How to Restore Mailbox from Exchange Server?
When working with the Exchange server, there are many situations where you may need to restore mailbox from Exchange server. Here are some common scenarios:
- You accidentally deleted a user’s mailbox and now need to restore it.
- An employee left the company, and their mailbox was disabled or deleted. Later, the organization needs access to its important emails.
- The Exchange database is corrupted due to hardware failure or software issues, making some mailboxes inaccessible.
- A security breach or ransomware attack has deleted or encrypted mailboxes, requiring full recovery.
There are various methods for Mailbox recovery in Exchange Server, and we will discuss these methods in this post. However, it is essential to verify that the deleted mailbox remains within the mailbox retention period. By default, the retention period for a soft-deleted mailbox is 30 days, after which the mailbox is permanently deleted (hard deleted). Let us explore the methods for restoring a mailbox that is still within its retention period.
Methods to Restore Mailbox from Exchange Server
Below are the main ways to restore mailbox from Exchange Server, based on your situation:
Method 1: Using the Exchange Admin Center (EAC)
When you delete a mailbox from the Exchange server, it moves to the disconnected mailbox list and becomes a “disabled mailbox.” You can use the Connect a mailbox option in the Exchange Admin Center to connect the disconnected mailboxes and restore them on the Exchange server. To do this, follow the steps given below:
- Log in to the Exchange Admin Center (EAC).
- Navigate to Recipients > Mailboxes.
- Click on More options (three dots) and select Connect a mailbox.
- Choose the disconnected mailbox you want to restore.
- Click on User mailbox and click on Next.
- Click on Browse and select a user that you want to connect the mailbox to.
- Click Finish, and the mailbox will be connected to the selected user and restored on the Exchange server.
This method works only if the mailbox is “disabled” and within the retention period. Additionally, this method is compatible with all Exchange versions.
Method 2: Using PowerShell (Exchange Management Shell)
For Exchange Server 2010 and above versions, you can use PowerShell cmdlets to restore the deleted mailbox. Follow the steps given below:
- Check for disconnected mailboxes:
Get-MailboxDatabase | Get-MailboxStatistics | Where-Object { $_.DisconnectReason -eq 'Disabled' } | Select DisplayName, Database, DisconnectDate
- Restore a mailbox to an existing user:
Connect-Mailbox -Identity "<MailboxGuid>" -Database "<DatabaseName>" -User "<UserName>"
- Restore mailbox data to a new mailbox:
New-MailboxRestoreRequest -SourceDatabase "<DatabaseName>" -SourceStoreMailbox "<MailboxGuid>" -TargetMailbox "<TargetUserMailbox>"- To see how the restore request is progressing, use:
Get-MailboxRestoreRequestMethod 3: Recover Deleted Items (Single Item Recovery)
If you only want to restore some mailbox data, such as emails, attachments, or calendars, instead of the complete mailbox, you can use the Recover Deleted Items option in Outlook. Here are the steps:
- In Outlook, go to the Folder ribbon and select Recover Deleted Items.
- Select the Restore selected Items option and click on OK.
- The system will restore the selected items in the mailbox.
Alternatively, you can use the below-mentioned PowerShell cmdlet:
Search-Mailbox -Identity "<UserMailbox>" -SearchQuery "Subject:'<Email Subject>'" -TargetMailbox "DiscoverySearchMailbox" -TargetFolder "RecoveredItems" -LogLevel FullMethod 4: Restore from Backup
If mailboxes have been permanently deleted or are no longer in the retention period, you may need to restore the mailbox from a healthy backup:
- Use Windows Server Backup to restore the Exchange database (.edb file).
- Mount the recovered database to a recovery database (RDB):
New-MailboxDatabase -Recovery -Name "RecoveryDB" -Server "<ServerName>" -EdbFilePath "<PathToEDBFile>"- Restore mailboxes using New-MailboxRestoreRequest.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to restore mailbox from Exchange Server is essential for IT admins to ensure data continuity and avoid loss. Whether using the Exchange Admin Center, PowerShell, Outlook, or backups, different methods suit different scenarios. Always make sure the mailbox is still within its retention period before recovery. For more severe cases, such as corrupted databases or missing backups, using professional Exchange recovery software like Stellar Repair for Exchange can help recover mailboxes efficiently from damaged EDB files. Maintaining backups and proper retention policies will help you stay prepared for any mailbox recovery situation.
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We hope this guide on how to restore mailbox from Exchange server helps you recover important emails quickly and securely. Explore these recommended articles for more tips on Exchange Server management and data recovery best practices.
