How to Create A Shared Mailbox in Office 365: Guide
A shared mailbox in Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365) enables users to send, receive, and manage emails from a single, shared address, such as [email protected]. In this guide, I am going to describe
Administrators create a shared mailbox in Office 365 to enable their teams to manage emails from a single, shared address, such as [email protected]. This guide provides clear and direct instructions for administrators to make and manage shared mailboxes.
What are Shared Mailboxes?
A shared mailbox uses a common email address to make a centralized mailbox. This is accessible by multiple authorized users (up to 25 at a time) with their private account credentials. Moreover, M365 Shared mailboxes do not have a direct login password. Moreover, for a broader understanding, it’s helpful to know about the different Office 365 mailbox types and their significance.
Why Do We Create Shared Mailboxes? Key Benefits Explained
- Centralized Group Email: For addresses like sales@ or support@.
- Team Collaboration: Multiple users can monitor and respond.
- Cost-Effective (Free): No extra license is needed if mailbox data remains ≤ 50 GB.
Before you Begin Setting up a Shared Mailbox in Office 365: Check Administrative Roles
To perform these actions, your Office 365 account must have one of these roles:
- Global Administrator
- Exchange Administrator
To assign, ask the global admin to visit the M365 admin portal > Expand Roles > Select Role Assignments > Then, click on the three vertical dots (in the Exchange or Global Admin role) > Assign Admins > Add Users > Mark the checkbox > Press Add.
Different Methods to Create a Shared Mailbox in Office 365
There are a few ways using which you can easily create multiple shared mailboxes in Microsoft 365. Let’s discuss them step by step.
Using Microsoft 365 Admin Center
- Navigate to Teams & groups > Shared mailboxes.
- Then, click + Add a shared mailbox.
- Just enter the Name, email address fills automatically. Change it if you so desire. Don’t forget to select the correct domain.
- Click Save changes.
- After creation, click the link Add members to your shared mailbox.
- Click + Add members, search for and select users, then click Add (#). Users are typically granted Full Access and Send As permissions.
Using Exchange Admin Center (EAC)
- Navigate to Recipients > Mailboxes.
- Click + Add a shared mailbox.
- Enter the Display Name, Email address, and Alias (optional).
- Then, click Create.
- After creation, select the Add users to this mailbox from the list.
- Tap + Add members. Select and Confirm.
How to Create a Shared Mailbox in Microsoft 365 via PowerShell?
Step 1. Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell
Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName [email protected]
Step 2. Create a new Shared Mailbox:
New-Mailbox -Name "Marketing Campaigns" -DisplayName "Marketing Campaigns" -Shared -PrimarySmtpAddress [email protected]
Step 3. Assign Permissions using PowerShell:
# Grant Full Access permission
Add-MailboxPermission -Identity "[email protected]" -User "[email protected]" -AccessRights FullAccess -InheritanceType All
# Grant Send As permission
Add-RecipientPermission -Identity "[email protected]" -Trustee "[email protected]" -AccessRights SendAs
# Grant Send on Behalf:
Set-Mailbox -Identity "[email protected]" -GrantSendOnBehalfTo "[email protected]"
Step 4. After you create a shared mailbox in Office 365, check. Here is a sample script you can use to check the user accessibility details for a particular shared mailbox.
Converting an Existing User Mailbox to a Shared Mailbox
If you don’t want to create a shared mailbox in Office 365 from scratch and want to retain an ex-employee’s mailbox data for team access, do this:
- License Management: Consider removing the departing user’s license (if the mailbox is ≤ 50GB and no archive access is needed for the shared mailbox). If the mailbox is larger or an archive needs to be accessible, the shared mailbox will require its license.
- Conversion Process:
- EAC: Go to Recipients > Mailboxes. Select the user mailbox. Click Convert to shared mailbox from the command bar or details pane. Confirm.
- PowerShell:
Set-Mailbox -Identity "[email protected]" -Type Shared
- Block Original User Sign-in: Disable the departed user’s Office 365 account.
- Then, Assign Member Permissions: Grant Full Access and/or Send As permissions to team members for the newly converted shared mailbox.
- Archive Mailbox Considerations During Conversion:
- If the original user mailbox had an online archive, it’s preserved during conversion.
- To allow members to access this archive via the shared mailbox, the shared mailbox must be assigned an Exchange Online Plan 2 license or an Exchange Online Plan 1 license with an Exchange Online Archiving add-on.
- After conversion or creation, you might need to import PST files to the shared mailbox in Office 365 to populate it with existing data.
Shared Mailbox Licensing: Unlicensed vs. Licensed
| Shared Mailbox Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Unlicensed Shared Mailbox |
|
| Licensed Shared Mailbox |
|
Making Shared Mailboxes Accessible to Users
Once the shared mailbox is created, you can now manage the access, assign users, etc.
Post Creation GAL Visibility and Access Control:
- Shared mailboxes are visible in the Global Address List (GAL) for all tenant members.
- However, only users with explicit permissions can access the contents or send from it.
- Hiding from GAL (Admin Task):
- In the EAC, select the shared mailbox. Use the Hide from address list option in its properties.
Note: Hiding from GAL just prevents manual search-and-add by users. Auto-mapping for Full Access members should still function.
Outlook Desktop (Classic Version):
- After an admin grants membership, users should restart Outlook.
- Then, the shared mailbox typically auto-appears in the Folder Pane (auto-mapping). If you find the Office 365 shared mailbox not showing in Outlook, you may need to troubleshoot further.
“New” Outlook for Desktop:
- Right-click on your primary account folder (or use the three-dots menu).
- Then, click Add shared folder or mailbox.
- Search for and add the shared mailbox (if not hidden from GAL).
- It appears under a “Shared with me” folder in the left pane.
Outlook on the Web to access a newly created shared mailbox in Office 365
- Right-click on your primary account folder (or use the three-dots menu).
- Select Add shared folder or mailbox.
- Then, search for and add the shared mailbox (if not hidden from GAL).
- It appears in the left folder pane.
Keep Shared Mailbox Data Safe with A Professional Solution
An admin’s job does not end when they create a shared mailbox in Office 365. Rather, it begins there. Maintaining the safety of shared mailboxes and making sure that the data in them does not breach the 50 GB capacity is tough. Therefore, to ease that issue, I will suggest to you the SysTools Office 365 Backup tool, the only solution you need to keep a secure copy of all shared mailboxes offline.
This tool allows admins to take charge of the shared mailbox conversion and safely clean out old data without even purchasing a new license. Any organization that manages the Shared Mailboxes on Office 365 must have this tool with them.
Conclusion
Correctly configured shared mailboxes enhance team communication and efficiency. This guide provides the necessary steps for administrators to create, convert, and manage these valuable Office 365 resources, including critical licensing and access considerations.