No access to shared mail box

Question

Since migrating over to Windows 11 I have been advise by our own IT department to contact you directly as on our system it is showing I have access to our office shared mail box but I am unable to gain any access

Answer 1

Hello @Louise Sharp,

From your description, since your IT team confirmed that you already have access but you’re unable to open the shared mailbox after moving to Windows 11, this is most likely related to how the Outlook client is handling the mailbox rather than a permission issue.

To narrow this down, could you please help confirm a few things:

1. Are you using New Outlook or classic Outlook?

• If you see a “New Outlook” toggle in the top-right corner, please let us know if it is turned ON or OFF

2. If you are using New Outlook for Windows
Please note that shared mailbox behavior can be different compared to classic Outlook. In some cases, the mailbox may not appear automatically and may require additional steps such as restarting Outlook or adding it manually.

For reference, Microsoft has documented how shared mailboxes work in Outlook here: Open and use a shared mailbox in Outlook - Microsoft Support

3. If you are using classic Outlook

• Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Change > More Settings > Advanced
• Check if the shared mailbox is listed under “Open these additional mailboxes”
• If not, try adding it manually
• 

If the issue still persists, could you please share:

• A screenshot of what happens when you try to access the mailbox
• Whether the issue occurs on both desktop Outlook and web

This will help narrow down the cause further.