Microsoft has made deleting a user simple in Microsoft 365. No longer do you have to sign into multiple portals or have to change the mailbox to shared and set up an autoreply. Now, all of that may be done in one easy workflow.
Follow these steps to learn how:
- Log into the Microsoft 365 Admin Center by going to portal.office.com and sign in then click on Admin.
- Click on the user you need to delete, then click the Delete User link under the name.
- From here you are prompted a series of checkboxes. The licenses applied to the user will automatically be removed and available for other users.
Notes on checkboxes:
- By default, email aliases will also be removed.
- You can opt to keep mailbox delegate permissions and where someone else could access the user’s mailbox, however it will be removed by default.
- You can give someone else access to the user’s OneDrive files for 30 days after the user is deleted.
- You can give someone else access to the user’s mailbox by checking the appropriate box and link will appear below. From here, you can select who to give access to the mailbox. The mailbox will automatically be converted to a shared mailbox which doesn’t require a license. You can even set up an auto-responder from here letting people know that this user no longer works at your company and who to contact instead.
- Once all that is sorted, click the Delete User button at the bottom of the panel, and everything will be set up!
This automated process streamlines and simplifies what used to be a manual workflow. It works best with users that are homed to the cloud, but most of the steps work even with hybrid users that also exist on premises Active Directory with the exception that the final deletion of the hybrid user will have to be done in Active Directory. This will then sync to the license and mailbox free user in Microsoft 365.
Jeff | PEI
