How to Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST Instantly? Top 4 Methods

Looking for a reliable way to export Office 365 mailbox to PST? Whether you need to backup for migration, offline access or any other reason, this guide has got you covered with best methods. In this blog, we will walk you through all efficient ways including manual and automated with proper step guide to export Office 365 to PST without any hassle. We have made sure to include every detail that the user needs to know about the Office 365 export mailbox to PST process. So, let’s get started.

A recent major outage affected Microsoft Exchange Online and other services, as reported by USA TODAY. This has caused several serious problems for many sectors like hospitals, banks, emergency services, airlines and public transport. Flights are being delayed and important systems have stopped working. Situations like these show how important it is to keep a local backup of cloud data.

If Microsoft services go down anyhow, if you already have a copy then it will still raise a hope to access data without any issues. One of the best ways to export Office 365 mailbox to PST format as PST files are mainly used by Microsoft Outlook and is known for its capability of creating backups, storing old emails and migrating data to other platforms seamlessly.

There are few ways to perform Office 35 export mailbox to PST process but they can be tricky and lengthy at the same time. One common method is by using the eDiscovery tool in the Office 365 admin center , but sometimes it results in showing an error “export request failed with status code 500”.

However, some users also search the web for ways to export Office 365 mailbox to PST PowerShell. But they are not aware that PowerShell does not support downloading Office 365 mailbox directly to PST format. That is why we are here to help you out at every step.

Why Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST?

Before directly diving into the solutions, it is important to explore the reasons behind archive Office 365 mailbox to PST.

• PST files allow access to Office 365 emails in offline mode or you can say without a stable internet connection.
• PST files make it easy for companies or large organizations to store and share data for regular checks & helps in keeping records for legal cases.
• If any employee leaves, then before deleting its Office 365 account admins usually take a local backup in PST format to avoid any mishappening in future.
• PST files make the migration process smooth and organized usually when users switch Office 365 to another platform.
• Exporting Office 365 mailbox to PST helps in freeing up storage space by archiving old data locally.

Some Prerequisites Before Exporting Office 365 to PST

When you are going to convert your data to a different format. You have to pay attention to certain things, especially when exporting Office 365 mailbox to PST. Below are certain points you must do before going through the procedure.

• First, check the administrative permission. Make sure you have necessary rights to export your emails.
• Perform a backup of your Office 365. So, if something happens at least you have the data.
• Check the size of your mailbox. Ensure that you have adequate storage space to store bulk data.
• Check which file you need to store and which one you need not. This makes the process faster as you do not need to waste your time to find the emails you want to save.
• Planning an appropriate time is also required. If you have large data, then it will take hours to save them. So, prepare a time where there is no disturbance during the process.

It is compulsory to follow these points. Because it makes the process easier and quicker. Now, we are going to start our first method using Microsoft Outlook.

Method 1- Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST using MS Outlook

Outlook is a Microsoft product and desktop-based email client, so you can connect your O365 account easily for exporting emails in PST format. This method suits users who want to manually export Office 365 mailbox to PST from webmail using Outlook.

1. Open Outlook on your system.
2. Navigate to File> Add Account.
3. Then, enter your Office 365 email address and click Connect.
4. After that, fill in the account password to Sign In.
5. Once you are verified. Click Done to finish the setup. Outlook will not begin to sync your Office 365 mailbox.
6. Now, export Office 365 mailbox to PST. Click File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
   
   
7. Choose Export to a file > click Next.
   
   
8. Thereafter, select the PST saving option and hit the Next button.
   
9. Select particular files or the entire mailbox that you want to export.
10. Then, browse a destination path and click Finish. You’re done.

NOTE: If you don’t have Outlook installed then this method will not work. In that case jump to another method that we have discussed in upcoming sections.

Office 365 Export Mailbox to PST eDiscovery Pre-Conditions

If you are planning to use the eDiscovery method then make sure that your setup meets the below mentioned requirements.

• You must have access to the Discovery Management Role Group to export Office 365 mailbox to PST using eDiscovery.
• Must be using a Windows supported system with Windows 7 version or later.
• The device you are using should have Internet Explorer 11 or Microsoft Edge working.
• Make sure that your Office 365 account has a valid subscription and features enabled.
• Must have installed Microsoft .NET framework or higher.

Method 2- Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST Using eDiscovery

This method is used to find your content and save them. You can use it to also download your Microsoft 365 emails to PST. Properly follow the steps below as it is a lengthy process.

1. Login to your Exchange Admin Center with account details.
   
2. Choose “Security and Compliance” from the Admin Centers option.
   
3. Click on the Permissions >> eDiscovery Manager.
   
4. Use the Edit button to change the respective roles accordingly, you can modify or add other roles as per choice.
5. You will get pre-assigned permissions by default i.e., Case Management, Compliance Search, Export, Hold, Preview, Review, and RMS Decrypt.
6. If your Export Role is missing, then can add it by following the previous step to export Office 365 mailbox to PST.
   
7. Choose More Resources and open all resources, and then Microsoft Purview Compliance >> Content Search >> New Search option.
   
8. Click on the New Search and a wizard will open with different labels. And it allows you to customize elements such as Name, Description, Location of user mailbox, etc.
   
9. Apply the multiple advanced filters as per your choice from the Condition tab.
   
10. After that, click on the Submit button and then Done to start the process.
    
11. Your eDiscovery process is running in the background, you can check it from the Search tab.
12. After the complete process, hit on the Action icon and select Export Results.
    
13. Lastly, click on the Export button to export PST from Office 365 admin center.
    
14. Now download the results using the Download Results button and copy the Export Key.
    
15. A pop-up will appear and will start the eDiscovery PST Export Tool and paste the copied Export Key here. Select the location and hit on the Start icon.
    

This way you can get your data free of cost, but it is lengthy and causes you several issues such as data loss, unable to connect your Office 365 account, etc. Therefore, it is better to use the automated tool to get your data.

Errors You Might Face while Exporting Office 365 to PST via eDiscovery

If the user has not correctly set up the eDiscovery tool then they might face some issues when trying to export Office 365 mailbox to PST.

Error 1- eDiscovery PST Export Tool stuck on Calculating.

Sometimes the tool gets stuck and shows “Calculating…”. Users observe that it does not move forward.

Why this happens :

• Large mailbox size
• Many search results
• Internet connection issues

Error 2- “Cannot Start Application” Text at the End

This happens when the eDiscovery tool fails to launch or start.

What to do:

• Install .NET framework 4.5 or later edition.
• Try switching your current browser to a new one.
• Check internet connection.
• Disable firewall or antivirus temporarily.

Error 3- Can’t Start eDiscovery PST Export Tool from Admin Center in Office 365

You may not be able to open the tool from the Office 365 admin center.

Why it happens:

• Maybe you don’t have the right permissions.
• Not a part of Discovery Management Group as required.
• Browser compatibility issues can also be a reason.

Method 3- Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST with PowerShell

There is no direct PowerShell command to export Office 365 to PST. However, if users want to export Office 365 data for free then using eDiscovery Export tool is the only solution.

Unlike on-premises Exchange server, Office 365 does not support New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet that allows direct export in PST format.

Users who are similar with PowerShell can connect Office 365 mailbox to Outlook via account setup or permission delegation. And then they can use Microsoft Outlook’s Import/Export feature to manually export Office 365 mailbox to PST.

This is technically possible but it is a very complex process and rarely used due to challenging setup steps.

Here’s how you can export an on-premises exchange mailbox to PST file with basic PowerShell commands using New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet

Step 1- Connect to Office 365 Exchange Online

Open PowerShell on your system and run it as administrator. Use the below command to connect an Office 365 account.

$UserCredential = Get-Credential
Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName <UserPrincipalName> -UserCredential $UserCredential

NOTE: Replace the <UserPrincipalName> with the actual user principal name you are working with.

Step 2- Export Mailbox to PST

Once you are connected, use the command illustrated below to export the entire mailbox into PST file.

New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox <MailboxName> -FilePath \\Server\SharedFolder\mailbox.PST

NOTE: Replace <MailboxName> with the user’s actual mailbox and give a valid destination path to store the PST file.

Step 3- Check Export Progress

Get-MailboxExportRequest

Step 4- Clean Up the Export Request (Optional)

Get-MailboxExportRequest | Remove-MailboxExportRequest

As these methods hold limitations, complex to perform and support technical setup, we recommend using the professional Office 365 to PST export tool. For you, we have mentioned the automated tool as well. Be with us.

How to Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST?

1. Firstly, download and install the export tool on your existing system and run it.
2. Enter the Office 365 account email address and password and hit the Login button. Don’t forget to select I am Admin button.
3. All mailboxes of the account will load on the preview panel of the software. Select folders that you wish to export Office 365 mailboxes to PST.
   
4. Although the product displays PST as the default saving option still for the safe side, you can re-select it from the menu.
5. Click on the “Browse (Folder)” button to select the location to save the resultant data.
6. Finally, click on the “Backup” button to export PST from Office 365.

With these simple steps you can effortlessly export your data into PST or any other format. In addition to that you can also use its advanced features to export your data.

Conclusion

Overall, you can easily export Office 365 mailbox to PST. Here, we have provided four methods that can help you download your data without any issues. The solutions are simple: you have to just properly follow the steps and your data will be easily exported in PST format. Make sure that you follow the prerequisites before following the methods. If you are having problems using the manual solutions.  Then, the professional software would be a great option.