Adding Shared Email Accounts

Shared mailboxes are a powerful tool for team collaboration, allowing you to manage external and internal communications without cluttering your personal inbox. They also offer a layer of professional privacy by ensuring recipients reply to a departmental address rather than your direct email.

Why Use a Shared Mailbox?

A shared email account allows multiple users to view and respond to emails from a single address. This is ideal for departmental help desks, project teams, or any group that requires a unified presence.

• Centralized Communication: Keep team emails in one place.
• Professional Buffer: Maintain privacy by not sharing your personal NetID email with external parties.
• Collaborative Access: Multiple team members can monitor and reply to messages simultaneously.

Note: You must be granted "Full Access" permissions by an administrator before you can successfully add a shared mailbox to your Outlook profile.

Step 1. Initiate Account Setup

Within the Outlook desktop application, navigate to File > Info > Add Account.

Step 2. Enter the Mailbox Address

In the "Add Account" dialog box, enter the full name of the shared mailbox. Ensure you include the @cornell.edu suffix (e.g., shared-mailbox@cornell.edu). Click Connect.

Step 3. Authenticate with Your Credentials

A login prompt will appear. By default, it may show the shared mailbox name in the username field. This must be changed:

1. Delete the shared mailbox address from the username field.
2. Enter your own credentials: Use your netid@cornell.edu and your standard NetID password.
3. Check the box for Remember my credentials.
4. Click OK.
   
   

Step 4. Finish and Restart

A success message will appear. Click Finish. Outlook will prompt you that a restart is required.

• Close Outlook manually by clicking the X in the top right corner.
• Relaunch Outlook to finalize.

Step 5. Verify and Access

Once Outlook reopens, scroll down the vertical folder pane on the left-hand side. You will see the shared mailbox listed below your personal account. Click the arrow (>) to the left of the mailbox name to expand the folders and view the Inbox.

If you have questions or need technical assistance, please contact ILR Tech Services.