How to Set Up Email Forwarding in Exchange Step by Step

You can set up Email Forwarding in Exchange by changing mailbox settings or by using PowerShell commands. Many companies trust Microsoft Exchange to manage their email. Almost 40% of companies that use hosted email services use Exchange. Over 3.6 million businesses around the world pick this platform. The steps are clear if you are new to Exchange or if you have used it before.

Key Takeaways

• Email forwarding in Exchange lets you send emails from one mailbox to another. You can send emails inside or outside your company. You can also choose to keep copies of the emails.

• You can set up forwarding with the Exchange Admin Center. This way is simple and uses pictures to help you. You can also use PowerShell for faster setups with many mailboxes.

• Forwarding to outside addresses needs more security steps. You also need admin permissions to stop data leaks and keep things safe.

• Always test forwarding by sending a test email. Check the logs to make sure messages go to the right mailbox.

• Use mail flow rules, shared mailboxes, or third-party tools for more control. These can help fix problems with forwarding.

Email Forwarding Basics

What Is Email Forwarding

Email Forwarding in Microsoft Exchange lets you send all new emails from one mailbox to another. You can send emails to someone at your work or to someone outside your company. You can also keep a copy in the first mailbox or just send it to the new address. This feature helps you control where your emails go in Exchange.

Tip: You can set up Email Forwarding in the Exchange admin center or by using PowerShell commands. Both ways let you pick if you want to keep a copy in the first mailbox.

Here is how Email Forwarding works in Exchange:

• It sends emails from one mailbox to another mailbox.

• You can send emails to people at your work or to outside addresses.

• You can choose to send emails to both mailboxes or just the new one.

• If you use both inside and outside forwarding, Exchange will try the inside address first.

Common Uses

There are many reasons to use Email Forwarding at work. Here are some common examples:

• You change your company’s domain name and want clients to still reach your old email.

• You need to send emails from a past worker’s mailbox to someone who works there now so you do not lose messages.

• You want to put emails from different groups or companies into one mailbox to make things easier.

These uses help you keep your emails organized, save time, and make sure you do not miss anything important.

Configure Email Forwarding

Setting up Email Forwarding in Exchange helps you handle messages when someone gets a new job or leaves. You can use the Exchange Admin Center (EAC) or PowerShell to set up forwarding. Both ways let you pick if you want to keep a copy of emails in the first mailbox.

Using Exchange Admin Center

You can use the Exchange Admin Center to set up Email Forwarding with easy steps. This way is good if you like using pictures and buttons.

1. Open the Exchange Admin Center. Go to Recipients and then Mailboxes.

2. Find the mailbox you want to forward emails from and select it.

3. In the mailbox settings, find Email forwarding and click Manage email forwarding.

4. Turn on the setting for Forward all emails sent to this mailbox.

5. Pick the address to forward emails to. You can search for someone at your work or type in an outside email.

6. If you want to keep a copy in the first mailbox, choose Deliver message to both forwarding address and mailbox.

7. Click Save to finish, then close the window.

Tip: If you want to forward emails to an outside address in Exchange Online, you might need to make a mail contact first. This helps Exchange know who the outside person is.

You can test your setup by sending an email to the first mailbox. Check if it also goes to the forwarding address.

Using PowerShell

PowerShell gives you more control. It is good if you want to set up Email Forwarding for many people or want to do it faster.

1. Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell by typing:

Connect-ExchangeOnline

1. To forward emails to someone at your work and keep a copy, type:

Set-Mailbox -Identity "user@example.com" -ForwardingAddress "internaluser@example.com" -DeliverToMailboxAndForward $true

1. To forward emails to an outside address, use the -ForwardingSMTPAddress part:

Set-Mailbox -Identity "user@example.com" -ForwardingSMTPAddress "externaluser@gmail.com"

1. If you want to keep a copy in the first mailbox, add:

-DeliverToMailboxAndForward $true

1. To check if forwarding works, type:

Get-Mailbox "user@example.com" | Format-List ForwardingSMTPAddress,DeliverToMailboxAndForward

1. Make sure you have the right permissions before you start. Some companies stop automatic forwarding to outside addresses for safety. You may need to change anti-spam or remote domain settings to allow outside forwarding.

Note: When you set up forwarding to an outside address, Exchange Online might block it at first. You can turn this on by changing anti-spam rules in the Microsoft 365 Defender portal. Go to Email & collaboration > Policies & rules > Threat policies > Anti-spam and set automatic forwarding to "On" for your users.

You can use PowerShell to set up forwarding for one person or many people at the same time. This way saves time if you have a big team.

Reminder: Always check the box or use the setting to keep a copy of forwarded emails if you want to keep records in the first mailbox.

Setting up Email Forwarding in Exchange gives you choices and control. You can pick the way that works best for you and make sure important emails go to the right people.

Internal vs External Forwarding

When you set up Email Forwarding in Exchange, you must pick if you want to send emails to someone at your work or to someone outside. Each choice has its own steps and safety rules.

Forward to Internal Address

You can send emails to another person or group at your work. This is easy because Exchange knows all the mailboxes inside your company. To do this, open the Exchange Admin Center. Pick the mailbox you want. Choose someone at your work as the forwarding address. You can also keep a copy in the first mailbox.

If you want to send emails to many people, use a distribution group. Add the group as the forwarding address. Exchange will send the email to everyone in the group. This makes it simple to handle many people at once.

Forward to External Address

Sending emails to someone outside your company needs more steps and special rights. Exchange blocks this by default to keep your data safe. You need to be an administrator to change the anti-spam settings and let forwarding happen. Here is what you should do:

1. Sign in as a Microsoft 365 administrator.

2. Go to the Security & Compliance portal.

3. Change the anti-spam outbound policy.

4. Turn on automatic forwarding rules.

Forwarding to outside addresses can be risky. Important information could leave your company by mistake. Always check your company’s rules before you turn on outside forwarding. Only let trusted people and addresses use this feature.

Tip: Use mail contacts for outside addresses and transport rules if you want more control over forwarding.

Verify and Test Forwarding

Send Test Email

After you set up forwarding, you should check if it works. First, send a test email to the original mailbox. Use a subject like "Test Forwarding" so you can spot it fast. Wait a few minutes. Then look in both the original mailbox and the forwarding address. If you picked to keep a copy, you will see the message in both places.

Tip: Always use a special subject for your test email. This makes it easier to find the message in logs and inboxes.

Check Delivery

You can make sure the email arrived by checking message tracking logs in Exchange. These logs show where your email went and if it got to the forwarding address. Use the Exchange Admin Center or PowerShell to look for events like RECEIVE, REDIRECT, SEND, and DELIVER. These events show the message moved from the first mailbox to the forwarding address.

• Use this PowerShell command to find mailboxes with forwarding:

get-mailbox | Where-Object { $_.ForwardingAddress -ne $null }

• To track one message, use:

Get-MessageTrackingLog -Recipients "forwardingaddress@example.com" -Start "06/01/2024" -End "06/02/2024"

• If you do not see the test email in the logs, check your spam or junk folder. Sometimes, spam filters stop or slow down forwarded messages. You can also ask for a delivery receipt when you send the test email. This gives you proof that Exchange sent the message.

Troubleshoot Issues

If your test email does not show up, you need to fix the problem. Here are some common problems and how to solve them:

Note: If you still have trouble after these steps, ask your IT support team for help. Do not use forwarding for important emails until you know it works. Checking and watching your setup often helps stop problems like data leaks or forwarding without permission.

Advanced Email Forwarding Options

Mail Flow Rules

Mail flow rules in Exchange help you control how emails move. These rules let you pick what happens to certain messages. You can set up rules for emails with special words in the subject. You can also skip messages that are replies or out-of-office.

• You can make rules for who sent the email or what is in the subject.

• You can add exceptions, like skipping emails with "RE:" or "FW:" in the subject or those marked as out-of-office.

• You can choose to forward, redirect, or add more people to the email.

Note: Sometimes, rules do not work as you think. For example, if you want to forward emails with "Severe" in the subject, the rule might skip them because "Severe" has "RE" in it. Always test your rules to make sure they work right.

Mail flow rules have some limits:

• You cannot put thousands of addresses in one rule.

• Big or tricky rules can slow down your server.

• Exchange only lets you redirect a message once. If you try to forward it again, it will not work.

Shared Mailboxes

Shared mailboxes let teams work on emails together. You can set up forwarding for a shared mailbox in the Exchange Admin Center or with PowerShell. Sometimes, forwarding does not work and emails stay in the shared mailbox. If this happens, you can use a mail flow rule to send emails from the shared mailbox to another address.

• Use PowerShell to set where emails should go:

Set-Mailbox -Identity "sharedmailbox1" -ForwardingAddress "user@example.com"

• Check mail flow reports if you have trouble.

• Make sure users have the right permissions to use the mailbox.

Shared mailboxes do not have passwords. You must give users permission to open them. In hybrid setups, keep mailboxes and people who use them on the same system to stop problems.

Third-Party Tools

You can use third-party tools to get more features for forwarding. For example, CodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro lets you forward emails in more ways and keeps the email headers safe. This helps protect your emails and gives you more control than Exchange rules.

Azure Functions is another tool. It lets you run your own scripts when emails come in. You can use it to check for spam, send alerts, or make special forwarding rules. These tools help you do more tasks and keep your emails safe.

Tip: Third-party tools are good if you need more choices than Exchange gives you.

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To set up forwarding in Exchange, do these steps: First, open the Exchange Admin Center. Go to Recipients and then Mailboxes. Pick the mailbox you want and click Edit. Next, open the Mailbox Features tab. Look for Mail Flow and turn on forwarding. Pick who will get the emails. Decide if you want to keep a copy in the first mailbox. If you need to send emails outside your company, use PowerShell. Check your setup using mailbox properties or PowerShell to make sure it works.

You should check forwarding settings often. Internal and external forwarding are not the same. External forwarding can be risky for security. Many companies block it to keep data safe. Always watch forwarding rules and ask for help if you have hard problems.

FAQ

How do you stop email forwarding in Exchange?

Open the Exchange Admin Center. Pick the mailbox you want. Click Manage email forwarding. Switch off the forwarding setting. Click Save to finish. You can also use PowerShell:

Set-Mailbox -Identity "user@example.com" -ForwardingAddress $null -ForwardingSMTPAddress $null

Can you forward emails to multiple addresses?

You cannot send emails to many addresses at once. Make a distribution group with all the people you need. Set the forwarding address to this group. Exchange will send emails to everyone in the group.

Does Exchange keep a copy of forwarded emails?

Yes, you can keep a copy if you want. In the forwarding settings, pick Deliver message to both forwarding address and mailbox. This keeps emails in the first mailbox and sends them to the new address.

Why does external forwarding sometimes fail?

Exchange blocks sending emails outside by default for safety. You must turn it on in anti-spam settings. Always check your company’s rules before you allow it.

Tip: Always test external forwarding after you turn it on.