Public Folder Mailbox Errors

Question

I'm no IT person and each time I try to create a primary public folder mailbox in exchange online it shows as Secondary Hierarchy. We used PowerShell to check for any improperly deleted primary mailboxes and there was nothing. I only wanted to create a shared calendar in outlook and can't even get started. I can definitely use some help.

Thanks

Answer 1

Hi John,

Do you need any further assistance?

Regards,

Rick

Answer 2

Hi Rick,

Thanks for asking. It turns out I finally did manage to create a primary public folder mailbox and the first public folder. Actually the folder showed up the next day with a primary hierarchy. The problem I'm having now is when I try to create public folder subfolders in Outlook or exchange online, they display as root folders in Outlook. And in the right-click menu, New Folder, Rename Folder, Move folder, Delete and Delete All are greyed out. I'm definitely set up in permissions as an owner.

Hope you can help and thanks,

John

Answer 3

Hi John,

“I'm no IT person and each time I try to create a primary public folder mailbox in exchange online it shows as Secondary Hierarchy.”

Yes, for example, if you create the first public folder mailbox named public_1, it will show as Secondary Hierarchy. After creating the second mailbox named public_2, the public_1 will show as Primary Hierarchy.

Please try this PowerShell to create a new public folder mailbox:

New -Mailbox  -PublicFolder – Name  testpublic

Regards,

Rick

Answer 4

Hello Shyamal,

Thank you for responding. There seems to be no primary hierarchy mailbox but still when I try to create one, it lists it as secondary.

I don't have another admin to troubleshoot the problem that way. It's just me and one other person.

Here is the error I get each time I try create the mailbox.

Again, thank you for your help.

-John

Answer 5

Hi John,

When you say “We used PowerShell to check for any improperly deleted primary mailboxes and there was nothing”, do you mean that there is no primary hierarchy mailbox?

Please try to troubleshoot this issue via using another admin account to see whether the problem still occurs.

However, the first public folder mailbox you create will be the primary hierarchy mailbox, which contains the only writable copy of the hierarchy. Any additional public folder mailboxes you create will be secondary mailboxes, which contain a read-only copy of the hierarchy. See Create a public folder mailbox

Regarding “Public Folder Mailbox Errors” may I know whether you have received any error message while creating a public folder mailbox. If so, could you please provide us with a screenshot for further analysis?

Best regards,

Shyamal