Remove-RemoteMailbox

This cmdlet is available only in on-premises Exchange.

Use the Remove-RemoteMailbox cmdlet to remove a mail-enabled user in the on-premises Active Directory and the associated mailbox in the cloud-based service.

For information about the parameter sets in the Syntax section below, see Exchange cmdlet syntax.

Syntax

Remove-RemoteMailbox
      [-Identity] <RemoteMailboxIdParameter>
      [-Confirm]
      [-DomainController <Fqdn>]
      [-IgnoreDefaultScope]
      [-IgnoreLegalHold]
      [-WhatIf]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Description

With the Remove-RemoteMailbox cmdlet, you can remove an on-premises mail-enabled user and the mailbox from the service. If you only want to remove the mailbox from the service and keep the associated on-premises user, use the Disable-RemoteMailbox cmdlet.

Directory synchronization must be configured correctly for a mailbox to be removed from the service. Removal of the mailbox from the service isn't immediate and depends on the directory synchronization schedule.

You need to be assigned permissions before you can run this cmdlet. Although this topic lists all parameters for the cmdlet, you may not have access to some parameters if they're not included in the permissions assigned to you. To find the permissions required to run any cmdlet or parameter in your organization, see Find the permissions required to run any Exchange cmdlet.

Examples

Example 1

Remove-RemoteMailbox "Kim Akers"

This example removes the on-premises mail-enabled user Kim Akers and the associated mailbox from the service. This example assumes directory synchronization has been configured.

Parameters

-Confirm

The Confirm switch specifies whether to show or hide the confirmation prompt. How this switch affects the cmdlet depends on if the cmdlet requires confirmation before proceeding.

  • Destructive cmdlets (for example, Remove-* cmdlets) have a built-in pause that forces you to acknowledge the command before proceeding. For these cmdlets, you can skip the confirmation prompt by using this exact syntax: -Confirm:$false.
  • Most other cmdlets (for example, New-* and Set-* cmdlets) don't have a built-in pause. For these cmdlets, specifying the Confirm switch without a value introduces a pause that forces you acknowledge the command before proceeding.
Type:SwitchParameter
Aliases:cf
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

-DomainController

The DomainController parameter specifies the domain controller that's used by this cmdlet to read data from or write data to Active Directory. You identify the domain controller by its fully qualified domain name (FQDN). For example, dc01.contoso.com.

Type:Fqdn
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

-Identity

The Identity parameter identifies the mail-enabled user and the associated mailbox in the service that you want to remove. You can use one of the following values:

  • ADObjectID
  • Distinguished name (DN)
  • Legacy DN
  • GUID
  • Domain\Account name
  • User principal name (UPN)
  • Email address
  • Alias
Type:RemoteMailboxIdParameter
Position:1
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

-IgnoreDefaultScope

The IgnoreDefaultScope switch tells the command to ignore the default recipient scope setting for the Exchange PowerShell session, and to use the entire forest as the scope. You don't need to specify a value with this switch.

This switch enables the command to access Active Directory objects that aren't currently available in the default scope, but also introduces the following restrictions:

  • You can't use the DomainController parameter. The command uses an appropriate global catalog server automatically.
  • You can only use the DN for the Identity parameter. Other forms of identification, such as alias or GUID, aren't accepted.
Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

-IgnoreLegalHold

The IgnoreLegalHold switch ignores the legal hold status of the remote user. You don't need to specify a value with this switch.

This switch removes the instance of the remote object in the on-premises organization, and the request to remove the mailbox is synchronized to the cloud. The Microsoft Entra object is removed, but if the mailbox is on hold, the mailbox is converted into an inactive mailbox and remains on hold.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

-WhatIf

The WhatIf switch simulates the actions of the command. You can use this switch to view the changes that would occur without actually applying those changes. You don't need to specify a value with this switch.

Type:SwitchParameter
Aliases:wi
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

Inputs

Input types

To see the input types that this cmdlet accepts, see Cmdlet Input and Output Types. If the Input Type field for a cmdlet is blank, the cmdlet doesn't accept input data.

Outputs

Output types

To see the return types, which are also known as output types, that this cmdlet accepts, see Cmdlet Input and Output Types. If the Output Type field is blank, the cmdlet doesn't return data.