Applies to: Office 365 for professionals and small businesses, Office 365 for enterprises, Live@edu
Topic Last Modified: 2011-11-23
When you delete a mailbox using the Exchange Control Panel, the mailbox is moved into a Deleted Objects container, which makes it inaccessible by the user with any mail client, and after 30 days, it's permanently deleted.
What happens to the user ID that's associated with deleted mailbox? That depends on your cloud-based organization, the tool you use to delete the mailbox, and the options you choose.
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In Microsoft Live@edu, in the Exchange Control Panel, you must choose to keep the Windows Live ID or remove the Windows Live ID when you delete the mailbox. See Delete a mailbox in the Exchange Control Panel in Live@edu.
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In Microsoft Office 365, deleting a mailbox also deletes the user ID. See Delete a mailbox in the Exchange Control Panel in Office 365.
Delete a mailbox in the Exchange Control Panel in Live@edu
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Select Manage My Organization > Users & Groups > Mailboxes.
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In the Mailboxes list, select the mailbox or mailboxes that you want to delete.
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After you've made your selection, click Delete
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In the warning window, choose one of these options:
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Delete the mailbox and the Windows Live ID The Window Live ID that's associated with the deleted mailbox is removed from use and is inaccessible. The user whose mailbox was deleted will no longer be able to sign in with that Windows Live ID. All data that's associated with the Windows Live ID is preserved. However, the user effectively loses access to the data that's associated with the Windows Live ID, such as Xbox Live points and Zune points, and access to any of their data on Windows Live Spaces, Windows Live Groups, and Windows Live SkyDrive.
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Delete the mailbox and keep the Windows Live ID The Windows Live ID that's associated with the deleted mailbox is retained. The user may continue to use the Windows Live ID without a mailbox.
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Delete the mailbox and the Windows Live ID The Window Live ID that's associated with the deleted mailbox is removed from use and is inaccessible. The user whose mailbox was deleted will no longer be able to sign in with that Windows Live ID. All data that's associated with the Windows Live ID is preserved. However, the user effectively loses access to the data that's associated with the Windows Live ID, such as Xbox Live points and Zune points, and access to any of their data on Windows Live Spaces, Windows Live Groups, and Windows Live SkyDrive.
Delete a mailbox in the Exchange Control Panel in Office 365
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Select Manage My Organization > Users & Groups > Mailboxes.
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In the Mailboxes list, select the mailbox or mailboxes that you want to delete.
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After you've made your selection, click Delete .
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In the warning window, choose Yes.
Delete a mailbox using Windows PowerShell
You use the Remove-Mailbox cmdlet to delete mailboxes in Windows PowerShell.
In Live@edu, you can use the KeepWindowsLiveID parameter to retain the associated Windows Live ID. For more information, see Options for Deleting Mailboxes in Windows PowerShell in Live@edu.
In Office 365, there are no interesting parameters available on the Remove-Mailbox cmdlet. When you delete a mailbox, the associated user ID is deleted.
Recover a deleted mailbox
Typically, you can use the Exchange Control Panel or Windows PowerShell to recover a deleted mailbox. For an explanation of when a deleted mailbox isn't recoverable, see Deleted Mailboxes.
Typically, when you recover a deleted mailbox, you can also recover the original user ID that was associated with the mailbox, but you may need to change the password. For mailbox recovery instructions, see the following topics:
