Office 365 Shared Mailbox not Showing up in Outlook? Get the Solution to Fix

What are Shared Mailboxes in Office 365?

Shared mailboxes in Office 365 serve as a collaborative inbox for groups or teams. Moreover, they do not require a separate license and are typically used for scenarios such as customer support, project management, or departmental communication.  Additionally, users with appropriate permissions can access and respond to emails in the shared mailbox.

Common Reasons for O365 Shared Mailbox Not Showing up in Outlook

• Permission Issues: Users may not have the necessary permissions to access the shared mailbox, preventing it from appearing in Outlook.
• Sync Issues: Moreover, Outlook may not have synchronized properly with Office 365, resulting in the shared mailbox not being displayed.
• Outdated Outlook Version: Using an outdated version of Outlook can lead to compatibility issues with Office 365, causing shared mailboxes to be invisible.
• Disabled Auto-Mapping: Auto-mapping, which automatically adds shared mailboxes to Outlook profiles, may be disabled, causing the mailbox to remain hidden.
• Corrupted Outlook Profile: A corrupted Outlook profile can disrupt the proper display of shared mailboxes.

Resolved: Issue of Office 365 Shared Mailbox Not Appearing in Outlook

The following section will explore the most approachable solutions to fix Office 365 shared mailbox.

Method 1: Check for Auto-Mapping and Disable

In certain scenarios, you might encounter a situation where your shared mailbox fails to appear in Outlook as expected. Although it may require a bit more time, there exists a workaround that can prove beneficial. This issue often stems from the auto-mapping feature in Outlook, which automatically incorporates shared mailboxes into your account. However, as your mailbox data expands, so does the size of your Outlook data file. If it surpasses 50 GB, Outlook may struggle to manage the shared mailbox. Here’s how to address this:

1. Locate Windows PowerShell on your computer, right-click it, and select “Run as administrator.
2. In the PowerShell window, input the following command: $Credential = Get-Credential. A prompt will appear requesting your Office 365 credentials.
3. Now, establish a connection to Exchange Online using this command: $ExchangeSession = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri “https://outlook.office365.com/powershell-liveid” -Credential $credential -Authentication “Basic” -AllowRedirection
   This command initiates a connection to Exchange Online.
4. Import the Exchange session with this command: Import-PSSession $ExchangeSession
5. To revoke permissions for the shared mailbox, utilize the following command: Remove-MailboxPermission -Identity complaint@domainname -User tony@domainname -AccessRights FullAccess
   Replace “complaint@domainname” with the address of the shared mailbox and “tony@domainname” with your user’s email ID.
6. Within Outlook, navigate to Account Settings, select your account, and click the remove button to eliminate the shared mailbox.
7. Now, it’s time to reassign full access permissions. Utilize this command: Add-MailboxPermission -Identity complaint@domainname -User tony@xyz.com -AccessRights FullAccess -AutoMapping:$false Replace “complaint@domainname” with the shared mailbox’s address and “tony@xyz.com” with your user’s address.
8. Finally, add the shared mailbox just as you would add a regular account in Outlook, and you’ll gain access to its data.

This method aids users in resolving the “open the shared mailbox in Outlook” error.

Method 2: Creating and Reviewing Logs

If you’re encountering the issue of not being able to view a shared folder in your Outlook, you can follow these steps to generate logs and investigate the problem:

1. Begin by launching your Outlook application.
2. Click on “File” in the top menu and navigate to “Options,” then select “Advanced.”
3. Within the Advanced options menu, locate the setting titled “Enable troubleshooting logging” (requires restarting Outlook).
4. Checkmark this option.
5. Click “OK” to apply your changes.
6. Completely close your Outlook application.
7. Reopen Outlook.
8. The log files you’ve generated will be saved in a specific directory on your computer.
9. Typically, you can find these log files in one of the following locations:
   1. %localappdata%/Temp folder
   2. C:/Users/YourUserName/AppData/Temp folder (Replace YourUserName with your actual username)
10. Open the log files discovered in the previous step.
11. These logs contain detailed information regarding the potential causes of the shared mailbox issue.
12. Review the logs attentively to identify any errors or issues.

Method 3: Manual Add Shared Mailbox

1. Launch the Outlook application on your desktop.
2. Navigate to the File tab.
3. Select Account Settings and choose Account Settings again.
4. Within the Email tab, double-click your email account to access its settings.
5. Click on More Settings.
6. In the Advanced tab, locate the option titled Download Shared Folders.
7. Activate this option.
8. Click Add and enter the name of the Shared Mailbox.
9. Select OK, followed by Apply, and then OK to save your settings.

Note: If the aforementioned methods fail to resolve the issue and you’re still unable to add the shared mailbox to your user account in Outlook, consider contacting your administrator for further assistance. They may need to adjust settings or permissions to address the problem.

If you’ve exhausted all the methods mentioned earlier and your Office 365 shared mailbox remains absent in Outlook, it’s possible that an error occurred during the shared mailbox migration process. In such cases, you may require specialized software to export the shared mailbox from Office 365 and import it into your Outlook application. One such tool is the Aryson Office 365 Email Backup Tool.

Conclusion

A shared mailbox not showing up in Outlook can disrupt productivity and collaboration within an organization. Additionally, by understanding the common reasons behind this issue and following the step-by-step solutions provided in this guide, users can quickly resolve the problem and regain access to shared mailboxes in Outlook. Additionally, implementing preventive measures and conducting regular maintenance can help prevent recurrence of shared mailbox visibility issues, ensuring seamless communication and collaboration within Office 365 environments.

About The Author:

Rohan Wiese

Rohan Wiese is a Technical Writer at Aryson Technologies. He is an expert Email Forensic, Cloud Computing, and a passionate nerd with over 10 years of experience in technical content writing. He writes about Cloud Migration, Database Recovery, Email Backup, Windows, Mac, and Tech.

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