New Message Trace in Exchange Online ( Public Preview)

Tracking email delivery in Exchange Online has always been a challenge. The old Message Trace fell short with its restricted query range and inefficient interface, leaving admins struggling to retrieve vital data.

Microsoft has taken note and introduced the Public Preview of the new Message Trace. Even better, this new functionality will be enabled by default once it rolls out to your tenant. The rollout begins in mid-December 2024 and is expected to be completed by the end of December 2024.

Here’s a closer look at how this new tool can transform your email tracking workflow.

The Problem with the Old Message Trace

Admins frequently struggled with:

• The old Message Trace allowed only a 10-day query range, making it impossible to track older emails without splitting searches across multiple timeframes.
• A clunky design slowed down the troubleshooting process, often requiring multiple attempts to get meaningful data.
• Admins couldn’t drill down into specific parameters, leading to incomplete insights and prolonged resolution times.

The Solution: The New Message Trace

The new Message Trace in Exchange Online, designed to address these pain points with its improved functionality and extended query capabilities.

• It offers a significant improvement by extending the query range to 90 days, enabling admins to track older emails in a single search.
• Admins can now filter emails using a variety of parameters, such as:

✅ Sender and Recipient Email Addresses

✅ Delivery Status

✅ Message Subject and Keywords

• The new interface provides:

✅ Visual Summaries: Graphical representations of email flow and delivery status.

✅ Actionable Insights: Admins can quickly spot anomalies and take corrective action.

How to Run New Message Trace In the New Exchange Admin Center ?

To access the new Message Trace, follow these steps:

•  Navigate to the Exchange admin center.
•  Go to Mail Flow > Message Trace -> Start a trace.
• Ensure that the 'Try New Message Trace' toggle is ON.

New Message Trace Functionality in PowerShell (Get-MessageTraceV2)

The new Message Trace functionality is now available through the Get-MessageTraceV2 cmdlet in PowerShell. To take advantage of this enhanced feature, make sure you're using Exchange Online PowerShell V3 module version 3.7.0 or later.

This updated cmdlet offers improved performance, more detailed trace data, and better filtering options compared to the previous version. Here is a comparison:

• Query Range: Get-MessageTrace ➔ 10 days | Get-MessageTraceV2 ➔ Up to 90 days
• Pagination: Get-MessageTrace ✅ Supported | Get-MessageTraceV2 ❌ Not supported
• Result Size: Get-MessageTrace ➔ Limited | Get-MessageTraceV2 ➔ 5000
• Subject Filtering: Get-MessageTrace ➔ Basic | Get-MessageTraceV2 ➔ Advanced
• Time Zone Consistency: Get-MessageTrace ➔ No | Get-MessageTraceV2 ➔ Yes

For example. you can pull the first 10 records from your message trace data using either the old or the new cmdlet in PowerShell. Here's how you can query both:

Old Message Trace:

Get-MessageTrace -StartDate '2024-11-01T00:00:00Z' -EndDate '2024-11-01T00:10:00Z' -Page 1 -PageSize 10        

In this query, Get-MessageTrace retrieves records from the specified date and time range, with the -Page and -PageSize parameters used to limit the result to 10 records.

New Message Trace:

Get-MessageTraceV2 -StartDate '2024-11-01T00:00:00Z' -EndDate '2024-11-01T00:10:00Z' -ResultSize 10        

The Get-MessageTraceV2 cmdlet simplifies the query by using the -ResultSize parameter to limit the results to the first 10 records, offering a more streamlined approach.

Tracking email delivery issues in Exchange Online has never been easier. The new Message Trace addresses the limitations of the old tool with extended query ranges, advanced filters, and a user-friendly interface. For those who prefer scripting, PowerShell provides additional flexibility for advanced troubleshooting.