Why is MSGraph API grouping different email threads to the same thread?

Question

Hello,

I've got an application that creates multiple new threads with different recipients but the same subject. When the emails are sent, it's confirmed in the DB that they have different threads. However, when the recipients respond, they get grouped under the same thread.

To break this down a little more:

Thread1 - "Same Subject" --> Recipient1

Thread2 - "Same Subject" --> Recipient2

Thread3 - "Same Subject" --> Recipient3

When Recipient1, Recipient2, and Recipient3 respond, their responses are all grouped under Thread1 instead of their individual threads. This impedes a downstream program that "listens" for responses to each thread. It ends up saying only 1 of the threads have responses and not the other 2.

Setup:

• I am using 1) Outlook on the web and 2) Golang and the MSGraph API (not the MSGraph Go SDK*).*
• It may be relevant to mention that the user on whose behalf my application is sending the emails has an alias because the original domain also exists on Gmail. So the recipients receive an email from ******@originaldomain.com, but they have to manually replace the "To" field in the reply form to ******@axleteam.microsoft.com in order for the response to go to the Outlook user and not the Gmail user. They correctly show up in the aliased Outlook user's inbox, but again, the responses all fall under Thread1.

In the Sent Items folder and DB, I see that when the emails are sent, they have different thread IDs but the same RFC ID (non-highlighted records). But when the recipients respond, they're all grouped under 1 thread (highlighted records)

Outlook Sent Items:

https://imgur.com/Rv3RYyX 

DB Records with RFC and ThreadIDs

https://imgur.com/a/IwCnDK3

Outlook - Grouped Responses:

https://imgur.com/nGK3SNG 

Let me know if the links don't work; uploading images directly kept failing.

I've tried changing settings to not group by conversation ID as shown here, but that only changes the layout in Outlook app, not the underlying thread data.

I'd greatly appreciate any help on this!

Answer 1

I appreciate your getting back to me!

Fortunately I figured out the issue: the CreatedAt and ModifiedAt timestamps were the same so even though it was generating different thread IDs, the replies were for some reason getting grouped together. Sharing in case this helps anyone else!

Answer 2

Hello SE_527 ，

Welcome to the Microsoft Community！

Understanding that you are experiencing confusion and frustration with the MSGraph API grouping different email threads into the same thread, we understand how you feel and the challenges you face in trying to unlock it.

First of all, let me explain to you that since the community forums primarily help with basic usage of Microsoft products, questions about the MSGraph API are beyond the scope of the community forums' support, but I can point you in the right direction, and that this question is more appropriately shared in the Microsoft Graph - Microsoft Q&A section of our Advanced Community, You can share a description of the problem by clicking “Ask a Question” here, where there are senior technical experts specializing in MSGraph who may be able to provide you with the right solution.

I hope you are able to resolve this issue without any problems, and I apologize for the limited help I can provide on this issue, but I will keep this open for a while in case one of our volunteers has any good ideas.

Best Regards ,

Morning | Microsoft Technical Support Community

Answer 3

Hello SE_527 ，

Glad to hear you are no longer bothered by this issue and are sharing your experience!

Yes, it is very meaningful for you to share the progress of this problem and the solutions you adopted to solve the problem. Your experience and methods may help other people who encounter the same problem!

Thank you for sharing! If you have other experiences to share about Microsoft products, please feel free to post again!

Best Regards ,

Morning | Microsoft Technical Support Community