Disabling Outlook Auto-Mapping in Exchange
The auto-mapping feature, introduced with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP1, automatically adds shared mailboxes to an Outlook profile when a user is granted Full Access permissions.
While convenient, this feature may cause issues in complex environments—such as performance degradation or user confusion—as all accessible mailboxes are automatically loaded into the Outlook profile.
When to disable auto-mapping
It’s recommended to disable auto-mapping in the following cases:
- The user has access to many shared mailboxes
- Outlook becomes slow or unstable
- Mailboxes should not appear automatically in the profile
Disabling auto-mapping via PowerShell
To grant Full Access to a mailbox without enabling auto-mapping, use the following command with the -Automapping $false parameter:
Add-MailboxPermission -Identity "MailboxName" -User "UserName" -AccessRights FullAccess -Automapping $false
If permissions were previously set
If access has already been granted with auto-mapping enabled, follow these steps:
- Remove the existing permission
- Reassign it using
-Automapping $false
To identify existing permissions with auto-mapping enabled:
$FixAutoMapping = Get-MailboxPermission -Identity "SharedMailbox" | Where { $_.AccessRights -eq "FullAccess" -and $_.IsInherited -eq $false }After identifying the entries, remove and reapply permissions accordingly.
Troubleshooting tip
If a user reports that Outlook is slow or takes time to open, check if they have multiple shared mailboxes automatically mapped. Disabling auto-mapping may resolve the issue quickly and effectively.
