M365 Tenant Shared Mailbox Notifications

[MudRock]

Scenario: I have an employee of a business who has a lot of emails spread between a number of Shared Mailboxes. The employee needs(wants) notifications outside the visual indicator on the Shared Mailbox due to the volume of emails.

Outlook does not provide notifications for Shared Mailboxes when it is attached to a main (licence) user. Reading more online, Shared Mailboxes do not get notification sounds or system tray notifications, and nowhere to turn it on. We do not have access to the admin panel, so we are trying to do within Outlook somehow. Here are what I've tried

1. Set rules to capture emails - Rules won't run on Shared Mailboxes (MANY tutorials online suggest rules, but they will not trigger from Shared Mailboxes, even though the user has Full Access.) - This was suggested the most frequently online inc. Microsoft themselves.
2. Added as 'Opening these additional mailboxes' - Just adds a second folder structure, can see the same as the Shared Mailbox, but does same thing as Shared Mailbox (This too came from a Microsoft recommendation)
3. Added as an additional Exchange mailbox, using the user's credentials (Use other user's credentials option). Suggested by a user on Microsoft forums and a few places online. This breaks the Outlook profile horridly to a point of having to remake the profile. It will lock up Outlook completely; Sometimes it will show the contents of the Shared Mailbox; or it will just not show the folder structure at all; or show it empty in all the folders. As soon as you try to remove it, outlook will not open at all, no error, nothing. If you do it from the Mail control panel, it throws errors that it is the Primary exchange (Even though the main address should have been the main.)

The only other idea I had was to set up Microsoft Mail with the Shared Mailboxes, but that is such a poor option.

I went through about 20 pages and a bunch of search terms to no avail. Not often I get stumped.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Forward a copy of the email to the person(s) direct email and create a rule based on the forward. Be honestly it sounds like they need a ticket system.

 

[britechguy]

I really don't quite understand how some people believe that email is "the be all and end all" upon which a business can be run and managed.

The number of problems that crop up on this very forum because people are trying to use email for purposes it was never intended, and it does not handle well, are myriad.

Even if you (the generic you) know that a given client is engaging in this kind of foolishness the very least one should do is try to dissuade them from continuing down this path.

 

[callthatgirl]

I agree with @nlinecomputers that's probably the best answer without reconfiguring everything.

If this request came to me, I'd tell them that shared mailboxes are not perfect and to get the results they want, move to a solo mailbox. Then they can add it to Outlook. I'm not sure why you're getting the crashes, maybe you need to remove them from the shared mailbox, let propagate for an hour, then add the mailbox. Outlook should not crash until you have 15 email accounts in it or more. I've seen more actually.

 

[Sky-Knight]

I haven't had Outlook die based on account creep... but you are limited to 50gb local data stores, which are often hit with several mailboxes or delegated access. Just have to go turn the local mail kept down, but still rather annoying.

To the OP, you're correct shared mailboxes do not generate notifications on ANYTHING. So if the user wants them they have two choices.

1.) Log into OWA and swap to the shared mailbox, and allow notifications on said browser.
2.) Forward mail from said mailbox to a normal mailbox such that it lands in inbox and therefore generates an alert.

 

[HCHTech]

I would say if they want true control (and notifications) like you get with a regular mailbox, then they need to pony-up the $5/mo and make it a regular mailbox. If they have 5 of these mailboxes they depend on, then that's $25/mo to make it work. I wouldn't be recommending some kludge solution with forwarding or additional email clients.

I had a client once that built an impressive system of linked Excel spreadsheets to track billing by the different teams in his company. I swear he spent at least some time every single day troubleshooting why one thing or another wasn't working. He had invested so much time into this system that he just couldn't let it go. Something something forest something trees.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Pretty sure it does work if you add the shared mailbox like you'd add another mailbox manually in Outlook.
However there's a PowerAutomate/Flow for this too

Templates | Microsoft Power Platform

Discover ready-to-use Microsoft Power Platform templates to streamline processes, automate tasks, and connect apps with hundreds of customizable options.

powerautomate.microsoft.com

 

[MudRock]

TL;DR: I found a few ideas, ran into other things. End of the day, we settled on setting their phone up as their notification source and their will monitor the numbers next to the inbox in her Favorites list (As everyone else does.)

Ignore my ADHD-esque order of who I replied to.

THANK YOU ALL WHO REPLIED. Solidified my position. I was just hoping I wasn't overlooking something silly.

Pretty sure it does work if you add the shared mailbox like you'd add another mailbox manually in Outlook.
However there's a PowerAutomate/Flow for this too

Templates | Microsoft Power Platform

Discover ready-to-use Microsoft Power Platform templates to streamline processes, automate tasks, and connect apps with hundreds of customizable options.

powerautomate.microsoft.com

I was checking out the Power Automate stuff too as an option and saw there was a Flow for this already. I love some of the abilities and I've done some crazy stuff with Power Automate/Power Apps already.

Forward a copy of the email to the person(s) direct email and create a rule based on the forward. Be honestly it sounds like they need a ticket system.

How the tenant is configured, I can't get rules to work on those mailbox (I found that tutorial too) or get forwarding to work (tried that too).

Their corporation is working on a ticketing system as we speak for this type of employee, but not expected to be in play until next year. I much prefer to have it external so that way an employee can't so easily cover their tracks.

Even if you (the generic you) know that a given client is engaging in this kind of foolishness the very least one should do is try to dissuade them from continuing down this path.

Oh you're preaching to the choir. I spent almost 2 hours on the clock yesterday as to why allowing this or that (Like Rules, etc) on a shared mailbox is unsafe.

I agree with @nlinecomputers that's probably the best answer without reconfiguring everything.

If this request came to me, I'd tell them that shared mailboxes are not perfect and to get the results they want, move to a solo mailbox. Then they can add it to Outlook. I'm not sure why you're getting the crashes, maybe you need to remove them from the shared mailbox, let propagate for an hour, then add the mailbox. Outlook should not crash until you have 15 email accounts in it or more. I've seen more actually.

Fresh profile, I can add and add without a problem. Profile corruption of some sort.

I haven't had Outlook die based on account creep... but you are limited to 50gb local data stores, which are often hit with several mailboxes or delegated access. Just have to go turn the local mail kept down, but still rather annoying.

To the OP, you're correct shared mailboxes do not generate notifications on ANYTHING. So if the user wants them they have two choices.

1.) Log into OWA and swap to the shared mailbox, and allow notifications on said browser.
2.) Forward mail from said mailbox to a normal mailbox such that it lands in inbox and therefore generates an alert.

3) Surprisingly I bumbled into an alternative; The tenant has all third party apps disabled from access... Except Mail. I was going to set it up as notifications for this person,
4) Turn on your phone notifications at work (This employee's phone sits on a dock right in front of their face all day. I was surprised her screen turning on in front of her face for every email wasn't a trigger.)

I also found out that final version of One Outlook is supposed to treat a shared mailbox more like a regular mailbox and allow you to local configure things like notifications. I tested it and its not there yet.

I would say if they want true control (and notifications) like you get with a regular mailbox,

Tenant holder will not permit it... Think you all can see where we are going here...