This topic provides information about some of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) related to Druva inSync for Exchange Online.
General SaaS Apps FAQs
Refer to the following topic for FAQs related to SaaS Apps.
Configuration FAQs
How do I configure inSync to protect Exchange Online data?
Can I use a normal User to configure inSync for Exchange Online backup?
No. You will need to use an Admin Account for the Exchange Admin which at least has read access to all the users.
How to bulk import users from Microsoft 365 for Exchange Online?
You can bulk import users from Microsoft 365 for Exchange Online using the CSV import option. Refer to the following topic to learn about the procedure to bulk import Active Directory (AD) users to inSync from Microsoft 365 Exchange Online. For more information, see How to bulk import users from Microsoft 365 for Exchange Online.
How to get licenses for Shared or Resource mailbox
By default, based on the Microsoft 365 license count you get 50% complimentary licenses for shared and resource mailboxes without any extra storage.
In addition to complimentary licenses, you can also purchase more shared/resource mailbox licenses. To know more, contact support.
What is Mapping Name in Exchange Online backup?
Mapping Name is the name you give to a user provisioning mapping when you create it. A mapping defines which users are imported into Druva and which profile, storage, and quota they receive. The field appears when you create a mapping for AD/LDAP or SCIM user provisioning. For shared mailbox backup, ensure the profile associated with the shared mailbox user is not associated with any AD mapping. See Backup a Shared Mailbox.
Backup FAQs
How to backup Exchange Online data?
As an inSync Cloud administrator, you can schedule automatic backups or manually backup Exchange Online data. For more information, see Backup Exchange Online data.
What data of Exchange Online can inSync backup?
You can backup the following Exchange Online data:
Mailbox (Individual user and Shared)
Calendar with metadata
Contacts
Emails with attachments
Archived emails with attachments
Recoverable Items folders:
Deletions
Purges
For more information, see Introduction to inSync for Exchange Online.
Some users have multiple mailboxes but only the primary mailbox is backed up. How do I back up the additional mailboxes?
By default, inSync only backs up the primary mailbox of each licensed user — shared or resource mailboxes a user has access to are not automatically included. Each shared mailbox must be added and configured as its own separate entity. See Backup a Shared Mailbox.
Can I backup shared mailboxes in the preserved state?
A shared mailbox in a preserved state is backed up automatically regardless of the shared mailbox user's Entra ID sign-in status (sign-in allowed or blocked) unless it is not disabled by the administrator.
What will happen if a user is an Exchange Online user in a preserved state and is converted to a Shared mailbox?
If a preserved Exchange Online license user is converted to a Shared mailbox, then within 24 hours the Exchange Online device is enabled and the user consumes one Shared mailbox license once the backup is initiated.
Why is Druva attempting to back up a user account that has already been deleted from Microsoft 365, and how can I fix it?
This happens because when a user account or mailbox is deleted in Microsoft 365, internal Microsoft Graph APIs can continue broadcasting an "active" status due to native retention policies (like a 30- to 90-day hold) or incomplete backend deletion states. Since Druva still receives data blocks from Microsoft, it continues trying to run scheduled backups, resulting in backup failures.
To completely stop these automated backup attempts while safely retaining the user's historical data under a non-billed preserved license container, follow these steps in the Druva Console:
Locate the decommissioned user account and click Activate.
Go to the operational settings ribbon and select Preserve User.
This updates the account's backup status to Disabled, terminating all future backup runs while securely holding their existing Exchange Online and OneDrive snapshots.
Exchange Online FAQs | Druva | Documentation
Restore FAQs
How to restore Exchange Online data?
An inSync Cloud administrator can restore data using the inSync Management Console. An inSync end user can restore data using the inSync Web. For more information, see Restore Exchange Online data.
Can I restore Exchange Online backed up data for a user to an in-place archived mailbox?
No, restoring Exchange Online backed up data directly to an in-place archived mailbox is not supported due to Microsoft 365 API limitations.
Why does the due date of a restored task appear different from the original?
This is a Microsoft Graph API limitation. Microsoft stores due dates as date-only values with a fixed time of 18:30:00 UTC, regardless of the time shown in the UI. For users in time zones ahead of UTC (e.g., IST), this can cause the restored date to appear one day earlier. Druva applies a correction to ensure the date displayed in the Microsoft To Do UI is preserved accurately after restore.
I downloaded Exchange Online data as a PST file. Where do I download the PST file from after the job finishes?
After the PST conversion completes, Druva sends an email with a download link to the registered email address of the administrator who initiated the download. The download link is also available in the Admin Audit Trail entry for the download action.
PST download jobs do not appear on the Live Activities or Jobs dashboard. PST generation runs as an isolated background task, so monitor the Admin Audit Trail to confirm completion. For details, see Download Exchange Online data.
Shared Mailbox FAQs
How do I back up all shared mailboxes?
There is no bulk option to enable backup for all shared mailboxes at once. Add each shared mailbox email address as a new user in inSync, associate it with a profile that has Exchange Online backup enabled, and then trigger the backup. Before you begin: Configure inSync to use inSync Email ID to access user accounts. inSync does not support the User Principal Name (UPN) AD attribute for shared mailbox backup.
Ensure the profile associated with the shared mailbox user is not associated with any AD mapping.
For the complete procedure, see Backup a Shared Mailbox.
How do I manually add a Microsoft 365 shared mailbox for backup?
Add the shared mailbox email address as a new user in inSync. See Add users individually.
Associate the user with a profile that has backup for Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online) enabled.
On the left-hand panel, click Exchange Online.
Select the shared mailbox email address and click Backup Now.
On the confirmation window, click Yes.
For prerequisites and details, see Backup a Shared Mailbox.
How long does it take for a mailbox to be removed from Druva after it goes inactive?
When a user or shared mailbox is deleted in Microsoft 365, it is soft-deleted and remains in the Entra ID recycle bin for 30 days by default. During this period the mailbox still exists in Exchange Online, so Druva continues to back it up.
After 30 days, the mailbox is permanently purged from Microsoft 365. Druva detects the deletion in the next backup cycle, and:
The user or mailbox is marked as Disabled in Druva.
A user mailbox transitions to a Preserved user.
The Microsoft 365 or shared mailbox license is released.
To remove the mailbox sooner, perform a hard delete of the user in Entra ID and permanently delete the mailbox using Exchange Online PowerShell. For the procedure, see Troubleshoot Exchange Online issues.
What happens if a Shared Mailbox user is deleted from the Entra ID?
If a Shared Mailbox user is deleted from Entra ID, then the Shared Mailbox is disabled for backups. The Shared Mailbox or Resource Mailboxes will consume Microsoft 365 preserved license and the Shared Mailbox or Resource Mailbox license will be available.
What happens if a user mailbox sign-in is blocked or deleted manually?
If sign-in for the user mailbox is blocked or the mailbox is deleted, then there is no change in behavior. The user’s state is changed to preserved and the Exchange Online will not be backed up.
What happens if a user mailbox is converted to a Shared Mailbox or Resource Mailbox after the sign-in is blocked?
If a user mailbox is converted to a Shared Mailbox or Resource Mailbox after the sign-in is blocked, the Microsoft 365 license is available and will consume the Shared Mailbox license on the next back initiation once Exchange Online gets enabled. The changes will be visible on the user interface within 24 Hrs.
📝 Note
If you convert Shared Mailbox to User Mailbox in M365 tenant, the existing Shared Mailbox license in Druva remains assigned. Additionally, the converted User Mailbox will also consume the license. To correct the license assignment, please refer How To Convert A Shared Exchange Online Mailbox To A User Mailbox Within inSync
What happens if a Shared Mailbox user with an active mailbox license is marked as preserved?
A user with an active Shared Mailbox is backed up for Microsoft 365 workloads and if you mark the user as preserved, then the Microsoft Shared Mailbox license is available to use and it consumes the Microsoft 365 preserved license.
What happens if a Preserved Exchange Online user is converted to a Shared Mailbox user?
If a user with an Exchange Online is in a preserved state and is converted to a Shared Mailbox user then within 24 hours of mailbox conversion, the Exchange Online is enabled and the user starts consuming the Shared Mailbox license once the backup is initiated.
Data Governance and Legal Hold FAQs
Which Data Governance tasks can an inSync Cloud administrator perform?
As an inSync Cloud administrator, you can perform the following tasks pertaining to governance:
Analyze current and future trends about the types of data that your users are backing up
Search any file on the Microsoft 365 app. See Enterprise search for backed up data
Track the activities of inSync users and administrators
To learn more about inSync Data Governance, see Data Governance.
How to analyze Exchange Online app users' data using eDiscovery tools?
As an inSync Cloud administrator, you can place legal holds on Exchange Online data of the Microsoft 365 app, thereby reducing the amount of time that IT personnel spend manually collecting and managing data. You can then access the user's legal hold data from Microsoft 365 by using WebDAV.
To learn more, see Legal Hold.
How do I tell what account is being used for M365 email backup?
The Druva documentation notes that there isn't a single UI field in the console that displays "configured by X account" by name. However, you can verify the configuration status within Druva and pin down the exact account by checking your Microsoft logs.
Here is how to check your configuration status in Druva:
Log in to the Console: Log in to the Druva Cloud Platform or inSync Management Console.
Navigate to Microsoft 365: Select Microsoft 365 from the top menu.
Check App Configuration: On the Microsoft 365 Overview page, look at the App Configuration section. This displays the date and timestamp of the last successful configuration for your Microsoft 365 apps.
Verify Configuration: For more detail, go to Cloud App Settings (accessible from the Microsoft 365 app settings) and click Verify Configuration. This checks the app authentication status and validates the connection using the account originally used to register the tenant.
To identify the exact email or account tied to the registration, you will need to review your Microsoft 365 Entra ID app registration and audit logs on the Microsoft side to see who originally granted the admin consent.
Key Rules for the Configuring Account
Role Setup: The account used to register the tenant and grant consent was originally a Global Administrator account.
Dedicated Service Account: Druva strongly recommends using a dedicated service account rather than a personal administrator's account. Because OAuth 2.0 tokens are tied to that specific user, if a personal account is disabled (e.g., an employee leaves), the Druva app will disconnect and break backups and restores.
Licensing & Type: The account must have a valid, active Microsoft 365 license and should not be a shared mailbox (which is unsupported by Microsoft Graph APIs for Groups discovery).
Downgrading Privileges: After initial consent, the account's Global Admin role can be downgraded to a normal user role. Exception: If you use Teams/Groups restore features, the account must retain its Global Admin privileges, or those restores will fail.
Troubleshooting: Disconnected or Failing Backups
If your backups are failing or the app shows as "Disconnected," it usually means the token or trust with the originally configured account has broken. This can happen due to:
The account being disabled
A password reset
Consent being revoked
Changes to MFA or Conditional Access policies
To fix this, you must reinstall/reconfigure the app and re-consent using a valid Global Administrator account.