Microsoft 365 Help Add a shared mailbox on a mobile device
Read and reply to team email from the Outlook phone app.
Before you start
- The office has given your own work account access to the shared mailbox. Adding it in Outlook does not grant permission.
- The exact shared email address, such as the Projects mailbox address confirmed by the office. Do not guess the spelling.
Follow these steps
-
Open your work account first
Sign in to Outlook with your own Initech work account. Make sure its Inbox works before adding the shared mailbox.
-
Open the account menu
Tap your profile picture or initials at the top left to reveal accounts and folders.
-
Choose Add a Shared Mailbox
Tap Add Account, often shown as an envelope with a plus. Choose Add a Shared Mailbox, rather than adding an ordinary email account.
-
Choose the account with permission
If Outlook asks which account to use, select your own work address that the office gave access to.
-
Enter the shared address
Type the exact shared mailbox email address and confirm. Do not enter a shared password; Outlook uses your own account’s permission.
-
Open its Inbox
Return to the account menu. Tap the new shared mailbox, then Inbox. Check that the mailbox name and email address match the one you need.
-
Check the sending address
When replying or composing from the shared mailbox, check the From address before sending. Send a test to yourself if the office has granted sending permission.
You have finished when…
- The shared mailbox is listed separately and opens without a separate password.
Helpful tips
- Always check the From address before sending. Send As shows the shared address; Send on behalf can show your name on behalf of that mailbox.
- Access given through a security group may not make the mailbox appear automatically. Manual addition can still be required.
- A shared mailbox is shared work: agree with colleagues who responds so a client does not receive duplicate answers.
Something looks different?
The mailbox is not found or access is denied
Verify the exact address with the office and ask it to check Full Access permission for your own account. New permissions may take time to become available.
It opens but sending fails
Opening a mailbox does not automatically give Send As or Send on behalf permission. Ask the office to check the sending permission.
Outlook asks for the shared mailbox password
Cancel. Use the shared-mailbox addition path while signed in to your own work account, rather than adding it as an ordinary password-based account.
Microsoft help & further guidance
Menu names can change as Microsoft updates the apps. These official pages include further instructions.