Unable to access a mailbox with Receive-As permissions on a mailbox database

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Exchange Server 2016 Enterprise Edition, Exchange Server 2016 Standard Edition, Exchange Server 2013 Enterprise, Exchange Server 2013 Standard Edition

Original KB number:  3176596

Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

  • Administrator/service account is a member of the Organization Management group.
  • User mailboxes are located in Database1.
  • Administrator/service account is granted the Receive-As permission to Database1.

In this scenario, the administrator/service account is unable to open another user's mailbox on Database1.

Cause

The security model was changed in Microsoft Exchange Server 2013. A user that's a member of the Organization Management group can only have access to other mailboxes when Full Access is explicitly provided.

Resolution

There are two possible solutions for this issue:

  • Use an account that's not a member of the Organization Management group.
  • Provide explicit Full Access permissions to the mailbox.