For Microsoft 365 Online Archive, the setup involves:
- Enabling the Online Archive mailbox for the required users.
- Creating and assigning retention policies to automatically move emails from the primary mailbox to the archive based on the defined retention period.
Below is the step-by-step procedure to configure Microsoft 365 Online Archive with retention policies.
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Step 1: Enable Online Archive Mailbox
1. Log in to Microsoft 365 Exchange Admin Center.
2. Go to Recipients → Mailboxes.
3. Select the required user.
4. Click Others → Manage mailbox archive.
5. Enable Mailbox archive status → Define the Archive folder name and save the changes.
> Note: It may take some time for the archive mailbox to be provisioned.
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Step 2: Create Retention Tags
1. Open Microsoft Purview portal.
2. Navigate to Solutions → Data Lifecycle Management → Exchange (Legacy) → MRM Retention tags.
3. Click + (Add) and choose:
- Default policy tag (DPT) or
- Personal tag (recommended for user flexibility).
4. Set:
Retention action: Move item to archive
Retention period (e.g., 1 year, 2 years, etc.).
5. Save the tag.
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Step 3: Create Retention Policy
1. Open Microsoft Purview portal.
2. Navigate to Solutions → Data Lifecycle Management → Exchange (Legacy) → MRM Retention policies.
2. Click + (Add) to create a new policy.
3. Assign the retention tags created in Step 2.
4. Save the policy.
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Step 4: Assign Retention Policy to Mailbox
1. Log in to Microsoft 365 Exchange Admin Center.
2. Go to Recipients → Mailboxes.
3. Select the required user.
4. Click Mailbox → Manage mailbox policies.
5. Assign the newly created Retention Policy.
6. Save the changes.
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Step 5: Verify Archiving
- Emails will automatically move to the Online Archive based on the retention period.
- Users can access the archive mailbox directly from **Outlook / [Outlook Web](https://outlook.office.com).
> Note: Archiving is processed by Microsoft in the background and may take up to 24–48 hours to reflect.
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