How to Add Shared Mailbox in New Outlook?

Ritu Roy | How to's Outlook Software Technology | 4 minutes read | Modified on: 27-02-2024
how to access a shared mailbox in new outlook

Introduction: Shared mailboxes facilitate the sending and receiving of emails from a single email address by numerous users or a group of people. To manage the emails, you can set up a shared mailbox in Outlook. You will find instructions on how to add shared mailbox in new Outlook in this guide.

An organization’s team or group of individuals can send and receive emails from the same inbox by using a shared mailbox. A common email address, such as info@mycompany.com or support@mycompany.com, can be sent by users with access to the shared mailbox. This benefits a company looking to distribute the workload for answering e-mails from clients or customers with inquiries.  

Multiple users can use and access a shared mailbox’s mail folders, including Draft, Sent Items, and Inbox, simultaneously. It seems that an email is from the shared email account and not from the user when they respond to a message sent to the shared mailbox. 

Whether it’s for team projects, customer support, or any other joint venture, setting up a shared mailbox in your new Outlook will assist in guaranteeing smooth team collaboration and communication. We’ll look at how to add a shared mailbox in new Outlook below.

How to Set Up a Shared Mailbox in a New Outlook 

The shared mailbox displays in your Outlook Folder pane automatically when the administrator adds you as a member. If not, you can add a shared mailbox in Outlook 365, Outlook 2013, 2016, 2019, or 2021 by following the step-by-step instructions below.

But first, you’ll require the following: 

  • permissions from your administrator or administrative rights to the Outlook account. 
  • Entry to the common mailbox. If you want to add a shared mailbox to your Outlook, you can contact your administrator for permission to access it.

In Outlook 365, to add a shared mailbox, 

  • Start your computer’s Outlook 365 application.  
  • Next, select Account Settings by clicking File > Info > Account Settings.  
  • After selecting your email account, select Change.  
  • Select Additional Settings.  
  • Select Advanced.
  • Next, select Add
  • Click OK after entering the shared mailbox’s email address. 
  • Click Apply > OK after that. 
  • Select Done by clicking Next
  • Once finished, you can apply the changes by restarting Outlook. 
  • Outlook will download the shared mailbox and synchronize.

How to Add Shared Mailbox in Outlook 2021, 2016, 2019, and 2020?

  1. Make sure no Outlook windows are active and no processes are running by shutting down Outlook.
  2. Type Control Panel by pressing Windows + R. Press the Enter key or click OK after that. In doing so, the Control Panel will open.
  3. Click User Accounts > Mail and then click the ‘Email Accounts’ option in the Control Panel.
  4. Next, select New from the “Email” tab.
  5. To add a shared mailbox to your new Outlook, enter its email address here and click the Next button.
  6. A sign-on screen might appear, requiring you to provide your password and account username (shared mailbox) before clicking Login.
  7. If all is well, a few seconds later you’ll get a message saying “Congratulations!” Press “Finish.”
  8. You can now view and access the shared mailbox’s mail items by opening Outlook. The left pane will display the mailbox. 

Note: Keep in mind that access to certain folders and the ability to send emails from the shared mailbox is only available if your IT administrator has permitted you. Contact your department or IT administrator right away if you run into any problems, are unable to view the shared mailbox, or are unable to send or receive emails.

You can send a test email to the shared mailbox to see how it functions after it’s added to your new Outlook. This is how to use a shared mailbox to send an email:  

  • Launch Outlook, then select New Email
  • Choose the shared email address in the From field. 
    • Select Options > From if the From field is not visible.  
    • To enter your shared email address in the From field if you are unable to see it, select Other email address. Choose the email account you want to use to send emails on behalf of the shared mailbox under Send Using.
  • Press OK
  • Put a concise subject line in your email or message as you type. Click Send when you’ve finished typing the email. 

The email address will show up in the dropdown list the next time you send a new message from the shared mailbox.

Conclusion

If you have the required permissions to access the shared mailbox, adding a shared mailbox to your new Outlook is a rather easy and uncomplicated process. You may quickly add a shared mailbox to your Outlook 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Outlook 365 by following the instructions covered above. You should be aware, though, that emails sent and received using a shared mailbox are saved locally on your computer in the same OST file. Large OSTs can cause Outlook to operate poorly and cause errors that keep you from accessing your shared mailbox and email account.

In these circumstances, after making a file backup, you can reconstruct the OST file. Next, search the new OST file for any missing emails or other items. If anything is missing, you can extract and restore mail items from the backup OST file to a PST file using an OST to PST Converter program like CubexSoft OST Converter. The retrieved items can also be exported straight to an Exchange mailbox, Microsoft 365 account, or an existing Outlook profile.