“System.InvalidOperationException” occurs when the "Enable-MailPublicFolder" cmdlet is run against a public folder in Exchange Server

Consider the following scenario:

• You have an Exchange Server forest in a Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 or a Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 environment.

• The Exchange Server forest contains parent and child domains.

In this scenario, if a public folder mailbox exists in the root domain, and you run the Enable-MailPublicFolder cmdlet from a child domain against the public folder, you receive a System.InvalidOperationException exception that states that the mailbox cannot be located.

Note This problem also occurs in the reverse scenario. If a public folder mailbox exists in the child domain, and you run the Enable-MailPublicFolder cmdlet from the root domain against the public folder, you receive a System.InvalidOperationException exception that states that the mailbox cannot be located.

This problem occurs because the search cannot locate a public folder that is in a different domain controller domain.

Exchange Server 2016

To resolve this problem, install Cumulative Update 10 for Exchange Server 2016 or a later cumulative update for Exchange Server 2016.

Exchange Server 2013

To resolve this problem, install Cumulative Update 21 for Exchange Server 2013 or a later cumulative update for Exchange Server 2013.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

Learn about the terminology that Microsoft uses to describe software updates.