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How to Convert User Mailbox to Shared Mailbox

When a user leaves the organization, management may want to keep the mailbox around to review correspondence and share either with existing or new users to the organization. Leaving a user mailbox active requires an Exchange Online license, but when you convert the mailbox to a shared mailbox, a license is not needed.

The advantage of a shared mailbox is that you can give a single user or multiple users access to it. This is great when a user left the organization and other users need to pick up the work. Also shared mailboxes can be converted back to user mailboxes when or if needed.

Prerequisites

  • Mailbox size is limited to 50 GB of storage
  • Shared mailbox may only be accessed from an existing user's mailbox in Outlook 
  • Exchange Online Archiving is not available for Share Mailboxes. If a departed user had Exchange Online Archiving, unsubscribing would lose those communications unless backed up.
  • Shared Mailbox may only be shared with 35 or less members or persons
  • Members may be able to delete mail from shared mailbox. Subscribing to backup services will mitigate this potential. 

 

Converting from Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Navigate to admin.microsoft.com

  1.  Expand Users and select Active Users
  2.  Select the user
  3. Open the Mail tab
  4. Click on Convert to Shared Mailbox
  5. Click Convert in the confirmation screen

 

Shared mailbox will appear in the admin center under Teams & Groups > Shared mailboxes.

To add members, select the shared mailbox from the list. 

In the User flyout on the right of the page, under Members, select Edit. 

Select Add Members. 

Search for users one at a time in the list, then select Add

Accessing the Newly Created Shared Mailbox. 

Prerequisites

  1. Allow up to 45 minutes for the shared mailbox to propagate prior to accessing. 
  2. M365 Outlook Desktop users will need to exit Outlook Desktop. Shared mailbox should automatically display in your Folder Pane
  3. Additional troubleshooting and guided instructions below: 

Open and use a shared mailbox in Outlook - Microsoft Support

 

Source: Convert a user mailbox to a shared mailbox - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn

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