Outlook Mac - Shared mail box only accessible in webapp and not via desktop app

Question

Outlook Mac - Shared mail box only accessible in webapp and not via desktop app

Jonas M 1

Hello together,

I had already searched for a while, but I didn't find any solution here. Maybe someone can help me here.

A couple of days ago, with the transition from the old outlook layout to the new, I lost access to a shared mailbox within my desktop outlook app. As usual, I tried to open it again, but I always received the message "Cannot open this mailbox. Unable to add account. Please try using the Outlook Web App.", however in the web app, I can access the mailbox.

Does someone know the reason for the error in the desktop version?

I appreciate any help you can provide.

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Answer 1

ChristyZhang-MSFT 26,186 Microsoft External Staff

Hi @Jonas M ,

Welcome to our forum!

What's the version of your Outlook client(Outlook>About Outlook)? Please make sure you have upgraded your Outlook to the latest version.
And does this problem occur when opening a specific shared mailbox or all shared mailboxes?

Based on my test on my Outlook for mac(version is as shown below), I can add the shared mailbox successfully in New Outlook, which didn't reproduce your issue.

How did you open the shared mailbox? I do that via Tools>Accounts>choose the account>Delegation and Sharing. For more information about the adding steps, please refer to: Open a Shared or Delegated Mailbox in New Outlook for Mac. Please check if there is any difference between your steps and this.

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Jonas M 1 Reputation point

2022-02-22T09:46:40.007+00:00

Hello Christy,

thanks for the quick response. Looking forward to getting this solved. Regarding the outlook version, I am using also the latest:

Indeed its a specific mailbox and I tried two ways with the same output:

(1) Tools -> Accounts ->Delegation & Sharing --> Shared with me --> + --> searching for the mail box
(2) File --> Open --> Shared Calendar --> Add

Are there specific differences in user rights between web app and desktop app? Maybe I am lacking some user rights? However, it's weird as it just happens with the mandatory transition to the new outlook layout some days ago. Before that, I had no issues and could access it easily via Desktop app.

Looking forward to your answer!

Best,
Jonas
ChristyZhang-MSFT 26,186 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2022-02-24T04:21:09.223+00:00
Hi @Jonas M ,

Thanks for your reply!

My outlook for Mac is also set as the default new outlook environment, but there is no error. I notice that this problem occurs in a specific mailbox. It's suggested that you could try the following two ways to check whether it is different:

Remove your current account in new outlook and add it again to check whether the shared mailbox can be successfully added.

Cancel your permission of your shared mailbox, and then re grant the permission to check whether the shared mailbox can be successfully added.

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Outlook Mac - Shared mail box only accessible in webapp and not via desktop app

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