Office 365, Outlook for Windows, Add shared mailbox

Offices often have at least one shared mailbox for voice mail, responding to outside inquiries, projects, and more. Once you have been given permissions to access a shared mailbox, follow the steps below to add a second account to Outlook 365 on a Windows computer.

NOTE: The Help Desk must grant access to the mailbox before these instructions will work. These instructions only apply to "Legacy" Outlook for Windows, not "New Look" Outlook.

To open a shared mailbox on a Mac, follow the steps in this article instead.

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In Outlook, go to File and choose Account Settings -> Account settings

Image of account settings drop-down in Outlook

Choose "New..."

Image of New account button

Enter the email address of the shared mailbox and choose "Connect." Please be patient as this can take some time.

Example: office-voicemail@business.illinois.edu

Image of email address field with an example address entered

If prompted under "Advanced options," choose "Microsoft 365" for account type

Image of different account types with an arrow pointing to Microsoft 365

When prompted to sign in, replace the email address and add your own

Illinois login showing individual full email address

Enter your own university password.

Wait for the mailbox to finish configuring, then close and re-open Outlook.

Once the mailbox is added, it will be available at the bottom of the left-hand column of folders in Outlook. Scroll to find it.

Click the triangle next to the mailbox name to expand the folders.

Image of a shared mailbox listed in the Mail pane of Outoo. An arrow points to the drop-down arrow to expand the account and display folders inside.

That's it!

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please contact the Help Desk at 217-244-0812 or helpdesk@business.illinois.edu.


Keywords:
outlook, mailbox, shared, "shared email", "shared account", "secondary account", voicemail, "voice mail" 
Doc ID:
108621
Owned by:
Allison P. in UI Gies College of Business
Created:
2021-01-26
Updated:
2025-04-15
Sites:
UI Gies College of Business