Disabling In-Place Archive Mailboxes - Office 365

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Disabling In-Place Archive Mailboxes - Office 365

Andrew 0

Hi everyone,

I have a number of shared mailboxes that have In Place archives attached to them. These mailboxes have a retention policy applied to them to move any email older than 6 months from the primary mailbox to the archive mailbox, then to delete any email older than 12 months from the archive mailbox, so nothing complicated.

I have been asked to remove the In-Place archive on a number of these mailboxes.

I have removed the retention policy from the mailbox, so its basically set to no policy, I have moved emails from the archive mailbox back into the primary mailbox, but when I try and disable archiving for the mailbox in exchange admin centre, it returns an error saying "Error executing cmdlet". If I run a Powershell command to do the same it errors and tells me there is an In-Place hold on the mailbox so it cannot be deleted.

I have checked all the possible "hold" scenarios ie: LitigationHold, etc etc.. but all the results I am getting back say there are no holds in place, but I am still unable to disable the archiving.

Been going round in circles with this for hours, does anyone have any idea how I can remove an In-Place hold from a mailbox, that isn't really there, according to everything I am seeing.

Thanks in advance

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Vasil Michev 127K MVP Volunteer Moderator

You might have an org-wide policy affecting the mailbox. So apart from what the AI assistant mentioned above, also check the tenant-wide settings:

Get-OrganizationConfig | select -ExpandProperty InPlaceHolds

and share the results here.

Andrew 0 Reputation points

2026-06-02T13:20:22.2633333+00:00

Hi Vasil, thanks for the response. When I run this command I get the following, which I presume are the holds?

grpaa79e3c32f5b4fe99ae0f2377512b20c:3

mbxaa79e3c32f5b4fe99ae0f2377512b20c:3

Thanks
Vasil Michev 127K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-06-02T14:05:06.3633333+00:00
Yes, those are in fact the GUIDs for the corresponding hold, which you can get via (remove the prefix/suffix). Here's the relevant cmdlet (after connecting to the compliance endpoint):

Connect-IPPSSession -UserPrincipalName ******@domain.com -ShowBanner:$false -EnableSearchOnlySession Get-RetentionCompliancePolicy -Identity aa79e3c32f5b4fe99ae0f2377512b20c

In your case, there seems to be a org-wide policy set to preserve items and delete them after the retention period has expired (the suffix "3" signifies the behavior, see this article). You will need to exclude the mailbox from said policy first. You can do this via PowerShell or the Purview portal:

Set-RetentionCompliancePolicy -Identity aa79e3c32f5b4fe99ae0f2377512b20c -AddExchangeLocationException ******@domain.com

The article above has all the details.
Vasil Michev 127K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-06-02T14:06:56.7533333+00:00
Forgot to add, to confirm the mailbox is excluded, check the mailbox-level InPlaceHolds value, it should be prefixed with a "-":

Get-Mailbox ******@domain.com | Select-Object -ExpandProperty InPlaceHolds
Andrew 0 Reputation points

2026-06-02T14:51:25.4233333+00:00

Thank you Vasil, I will give that a go.
Andrew 0 Reputation points

2026-06-02T15:09:14.6333333+00:00

Running the Set-RetentionCompliancePolicy fails saying "Modifying non-Teams parameters are not allowed"
Vasil Michev 127K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-06-02T15:27:42.38+00:00
Well, that's what we get for shooting in the dark. Can you share the full policy details?

Get-RetentionCompliancePolicy -Identity aa79e3c32f5b4fe99ae0f2377512b20c -DistributionDetail | fl

Feel free to sanitize any identifiers as needed.
Andrew 0 Reputation points

2026-06-03T07:39:56.7866667+00:00

Good Morning Vasil,

Yes absolutely..lol.

I have run the Get-RetentionCompliancePolicy command and I can see there is global Teams policy which looks like the culprit;

Get-RetentionCompliancePolicy -Identity aa79e3c32f5b4fe99ae0f2377512b20c | fl

Type                                                                   : Hold

TeamsPolicy                                                      True

RetainCloudAttachment               :      False

SharePointLocation                  : {}

SharePointLocationException         : {}

RetentionRuleTypes                  : {}

ExchangeLocation                    : {}

ExchangeLocationException           : {}

PublicFolderLocation                : {}

SkypeLocation                       : {}

SkypeLocationException              : {}

ModernGroupLocation                 : {}

ModernGroupLocationException        : {}

PolicyTemplateInfo                  :

OneDriveLocation                    : {}

OneDriveLocationException           : {}

TeamsChatLocation                   : {}

TeamsChatLocationException          : {}

TeamsChannelLocation                : {}

TeamsChannelLocationException       : {}

AdaptiveScopeLocation               : {}

RestrictiveRetention                : False

IsSimulation                        : False

IsAdaptivePolicy                    : False

Applications                        : {}

PriorityCleanup                     : False

TestModeStatus                      :

TestModeVerdict                     :

ItemsMatchedDuringTestMode          : 0

CompletedLocations                  : 0

FailedLocations                     : 0

ExpectedLocations                   : 0

ItemStatistics                      :

HasRules                            : False

SimulationPolicyVersion             : 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000

PolicyApprovalInfo                  :

EnforcedBy                          :

EnforcedTimeUTC                     :

ExcludeSPE                          : False

VersionCleanupState                 : Disabled

ErrorMetadata                       :

UserAdministrativeUnitMembershipMap :

ForceValidate                       : False

PolicyRulesMetaData                 :

GlobalListType                      : None

Locations                           :

PolicyConstraints                   :

Workload                            : Exchange, SharePoint, OneDriveForBusiness, Skype, ModernGroup

Priority                            : 0

ObjectVersion                       : ef4b155d-fcd3-486a-d4dc-08d7d63914b0

CreatedBy                           :

LastModifiedBy                      :

ReadOnly                            : False

ExternalIdentity                    :

Comment                             : Retention for messages within teams for all users

Enabled                             : True

Mode                                : Enforce

DistributionStatus                  : Pending

DistributionSyncStatus              : Unknown

DistributionResults                 :

LastStatusUpdateTime                :

ModificationTimeUtc                 : 01/04/2020 12:34:54

CreationTimeUtc                     : 01/04/2020 12:34:54

PolicyRBACScopes                    :

Identity                            : FFO.extest.microsoft.com/Microsoft Exchange Hosted

                                      Organizations/domain.onmicrosoft.com/Configuration/Teams - All Users

Id                                  : FFO.extest.microsoft.com/Microsoft Exchange Hosted

                                      Organizations/ domain.onmicrosoft.com/Configuration/Teams - All Users

IsValid                             : True

ExchangeVersion                     : 0.20 (15.0.0.0)

Name                                : Teams - All Users

DistinguishedName                   : CN=Teams - All

                                      Users,CN=Configuration,CN= domain..onmicrosoft.com,OU=Microsoft Exchange

                                      Hosted Organizations,DC=FFO,DC=extest,DC=microsoft,DC=com

ObjectCategory                      :

ObjectClass                         : {msExchUnifiedPolicy}

WhenChanged                         : 01/04/2020 13:34:54

WhenCreated                         : 01/04/2020 13:34:54

WhenChangedUTC                      : 01/04/2020 12:34:54

WhenCreatedUTC                      : 01/04/2020 12:34:54

ExchangeObjectId                    : aa79e3c3-2f5b-4fe9-9ae0-f2377512b20c

OrganizationalUnitRoot              : FFO.extest.microsoft.com/Microsoft Exchange Hosted

                                      Organizations/ domain..onmicrosoft.com

OrganizationId                      : FFO.extest.microsoft.com/Microsoft Exchange Hosted

                                      Organizations/ domain..onmicrosoft.com - FFO.extest.microsoft.com/Microsoft

                                      Exchange Hosted Organizations/ domain..onmicrosoft.com/Configuration

Guid                                : aa79e3c3-2f5b-4fe9-9ae0-f2377512b20c

OriginatingServer                   :

ObjectState                         : New
Vasil Michev 127K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-06-03T12:28:36.79+00:00
Yes, it's a Teams policy it seems. Please run it with the -DistributionDetail switch, to confirm the set of locations included/excluded. And just to have the complete picture, also run this:

Get-Mailbox -Identity ******@domain.com | Format-List compl*, delay*, InplaceHolds, litigationholdEnabled
Andrew 0 Reputation points

2026-06-03T13:24:13.48+00:00

Hi Vasil, results below, thanks

Name Workload Enabled Mode

Teams - All Users Exchange, SharePoint, OneDriveForBusiness, Skype, ModernGroup True Enforce

ComplianceTagHoldApplied : False

DelayHoldApplied : False

DelayReleaseHoldApplied : False

InPlaceHolds : {mbx76883c362b424625a2c208e02db32306:3}

LitigationHoldEnabled : False
Vasil Michev 127K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-06-03T15:57:44.1766667+00:00

Wait, you actually have non org-wide hold stamped on that mailbox, too. Above you mentioned that you checked, so is this something new? What does the 76883c362b424625a2c208e02db32306 policy cover?

Also, check the full error message when running Disable-Mailbox -Archive, it should point out which hold is causing this.

Answer 2

Disabling the archive fails when any kind of hold is still applied to the mailbox, including In-Place Holds that may not show up in the basic LitigationHold/retention properties. The key is to identify and clear all holds before disabling the archive.

Use these steps to troubleshoot and remove hidden holds:

Check for In-Place Holds explicitly
- Run this command to list all InPlaceHolds on the mailbox:
```
     Get-Mailbox -Identity <MailboxID> | Select-Object -ExpandProperty InPlaceHolds
```
- If any GUIDs are returned, those represent In-Place Holds that must be removed (for example, from eDiscovery cases or compliance searches).
Check for retention policies with Preservation Lock
- If a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 retention policy with Preservation Lock is applied to the mailbox, the Managed Folder Assistant cannot be disabled and the ElcProcessingDisabled setting is ignored.
- In that case, the hold cannot be removed until the locked retention policy is addressed. As long as such a policy applies, the archive cannot be disabled.
Verify RetentionHold and ELC processing flags
- Confirm that the mailbox is not on retention hold and that ELC processing is enabled:
```
     Get-Mailbox <MailboxID> | fl *Retention*,ElcProcessingDisabled
```
- If RetentionHoldEnabled is True, set it to False.
- If ElcProcessingDisabled is True, set it to False.
After all holds are cleared
- Once all InPlaceHolds and any locked retention policies are removed, retry disabling the archive from the Exchange admin center or via PowerShell, for example:
```
     Disable-Mailbox -Identity <MailboxID> -Archive
```
- If successful, Get-Mailbox <MailboxID> | fl *Archive* should show ArchiveState : None and no active ArchiveDatabase.

If an In-Place Hold or locked retention policy still applies (even if not obvious from LitigationHold/standard retention settings), Exchange Online will continue to block archive deletion until that hold is removed.

References:

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Disabling In-Place Archive Mailboxes - Office 365

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