Outlook read receipt shows incorrect information

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Exchange Server 2019, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2013, Outlook on the web, Outlook for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, Outlook for Microsoft 365 for Mac, Outlook 2021 for Mac, Outlook 2019 for Mac, Outlook for iOS, Outlook for Android

Symptoms

In Outlook, you request a read receipt for an email message that you send to an external recipient, but the received receipt incorrectly describes your message:

  • The To field that specifies the recipients of your message is empty.

  • The Sent field shows a timestamp that's later than when you actually sent the message. Also, the "sent" timestamp might be later than the "read" timestamp.

For example, the read receipt might contain the following text:

Your message

  To:

  Subject: Read receipt test

  Sent: Monday, February 13, 2023 3:53:45 PM (UTC+00:00) Monrovia, Reykjavik

was read on Monday, February 13, 2023 3:53:42 PM (UTC+00:00) Monrovia, Reykjavik.

Cause

The issue occurs if the DSNConversionMode parameter value is set to UseExchangeDSNs in the transport configuration settings for your Microsoft Exchange organization.

Note

The default value of the DSNConversionMode parameter in Exchange Server 2013 is UseExchangeDSNs. In later Exchange Server versions, the default value is PreserveDSNBody. However, if you upgraded from a previous Exchange Server version that had DSNConversionMode set to UseExchangeDSNs, the previous value might be retained.

Resolution

To determine the DSNConversionMode parameter value, run the following command:

Get-TransportConfig | FL DSNConversionMode

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

  1. Change the DSNConversionMode parameter value to PreserveDSNBody by running the following command:

    Set-TransportConfig -DSNConversionMode PreserveDSNBody

    The DSNConversionMode parameter value DoNotConvert also fixes the issue.

  2. Wait for the change to replicate, or restart the transport service by running the following command:

    Restart-Service MSExchangeTransport