Suppose you wish to migrate emails, and for that, you have to import PST files with the help of the Import tool in MS Purview. To perform this task, you would need to add the “Mailbox Import Export” role to your Exchange account. If you could do it easily, you would cross one milestone in your email migration regime.
However, at times, you might encounter the “Mailbox Import Export Role Not Working” issue, creating hurdles in adding the role. Some admins get the message “We couldn’t save your changes. Please try again” when they try adding permissions for the Mailbox Import Export roles after assigning their username to the group.
These errors happen even if you have admin permission in the global admin group. What will you do in such situations? The need is to manually assign the Mailbox Import Export role by using Exchange Administration Center (EAC) or Exchange Management Shell (EMS).
This blog focuses on the same issue, bringing into the limelight the prominent resolutions to the Mailbox Import Export Role Not Working and similar errors encountered during the mailbox migration. We will also briefly discuss role of professional EDB to PST converter software in resolving this issue.
Assign the Mailbox Import Export Role using EAC
Here are the steps to assign the Mailbox Import Export Role with the help of Exchange Admin Center (EAC) in Exchange 2019, 2016, and previous versions.
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- Log in to Exchange Admin Center with your admin credentials
- Click Permissions > Recipient Management
- Click the Edit icon to open the Recipient Management window
- Under Roles, click + to open the Select a Role window
- Choose Mailbox Import Export > add > OK
- Choose the users whom you wish to assign the role for Mailbox Import Export, and click OK
- Log out of EAC and then log in again to start the Mailbox Export or Import role in Microsoft Exchange Server.
Assign the Mailbox Import Export Role using PowerShell
By default, even the global admins do not have the Mailbox Import Export permission, which forms one of the main factors behind the issue. Here is how you can do this task manually with the help of Exchange Management Shell (EMS).
- Open EMS and run the cmdlet below to assign the Mailbox Import Export role to a user
New-ManagementRoleAssignment –Role “Mailbox Import Export” –User
Example: New-ManagementRoleAssignment –Role “Mailbox Import Export” –User admin1
- Use the below PowerShell command to add the Mailbox Import Export Role to your Security Group
New-ManagementRoleAssignment -Role “Mailbox Import Export” -SecurityGroup
Example: New-ManagementRoleAssignment -Role “Mailbox Import Export” -SecurityGroup “Organization Management”
3. Next, verify if the role has been assigned successfully. Also, go through the list of users having the Mailbox Import Export role assigned. Here is the command:
Get-ManagementRoleAssignment -Role “Mailbox Import Export” | Format-List RoleAssigneeName, Name
Limitations of manual role assignment
Manual tasks entail several issues, such as:
- Insufficient source or destination storage space
- Attempt to export to a relative path instead of a UNC path
- No fixed destination permissions
- Role not applied
Besides, you may also encounter several security concerns when adding a user to the Import Export role:
- The user may inject data into a particular mailbox
- There could be a threat of the new user exporting sensitive data from the mailbox
These risks necessitate the need to:
- Enable the administrator to audit and record activities on privileged roles
- Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for compliance, audit, and permissions management
One way to avoid such technical hassles and ensure ease of mailbox import export is to switch to professional EDB to PST converter software.
The role of EDB to PST Converter Software in Mailbox Import Export
A professional EDB to PST converter software will works directly on the EDB file without depending on the Mailbox Import Export Role or Exchange permissions. This indicates its freedom from relying on the Exchange Management Shell (EMS), New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet, or the RBAC roles.
You can expect any third party software, quick and convenient to use without requiring you to have in-depth knowledge of the Exchange commands. Here are the basic steps to follow for any such application.
- Open the EDB file, whether online or offline,
- Scan the mailboxes and extract those you want to import or export
- Carries out EDB to PST conversion of the extracted mailboxes
- Exports the mailboxes directly to PST, Live Exchange, or Microsoft 365
Most likely, it will work fine even in the case of a crashed Exchange server, a dismounted database, or a broken role assignment. Moreover, it can restore mailbox items even if the Exchange server is not accessible.
Some software also allow advanced filter option for filtering specific emails or mailbox content. This helps the admins avoid emails from the Deleted and Junk email folders. As an added feature, you can also export the mailbox for a particular data range.
Conclusion
To migrate emails from Exchange Server to a different Server, you need to import PST files. For this task, you must have the Mailbox Import Export role assigned to your Exchange account. Often, migrating the emails gives errors, such as ‘Mailbox Import Export Role Not Working’, ‘We couldn’t save your changes’. Please try again, etc. These issues are common even if you possess admin permissions in the global admin group.
To resolve these errors, you would need to assign the roles for mailbox import and export manually, with the help of EAC or EMS. For EAC resolution, you will have to open EAC with your admin credentials and go on to assign the role for Mailbox Import Export to the selected user. To fix the error using EMS, New-ManagementRoleAssignment is the right command. Once you assign the role, the Get-ManagementRoleAssignment cmdlet will help to find out the successful assignment.
These manual methods could fix the errors, but they entail several drawbacks. For instance, you may face a shortage of storage space, the absence of fixed permission at the destination. There is also the risk of a user injecting data into a specific mailbox, leaving your sensitive data compromised.
