About the Exchange Online PowerShell V2 module

The Exchange Online PowerShell V2 module (abbreviated as the EXO V2 module) uses modern authentication and works with multi-factor authentication (MFA) for connecting to all Exchange-related PowerShell environments in Microsoft 365: Exchange Online PowerShell, Security & Compliance PowerShell, and standalone Exchange Online Protection (EOP) PowerShell.

For connection instructions using the EXO V2 module, see the following articles:

• Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell
• Connect to Security & Compliance Center PowerShell
• Connect to Exchange Online Protection PowerShell

The rest of this article explains how the module works, how to install and maintain the module, and the optimized Exchange Online cmdlets that are available in the module.

Report bugs and issues for the EXO V2 module

When you report an issue at exocmdletpreview[at]service[dot]microsoft[dot]com, be sure to include the log files in your email message. To generate the log files, replace with the output folder you want, and run the following command:

Connect-ExchangeOnline -EnableErrorReporting -LogDirectoryPath -LogLevel All

 Note

The latest version of EXO V2 module and frequent use of the Connect-ExchangeOnline and Disconnect-ExchangeOnline cmdlets in a single PowerShell session or script might lead to a memory leak. The best way to avoid this issue is to use the CommandName parameter on the Connect-ExchangeOnline cmdlet to limit the cmdlets that are used in the session.

How the EXO V2 module works

The module contains a small set of exclusive Exchange Online PowerShell cmdlets that are optimized for bulk data retrieval scenarios (think: thousands and thousands of objects). When you first open the module, you'll only see these exclusive cmdlets. After you connect to your Exchange Online organization, you'll see all of the familiar cmdlets that are available in Exchange Online PowerShell.

The module use modern authentication for all cmdlets. You can't use Basic authentication in the EXO V2 module; however, you still need to enable the Basic authentication setting in WinRM as explained later in this article.

The Exchange Online cmdlets in the EXO V2 module are meant to replace their older, less efficient equivalents, but the equivalent cmdlets are still available (after you connect).

The improved Exchange Online PowerShell cmdlets that are only available in the EXO V2 module are listed in the following table:

TABLE 1

The connection-related cmdlets that are available in the EXO V2 module are listed in the following table: