of mailboxes, select the user to disable their mailbox for archiving. Click Disable archive.

After disabling an archive mailbox, you can reconnect it to the user’s primary mailbox within 30 days. The original contents of the archive mailbox will get restored. After 30 days, the contents of the original archive mailbox will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. So, if you re-enable the archive more than 30 days after disabling it, a new archive mailbox will be created.

Method 2: Using Exchange Online PowerShell for Warning the User Archive Mailbox is Offline

Using Exchange Online PowerShell when you get a warning: user archive mailbox is offline to enable or disable archive mailboxes, you can quickly enable or disable the archive mailbox for all users in the organization.

Enable an Archive Mailbox Using Exchange Online PowerShell

Perform the following steps to enable an archive mailbox using Exchange Online PowerShell:

1. Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell.
2. Run the following command to enable the archive mailbox for a single user:
   Enable-Mailbox -Identity -Archive
3. Run the following command to enable the archive mailbox for all users in your organization (whose archive mailbox is currently not enabled).
   Get-Mailbox -Filter {ArchiveGuid -Eq “00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000” -AND RecipientTypeDetails -Eq “UserMailbox”} | Enable-Mailbox -Archive

Disable an Archive Mailbox Using Exchange Online PowerShell

Perform the following steps to disable an archive mailbox using Exchange Online PowerShell:

1. Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell.
2. Run the following command to disable the archive mailbox for a single user:
   Disable-Mailbox -Identity -Archive
3. Run the following command to disable the archive mailbox for all users in your organization (whose archive mailbox is currently enabled).
   Get-Mailbox -Filter {ArchiveGuid -Ne “00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000” -AND RecipientTypeDetails -Eq “UserMailbox”} | Disable-Mailbox -Archive

Method 3: Using Exchange Admin Center (EAC) to Deal with the Warning the User Archive Mailbox is Offline

Using Exchange Admin Center, you can enable or disable an archive mailbox in Office 365 for users with a primary mailbox.

Enable an Archive Mailbox Using Exchange Admin Center (EAC)

Perform the following steps to enable an archive mailbox using Exchange Admin Center (EAC):

1. Log in to your Office 365 account, click the app launcher icon, and then Admin.
2. Click Admin Centers from the lower-left navigation of the Office 365 admin center, and then click on the Exchange option.
3. In the EAC, navigate to Recipients > Mailboxes.
4. Select a required mailbox you want to archive; under In-Place Archive, click Enable option in the details pane.
5. To perform bulk archives, select multiple mailboxes by using Shift and Ctrl keys. Click on More options in the details pane, then click Enable under Archive.
6. On Create In-Place Archive page, click OK to have Exchange automatically select a mailbox database for the archive or click Browse to specify one..

Disable an Archive Mailbox Using Exchange Admin Center (EAC)

Perform the following steps to disable an archive mailbox using Exchange Admin Center (EAC):

1. Login to your Office 365 account, click the app launcher icon, then click Admin.
2. Click Admin centers from the lower-left navigation of the Office 365 admin center, then click on Exchange option.
3. In the EAC, navigate to Recipients > Mailboxes. Select a required mailbox that you want to disable, under In-Place Archive click Disable option in the details pane.

Method 4: Enable Office 365 Archive Mailboxes in the Security and Compliance Center

Perform the following steps to enable an archive mailbox in the Security and Compliance Center when you get an error warning the user archive mailbox is offline.

1. Visit https://protection.office.com.
2. Login to Office 365 using your work or school account.
3. In the left pane of the Security & Compliance Center, click Data governance > Archive.
4. The Archive page is displayed. The Archive mailbox column indicates whether an archive mailbox is enabled or disabled for each user.
5. In the list of mailboxes, select the user that you want to enable the archive mailbox for.
6. In the details pane for the selected user, click Enable.
7. Click Yes to enable the archive mailbox.

Disable Office 365 Archive Mailboxes in the Security and Compliance Center

Perform the following steps to disable an archive mailbox in the Security and Compliance Center:

1. Visit https://protection.office.com.
2. Login to Office 365 using your work or school account.
3. In the left pane of the Security & Compliance Center, click Data governance > Archive.
4. The Archive page is displayed. The Archive mailbox column indicates whether an archive mailbox is enabled or disabled for each user.
5. In the list of mailboxes, select the user that you want to disable the archive mailbox for.
6. In the details pane for the selected user, click Disable.
7. Click Yes to disable the archive mailbox.

What other options do we have?

Users can control their data as per their priority by keeping it in Office 365 mailboxes and in Outlook PST file format. If users get a warning the user archive mailbox is offline; then, to tackle this issue, they usually store their data in a personal storage table.

Know more: Regain Office 365 Email Backup tool, Take backup in various email formats.

But, with time, they may also face the need to export data from PST to Office 365 mailboxes. To migrate PST to Office 365, there is no satisfactory direct manual method. If there are some ways to export PST to Office 365, then there are a lot of limitations, disadvantages, and demerits. Also, users don’t get any advanced options that professionals require. Hence, users need a professional solution to ease the migration process and export the data with efficiency.

Professional Tool – Regain PST to Office 365 Migration Tool

If you are looking for a third-party solution to import your Microsoft Outlook PST files to your Office 365 mailbox, then Regain PST to Office 365 Migration Tool is the best professional solution available to upload Microsoft Outlook PST files to Office 365 platform. Using this, you can get rid of the warning the user archive mailbox is offline.

Free Download100% Secure Buy NowPrice: $39

Eminent Features of Regain PST to Office 365 Migration Tool:

• Regain PST to Office 365 Migration Tool exports all MS Outlook email items to Office 365 platform, including email messages, notes, drafts, calendars, events, attachments, appointments, contacts, journals, etc.
• Exports archive and shared mailboxes to Office 365.
• Permits exporting bulk Outlook PST files to Office 365 platform or Live Exchange Server using CSV files.
• Allows users to apply filters like Date Range, Item Type, etc., to get the desired data only.
• Facilitates users with an option to exclude empty and deleted folders.
• Allows skipping items that are already migrated to get rid of duplicity. It keeps checking on the already migrated items and hence controls the storage.
• Allows migrating PST files to Live Exchange Server.
• Displays preview of mailboxes before exporting. It helps users to cross-check the data before migration.

Software Compatibility:

• Supports all versions of MS Outlook, including MS Outlook 2019, MS Outlook 2016, MS Outlook 2013, MS Outlook 2010, MS Outlook 2007, MS Outlook 2003, MS Outlook 2000 and earlier versions.
• Compatible with Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista operating systems.
• Supports Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 R2, and Windows Server 2003.
• Free lifetime technical support on the purchase of a licensed version. Users can easily contact the Regain’s technical team through telephone conversation, chat option, or by emailing.
• Available as a free-to-download trial version. The free demo version saves only 30 items per folder. To save unlimited items per folder, purchase the full licensed version of the software.
• Safe to download and install the software, free from viruses and malware.

Steps to perform while performing PST to Office 365 Migration:

Perform the following steps to import PST to Office 365 using Regain PST to Office 365 Migration Tool.

1. Download, install, and launch Regain PST to Office 365 Migration Tool.
2. Enter login credentials and select desired Outlook PST files to be exported to Office 365 platform.
3. Click Add button to add Outlook PST files as source.
4. Click Add button to add Office 365 mailbox as the destination.
5. Map source mailboxes with destination mailboxes, click Set Filter and Migrate.
6. Select the type of migration among the Archive mailbox, mailbox, and Public folder, and click Migrate.
7. Select filters to migrate specific data, and click Start migration to initiate the migration process.

The PST to Office 365 Migration Tool will import all selected Outlook PST files to Office 365 platform or Live Exchange Server.

Conclusion:

This article discusses methods to enable or disable an archive mailbox in Office 365 using three methods – using Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal, using PowerShell, and using Exchange Admin Center (EAC). You need to follow these steps if you get a warning the user archive mailbox is offline. Also, if you are looking for how to import Outlook PST files to Office 365, and then this article suggests using a third-party tool PST to Office 365. Download PST to Office 365 Migration for free and check the functionalities offered by the utility. Purchase the full licensed version to avail full functionality of the software.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q1. I stored to be archive data in PST file format after getting a warning the user archive mailbox was offline. Now, I want to retrieve the data in Office 365 mailboxes proficiently and speedily; what should I do?
Ans. To export data from PST file format to Office 365 mailboxes, you should use a professional third-party tool for perfect results. Regain PST to Office 365 Migration Tool is a highly advanced tool for speedy and efficient migration.

Q2. Will Regain PST to Office 365 Migration Tool keep the original meta-data and folder hierarchy?
Ans. The Regain PST to Office 365 Migration Tool preserves the folder hierarchy and meta-data. Don’t worry about data originality and older hierarchy.

Q3. I have many PST files of large sizes; can this tool add multiple PST files of large sizes?
Ans. There is no restriction on the size of PST files. The tool can add multiple PST files of any size for the migration.

Q4. I am using Windows 11; will this software be compatible with this?
Ans. Regain PST to Office 365 migration is compatible with all versions of Windows. It doesn’t matter what Windows OS you use; it will work with everything.

Q5. Can I check the working of the process before making any purchase?
Ans. Yes. You can check the software’s working before spending money on the license. For this, you have to install the free demo version of the software and run it. The demo version allows migrating the 30 items per folder. With the licensed version, there are no such limitations.