Unable to configure multiple Exchange accounts in Outlook 2013

This is a complicated issue so I will try to describe it the best I can.

I have a client with two SBS servers for two different organizations in two different locations.  Each server handles completely different domains.  Let's call them A and B.

The issue is this...using Outlook 2010 or 2013 on clients at location B, I can configure Outlook for the users mailbox on server B just fine.  Some of the users at location B also have mailboxes on server A.  When I add a 2nd Exchange account for the users mailbox on server A, things get weird.  

Sometimes, when I start Outlook after adding the 2nd Exchange account, Outlook will show only one mailbox, but it is incorrect.  The top level will show it is a mailbox on server B, but it contains email from server A.  When this happens, email actually transfers from one mailbox to the other.  I have to close Outlook quickly before things get out of hand. About a year ago, I determined that if the user has the same username and password for their mailbox on server A and server B, this would cause the problem.  So I changed the users' username on server B and it seemed to work with Outlook 2010.

Now, a year later, we have a new user with Outlook 2013 with a mailbox on server A and server B, who works in location B.  I setup Outlook 2013 with mailbox B and it's fine.  I add a 2nd Exchange account for mailbox A to their Outlook Profile, and when I launch Outlook, it shows both.  BUT, the mailbox A has nothing in it, and the status shows "This folder has not yet updated.  CONNECTED".  Mailbox B shows "All folders up to date.  Connected to Microsoft Exchange".  Also, existing email from mailbox A starts showing up in mailbox B.  If I go into mail account settings, I get the "Outlook is using temporary mailbox" dialog, meaning something has moved.  If I look at the two accounts, both look to be using the same OST file, even though under data files, there are two OST files, one for each mailbox account.  If I delete the 2nd Exchange account (A), Outlook works again for the single mailbox on server B.

I've tried configuring the accounts without cached mode, but that doesn't work either.  Mailbox B had a delegate account (Full access permissions) to another account on server B, but I have tried removing that also, but no change.

I cannot figure out why I cannot have two Exchange accounts, one from each server (A and B) in Outlook 2013/2010 at the same time.

HELP!  

Thank for any ideas.  I hope I haven't made this too confusing.  One last thing...when I add the 2nd Exchange mailbox, I authenticate with the username on server A with domain\username and their password.  The authentication seems to be accepted fine and without error.  I have also tried configuring the 2nd account using "automatic" instead of configuring manually.  Same problem.

July 22nd, 2014 2:35pm

Hi,

It seems the problem one year ago doesn't persist and only one new user is experiencing the new problem, am I correct?

To determine whether the emails in the two mailboxes are totally mixed, please logon the OWA for the two mailboxes. If on OWA the emails are still in order, I wonder how the emails in mailbox A don't sync to mailbox B - sync is one remarkable feature of Exchange Accounts. Based on my research, the issue may probably caused by the profile corruption. So an easy troubleshooting step/ method, is to create a new profile to setup the two Exchange Accounts:

Go to Control Panel, search "Mail" and open it, create a new Profile. Detailed steps can be found below:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/829918/en-us

Please create the two accounts in the new profile to test the result.

If the issue persists, create another profile to setup mailbox A, let me know if the mailbox A work properly then.

We may need to perform more to troubleshoot this issue, l'm looking forward to resolving it.

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

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July 23rd, 2014 6:23am

OK, I have done some more testing as you suggested.  I created yet another new profile with just mailbox A.  When I start Outlook, I see the users mailbox, plus a mailbox that the user has been given Full Permissions to (a delegate?).  There is one more mailbox that this user has full permissions to, but it did not auto-add itself, so I added the mailbox through the account properties.  Now, all three mailboxes at location A are in Outlook (users mailbox and 2 delegate mailboxes).  In Outlook, on the left, has at the top the users main mailbox, and then below it are two other "branches" for the delegate mailboxes.  I did NOT use cached exchange mode, btw.

I quit Outlook and edited the profile, adding another exchange account for the users mailbox at location B.  I did a "check-name" and authenticated OK.  

I launched Outlook, and the same (wrong) thing happens.  On the left pane of Outlook, at the top, it shows it is the users mailbox at location B (the main branch says Mailbox name -- location B), but all the folders and content are from mailbox at location A.  Outlook has mixed it up, and it is at this point that email starts moving between mailboxes, so I quit Outlook quickly.  It did show the two delegate mailboxes from location A, but there were just three "branches", and nowhere is there the real mailbox B.

Can it have anything to do with the fact that these accounts have delegates (or are given full manage permissions to other mailboxes on the  server)??

UPDATE:  I just determined something.  When looking at the Outlook email accounts dialog, for each account it shows the default delivery location.  For the first account (location A), it shows:

"Selected account delivers new messages to the following location:  usersemail@locationA\Inbox".

When I add the users mailbox for location B, it shows:

"Selected account delivers new messages to the following location:  usersemail@locationB\Inbox".

However, when I start Outlook, and see that things are wrong and quit, I go back into the accounts dialog, and BOTH accounts are set to deliver to the SAME location:

"Selected account delivers new messages to the following location:  usersemail@locationA\Inbox".

So now, the 2nd exchange account has changed it's location to deliver to mailbox A instead of B.

Crazy stuff.

  • Edited by lancorp Thursday, July 24, 2014 9:19 PM
July 24th, 2014 8:56pm

Hi,

I haven't seen this issue before and will do more research on this. As a workaround, please create two profiles, each for one Exchange Account.

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
July 29th, 2014 3:16am
Just so you know, this happens on any computer I setup these accounts on, including my own personal work computer at a completely different location.  We've also tried it on a fourth computer where another user has successfully setup his own accounts on both serverA and serverB.  When he adds this users mailbox to his Outlook, he gets the same problem.
July 29th, 2014 1:28pm

Hi,

Basically it's not Outlook Client related then, since it happens on all kinds of computers.

Do you use Autodiscover while setting up the accounts? I suppose there's something wrong with the AutoDiscover. We can learn how to troubleshoot Autodiscover from this blog:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchdxb/archive/2012/05/10/troublshooting-autodiscover-exchange-2007-2010.aspx

Or we can move the two mailboxes to another store to check the result.

Regards,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
August 7th, 2014 8:27am

Hi,

Just checking in to see if the information was helpful. Please let us know if you would like further assistance.

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

August 11th, 2014 1:52am
Did you find any work around? I am having this issue and have not been able to resolve.
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May 30th, 2015 9:44pm
Did you find any work around? I am having this issue and have not been able to resolve.
I have not found an answer.  I started another thread about the same thing earlier this year, but was basically told by the Pro's NOT do use multiple Exchange accounts in one profile, even though Outlook supports it.  I was told while the function is there to use multiple Exchange accounts, it doesn't work well and can cause trouble.
May 31st, 2015 9:40am

I have not found an answer.  I started another thread about the same thing earlier this year, but was basically told by the Pro's NOT do use multiple Exchange accounts in one profile, even though Outlook supports it.  I was told while the function is there to use multiple Exchange accounts, it doesn't work well and can cause trouble.

I'm very curious who told you that. There are only limitations when you set up a second Exchange account for a mailbox for which you also are a delegate.

Your issue most likely is related to the way your 2 Exchange servers and locations are related. You are talking about separate locations but more important is whether these are 2 separate Exchange Organizations and/or separate domains (Active Directory wise) and whether they share the same email name space. It is also important to know how AutoDiscover has been configured for both environments.

If these are indeed 2 completely separate Exchange environments and the domain and email name space have nothing to do with each other, then instead of logging on with only a username, use the full UPN of the users (which often is the same as the email address but that again depends on how the network is configured).

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May 31st, 2015 6:25pm

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