Message redirection not getting stopped for left users

Question

We have a rule for Left users that blocks every messages but recently we observed message redirection is still working though the original message is still getting failed to deliver which is expected but not sure why redirection to external id is still working. Need your suggestion.

Answer 1

Hello Xebin ty**,**

Good day! Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft community.

As per your description and my understanding, your organization has a rule in place to block messages for users who have left the company.

While the original message is correctly failing to deliver, the issue you’re facing is that message redirection to an external ID is still working, which is unexpected.

There could be multiple reasons for this to happen. such as a hidden rule in your tenant for the affected user might be impacting or it might also be bug in the system.

Before I suggest you, any basic trouble shooting steps, to better understand your issue, I need some addition information so that we can narrow down the main reason and find out the root cause by working together.

Please correct me if I am wrong and I need your help on sending all the answers along with the data only via Private Messages - Microsoft Community.

• May I know your affected account type and subscription? Is it Microsoft365 business or Microsoft Personal account (outlook.com/Hotmail.com/live.com) or any third-party account?
• Which one does it connect to outlook.office.com or https://outlook.live.com/?
• Could you please provide us product and version details of your Outlook?
  • About Office: What version of Office am I using? - Microsoft Support.
  • What version of Outlook do I have? - Microsoft Support.
• Which outlook platform are you using, is it New Outlook, Legacy (Classic) Outlook or OWA?
• Are you an on-premises mail user?
• Do you have hybrid configuration or environment? or running as fully cloud environment?
• Are there specific conditions in the redirection rule (such as forwarders or mailbox delegation) that might still be allowing messages to reach the external ID?
• As you have also mentioned, "organization having rule", did you mean the Inbox rules or the Transport rules?
• Are you using any transport rules or mailbox policies that might conflict with the rule blocking messages for left users?
• Could you confirm if the redirection rule was set up manually, or if it's part of an automated process tied to the user's account?
• Was it working normally before?
• If it was working initially? On that case, may I know have you make any recent changes on your Outlook/device/account/permission/update office, etc.?
• Are you a global administrator user or an End user?
• Do you have access to Microsoft 365 Admin Center?

Note: to access private message platform, please click on this link: Private Messages - Microsoft Community.

Please understand that our initial response may not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

Thanks for choosing the MS community.

Looking forward to your response and have a great day ahead!!

Sincerely

S M Nazmun Nur | Microsoft Community Moderator