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How to Fix “new-mailboxexportrequest couldn’t connect to the source mailbox”?

  author
Published By Mohit Jha
Nimisha Ramesh
Approved By Nimisha Ramesh
Published On November 18th, 2022
Reading Time 4 Minutes Reading

Microsoft Exchange Server is one of the user-friendly interface mailbox server popular among the users. It has many inbuilt commands and utilities, which can help Database Administrator to complete the most complex tasks by using few simple commands. But in some cases, these inbuilt utilities fail to execute the task due to any technical or another issue. In such cases, users are suggested to switch to a third-party tool for recovery that helps administrators also to complete the task which was left in between. Therefore, this post will enlighten users how to fix new-mailboxexportrequest couldn’t connect to the source mailbox issue and why such error occur while exporting Exchange mailboxes to PST format.

An Overview of New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet

This New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet is used to migrate the data stored in the Exchange mailbox to PST format or to archive it. One can use this cmdlet with on-premise Exchange Server 2016 and Mailbox Import Export role only. In order to use this command, a user needs to add the Mailbox Import Export role in the role group because by default it is not assigned to any group. For example:

New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox (user_name) -File_Path “Full_File_Path.pst”

With the help of this cmdlet, an administrator can create any number of mailbox export requests per mailbox. And, each of these requests is assigned a unique name. However, before executing these cmdlets, a user needs to have some special permissions.

How New-MailboxExportRequest Cmdlet Failed?

In some cases when a user runs the new-mailboxexportrequest command to migrate Exchange mailbox to PST format, it displays an error message stating that:

new-mailboxexportrequest couldn’t connect to the source mailbox

This error simply indicate that there is some technical issue that results failed new-mailboxexportrequest cmdlet. In order to have proper migration, it is important to fix this issue so that command is executed properly. Now, the main reasons behind this failed cmdlet are:

  • Connectivity problem with Microsoft Exchange server
  • MAPI protocol is disabled.

Fix “new-mailboxexportrequest couldn’t connect to the source mailbox” Manually

Whenever a user encounter any error while running new-mailboxexportrequest, he or she can try few solutions to resolve the issue:

1. Check and resolve the internet and Exchange Connectivity problem

2. After that, simply login to your Exchange account via OWA i.e., Outlook Web App and check if you are able to do it successfully or not. If yes, export inbox data to PST manually from the Outlook Web App

3. To connect to Microsoft Outlook it is important to enable MAPI protocol. If a user wants to export Exchange mailbox when it is online, he or she needs to check the MAPIBlockOutlookNonCachedMode feature. Now, to do so, follow the steps mentioned below:

  • First of all, verify the Client Access Server mailbox status to make sure that MAPI mode is enabled. From the Exchange Management Shell (EMS), simply right-click on the user mailbox and verify its properties or you can execute the following command:

Get-CASMailbox –Identifyusername

  • Now, to verify it is actually working or not turn off the MAPI mode and turn on again on the same time. To disable it, run the command given below:

Set-CASMailbox ID –MAPIBlockOutlookNonCachedMode:$false

  • After that, to enable it again, execute the command below:

Set-CASMailbox ID –MAPIBlockOutlookNonCachedMode:$True

  • At last, execute the export cmdlet again:

New-MailboxExportRequest–Mailbox USERID– File_Path\\SERVER_NAME\ SHARE_PATH\name.pst

After following all above steps carefully, a user will not face the same error any more.

Alternative Approach to Convert Exchange EDB to PST

The above discussed manual method is very complex and time taking to perform as it needs to run so many cmdlets, which not easy to understand. Therefore, to fix new-mailboxexportrequest couldn’t connect to the source mailbox error, one can use some third-party tool. Exchange Recovery is one such utility that let users complete the task in an efficient manner. Using this application, a user can perform trouble-free and correct conversion without any file size limitation. The application is designed in such a manner that it recover all data items from Exchange mailbox like emails, contacts, calendars, etc., and export EDB to PST format. Apart from all this, the software is also capable to recover deleted data also from EDB file in just a few simple clicks. Apart from all this, the software supports recovery of Exchange 2016, 2013, and all below versions.

new-mailboxexportrequest couldn’t connect to the source mailbox

Bottom Line

There can be any possible reason for EDB to PST file conversion. However, to do this, relying on manual tricks and cmdlets is not always helpful. If those commands are not executed properly, there might be a loss of data. Therefore, to have proper management of Exchange mailbox, a user is advised to export Exchange EDB to PST format using a third-party tool. However, it also lets users overcome new-mailboxexportrequest couldn’t connect to the source mailbox issue.