Shared mailboxes

Shared mailboxes are email/calendar accounts whose access is controlled by a security group rather than a password. These mailboxes can only be accessed by users in the security group.

Outlook for Windows | Outlook for Mac | Outlook on the web | iPhone / iPad | Other platforms

Outlook for Windows (old)

  • Open Outlook. Click on the “File” tab near the top-left corner of the window, and then click the “+Add Account” button.
  • Type in the email address of the shared mailbox sharedmailboxuserid@uwaterloo.ca and then click the “Connect” button.
  • Click "Back" then delete the shared mailbox email and type in youruserid@uwaterloo.ca
  • Click "Next" then type in your WatIAM password in the password field.
  • Click "Sign In", and complete 2FA as necessary by following the prompts.
  • In the bottom left corner of the pop-up dialogue select "No, sign in to this app only."
  • A message stating “Account successfully updated. You need to restart Outlook for these changes to take effect" will appear. Click the “Done” button to close the window.
  • Close Outlook – wait about 10 seconds – then launch Outlook.
  • Be patient when you restart Outlook. Email messages, folders, and calendar appointments in the shared mailbox will require time to download from the server.
  • The next time you click on the "New Email" button, you will have the option to send from either the shared mailbox or your personal account.
  • Try sending a 'test' message from the shared mailbox to ensure the account is working properly.

The default setting for Outlook for Windows is to only download the last 12 months of email into its Offline Cache when an account is added. To download ALL email messages to make the viewing and searching of older email messages faster complete the following steps…

  • Click on the “File” tab near the top-left corner of the window, then click the “Account Settings” button, and then click “Account Settings…” from the drop-down menu list.
  • Double-click on the shared mailbox to edit the account settings.
  • Drag the slider for “Download email for the past:” from near the middle of the window to the far right to set it at “All” then click on the “Next” button at the bottom right.
  • A prompt stating “Account successfully updated. You need to restart Outlook for these changes to take effect” will appear. Click the “Done” button at the bottom of the page, and then close the "Account Settings" window.
  • You do not need to restart Outlook immediately, however after closing Outlook wait about 10 seconds before relaunching it. 

Outlook for Windows (new)

  • At the bottom of the left side menu, click "Add account"
  • Type in the email address of the shared mailbox sharedmailboxuserid@uwaterloo.ca and then click "Continue"
  • Click "Back" then delete the shared mailbox email and type in youruserid@uwaterloo.ca
  • Click "Next" then type in your WatIAM password in the password field.
  • Click "Sign In", and complete 2FA as necessary by following the prompts.
  • In order to see your shared mailbox, go to the left-hand menu and expand the "Shared with me" tab
  • The next time you click on the "New Email" button, you will have the option to send from either the shared mailbox or your personal account.
  • Try sending a 'test' message from the shared mailbox to ensure the account is working properly.

Outlook for Mac (old)

  • In Outlook, click the "Tools" tab near the top of the window.
  • Click the "Accounts" button near the top left corner.
  • Click on the "Delegation and Sharing" button on your personal userid@uwaterloo.ca account.
  • Navigate to the "Shared With Me" tab.
  • Click on the "+" icon.
  • Search for the address of the shared mailbox.
  • Select the address and click "Add".

Outlook for Mac (new)

  • Click "File", then "Open" , then "Shared Mailbox".
  • Enter the username of the shared mailbox (e.g. sharenam, where the email address is sharenam@uwaterloo.ca).
  • Click "Add".

Outlook web app

  • Log in at Outlook.com using the credentials associated with your personal UW email account:
    • youruserid@uwaterloo.ca (not the shared mailbox userid)
    • your WatIAM password
  • On the left side menu, right-click "Folders."
  • In the drop-down menu select "Add shared folder."
    • In the pop-up dialogue enter the shared mailbox email address: sharedmailboxuserid@uwaterloo.ca
    • Click "Add."

iPhone/iPad

Open the Outlook App and log in with the credentials associated with your personal UW email account.

  • In the top left corner tap your profile picture.
  • In the bottom left of the menu click the "Settings" cog.
  • Under the section "Mail Accounts"  tap "Add Mail Account."
  • Select"Add Shared Mailbox."
  • Enter sharedmailboxuserid@uwaterloo.ca and click "Add Shared Mailbox."

Other platforms

If you need to configure manually, you can use these server settings:

  • Username: personalid@uwaterloo.ca
  • Server: outlook.office365.com
  • Domain: uwaterloo.ca

If you have any questions, contact Science Computing Helpdesk.