November 2026 · Folder Suggest

How to Add a Shared Mailbox in Outlook, and Why It Doesn’t Show Up

Your company gave you access to a shared address like info@ or support@, and you want it in Outlook next to your own mail. Often it appears by itself after a restart. When it doesn’t, the reason is usually how your access was set up, not something you did wrong.

In short: a shared mailbox is a Microsoft 365 work or school feature, and your admin must give you access before any Outlook can open it. In Outlook for Windows it usually appears by itself after you close and restart Outlook, sometimes a few minutes after the admin adds you. If it doesn’t, add it by hand: in new Outlook and Outlook on the web, right-click your account name (on the web, Folders) and choose Add shared folder or mailbox. In classic Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Change > More Settings > Advanced > Add. On a Mac, use File > Open > Shared Mailbox. In the phone app, tap Add Account, then Add a Shared Mailbox. A common reason it never appears by itself is that access was given through a security group, which Outlook doesn’t add automatically.

What a Shared Mailbox Is, and the Access You Need

A shared mailbox is one address that several people read and answer. With the right permission, replies from it come from the shared address rather than from you. Your Microsoft 365 admin creates it and gives each person permissions, described in Microsoft’s admin guide:

Full Access: you can open the mailbox, read, delete and change email, and use its calendar. On its own it doesn’t let you send.
Send As: your email looks as if the shared mailbox sent it.
Send on Behalf: your email shows as sent by you on behalf of the shared mailbox.

You never sign in to a shared mailbox with its own password. You sign in as yourself and open it. Microsoft lists shared mailboxes for work or school accounts only. With a personal Outlook.com account you can’t use a shared mailbox, but you can share a calendar; see how to share a calendar in Outlook.

Where to Add a Shared Mailbox in Each Outlook

Outlook	Shows up by itself?	Where to add it by hand
New Outlook for Windows	Usually, after a restart, under Shared with me	Right-click your account name > Add shared folder or mailbox
Classic Outlook for Windows	Usually, after a restart (automapping)	File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Change > More Settings > Advanced > Add, or File > Add Account
Outlook on the web	Add it once by hand	Right-click Folders > Add shared folder or mailbox, or your name > Open another mailbox
Outlook for Mac	No, Mac doesn’t support automapping	File > Open > Shared Mailbox, or Tools > Accounts > Delegation and Sharing
Outlook for iPhone and Android	No, Microsoft gives only manual steps	Add Account > Add a Shared Mailbox

How to Add a Shared Mailbox in New Outlook

Close and restart new Outlook after your admin adds you. Microsoft’s shared mailbox article says it should appear in the folder pane, possibly a few minutes later. Look under Shared with me: the shared mailbox is a subfolder there. To add it yourself:

Select Mail in the navigation pane.
In the folder pane, right-click your account name and select Add shared folder or mailbox.
Type the shared address, for example info@contoso.com.

Added this way, the mailbox works like a folder. To get its own notifications, rules and categories, add it as an account instead. Microsoft’s page on shared mailbox settings puts this under Settings > Accounts > Shared with me: select Convert on a mailbox that was added for you, or + Add for one that wasn’t. You need Full Access for this. Microsoft says this option may not be in your version of new Outlook yet. To turn an account back into a folder, select More on it under Shared with me, then Use as shared folder.

How to Add a Shared Mailbox in Classic Outlook

Classic Outlook holds a shared mailbox in one of three ways. Automapped: Outlook adds it after a restart when your admin gave you Full Access directly (on by default). Additional mailbox: you add it under your own account. Additional account: it sits in Outlook as a separate account, which Microsoft says is the only way to get its event reminders. Use one, or you get two copies.

To add it as an additional mailbox:

Select File > Account Settings > Account Settings, then the Email tab.
Make sure your own account is highlighted, then choose Change.
Choose More Settings > Advanced > Add.
Type the shared address, then choose OK, OK, Next, Finish and Close.

To add it as an additional account:

If the mailbox is already in your folder pane, remove it first (see below). An automapped one can only be removed by your admin, and it can take up to an hour to disappear.
Select File > Add Account, enter the shared address, and select Connect.
At the sign-in prompt, enter your own email address, not the shared one, then select Next. If the prompt won’t let you change the address, select Sign in with another account.
Restart Outlook.

How to Open a Shared Mailbox in Outlook on the Web

Microsoft’s web article gives two ways. To keep it in your folder list:

Right-click Folders in the left pane and choose Add shared folder or mailbox. With an on-premises Exchange mailbox, right-click your own mailbox name instead.
Type the shared address. The mailbox then appears in your folder list.

To open it in a separate browser window:

Select your name on the navigation bar.
Select Open another mailbox, type the address, and select Open.

Microsoft says you only get new-mail notifications for the shared Inbox in the separate window.

How to Open a Shared Mailbox in Outlook for Mac

Per Microsoft’s Mac article, you need an Exchange account, Outlook for Mac supports only Full Access for shared mailboxes, and it doesn’t automap them, so you add it yourself:

Go to Tools > Accounts and select the account that has access.
Select Delegation and Sharing, then the Shared With Me tab.
Click + and add the shared mailbox.

Or go to File > Open > Shared Mailbox.

How to Add a Shared Mailbox in the Outlook App (iPhone and Android)

Sign in to your own account in the Outlook app.
Tap Add Account in the left navigation pane, then tap Add a Shared Mailbox.
If you have several accounts, pick the one that has access.

Microsoft’s mobile article says this works when your mailbox and the shared mailbox are both in Exchange Online. Otherwise, use Outlook on the web in your phone’s browser.

How to Send From a Shared Mailbox in Outlook

You need Send As or Send on Behalf for this. Full Access alone isn’t enough.

New Outlook: select Home > New > Mail. If you don’t see From, select Options > Show From. Change From to the shared address, or choose Other email address and type it.
Classic Outlook: choose New Email. If you don’t see From, choose Options > From, then pick the shared address or Other email address.
Outlook on the web: choose New mail, then More actions and Show From. The first time, right-click the From address, choose Remove, and type the shared address. After that it appears in the From list.
Outlook for Mac: the shared account appears as a choice in From. Without Send As or Send on Behalf, Microsoft says the email won’t be sent.

Where Email Sent From a Shared Mailbox Goes

By default in Microsoft 365, a message you send from a shared mailbox is saved in your own Sent Items, not the shared mailbox’s, according to Microsoft’s Sent Items article. An admin can change a mailbox setting so a copy is also saved in the shared mailbox’s Sent Items, separately for Send As and Send on Behalf. In new Outlook, that admin setting is the only option.

Why Your Shared Mailbox Doesn’t Show Up in Outlook

Work down this list. A quick first test: open the mailbox in Outlook on the web with Open another mailbox. If it opens there, your access works and the problem is in your Outlook app.

Access isn’t granted yet, or is very recent. Microsoft says it may take a few minutes after the admin adds you. Close and restart Outlook, wait, and restart again. If it opens on the web but not in desktop Outlook, the access is in place, and the desktop app has not caught up yet.
Access came through a group. If your admin gave Full Access to a security group you belong to, Outlook won’t add the mailbox automatically, because automapping doesn’t look inside groups. It still works when added by hand. To have it appear by itself, the admin must give you Full Access directly.
Automapping was turned off. Admins can give access without automapping, often because many automapped mailboxes slow Outlook’s start. Add it by hand.
You’re on a Mac or a phone. Outlook for Mac doesn’t automap shared mailboxes, and Microsoft’s phone steps are all manual. Use the steps above.
It’s there but folded away. In new Outlook, expand Shared with me in the folder pane.
Only recent mail shows (classic Outlook in Cached Exchange Mode). Classic Outlook downloads shared folders to your computer by default, and the Download email for the past setting applies to shared mailboxes too, per Microsoft. Select Click here to view more on Microsoft Exchange at the bottom of the folder, or set Download email for the past to All: go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings and double-click your account.
You can read but not send. You have Full Access without Send As or Send on Behalf. Microsoft also notes that both send permissions fail in desktop Outlook when the shared mailbox is hidden from the address list. Both are fixes for your admin.

How to Remove a Shared Mailbox From Outlook

Outlook on the web: right-click the shared mailbox and select Remove shared folder.
Classic Outlook, added by hand: go back to File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Change > More Settings > Advanced. Under Open these additional mailboxes, select the mailbox and select Remove.
Classic Outlook, automapped: you can’t remove it yourself. Only an Exchange admin can turn automapping off, and Microsoft says it can take up to an hour to leave your Outlook.
iPhone and Android: go to Settings > Accounts, tap the shared mailbox, and select Delete Account.

Removing it from Outlook only changes your own view. Your access stays until the admin removes it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take for a shared mailbox to show up in Outlook?
Microsoft says it may take a few minutes after your admin adds you. Close and restart Outlook. In desktop Outlook it can take longer. If it still isn’t there, add it by hand, or check whether it opens in Outlook on the web with Open another mailbox.

Why does my shared mailbox appear for colleagues but not for me?
One common cause is that you got access through a security group. Outlook only adds a shared mailbox automatically when Full Access was given to you directly. You can still add it by hand, or ask your admin to grant it to you by name.

Can I add a shared mailbox to a personal Outlook.com account?
No. Shared mailboxes are created by a Microsoft 365 admin for work or school accounts. For personal accounts, Microsoft describes calendar sharing instead.

Why are emails I send from the shared mailbox not in its Sent Items?
In Microsoft 365, mail you send from a shared mailbox is saved in your own Sent Items by default. An admin can turn on a setting that also saves a copy in the shared mailbox’s Sent Items.

Do I need the shared mailbox’s password?
No. You sign in with your own account and open the shared mailbox. Even when you add it as an account in classic Outlook, you enter your own email address at the sign-in prompt.

Why can I read the shared mailbox but not send from it?
Full Access lets you open and manage the mailbox, but sending needs Send As or Send on Behalf as well. Ask your admin to add one of them.