Imagine you've just set up a shared mailbox for your team, but the name you chose no longer quite fits. Perhaps your department has undergone a restructuring, or you've rebranded, and now the mailbox name seems outdated. Don't worry, changing the shared mailbox name in Office 365 is a straightforward process.
The first step is to log in to your Microsoft 365 admin center. If you're not sure where to find this, just head over to the Microsoft 365 admin center homepage and sign in using your admin account. Once you're in, you'll be ready to start making changes.
Accessing the Shared Mailbox
Before you can change the name, you need to access the shared mailbox settings. To do this, navigate to the "Show all" option in the admin center, then select "Mail." You'll see a list of all the mailboxes in your organization. Find the shared mailbox you want to rename and click on it to open the mailbox properties.
Now that you've accessed the shared mailbox settings, you're ready to move on to the next step.
Changing the Alias
When you change the shared mailbox name, it's actually the alias that you're updating. The alias is what appears in the 'To:' field when sending an email to this mailbox. To change the alias, click on the "Edit" button next to the 'Email Address' field. A new window will pop up where you can modify the alias.
Remember, the alias needs to be unique within your organization, so if your first choice is already in use, you'll need to try something else.
Updating the Display Name
The display name is the friendly name that appears in the global address list and in the address book. To update the display name, simply click in the 'Display name' field and enter the new name you want to use. Once you've made your changes, click 'Save' to finalize the changes.
If you want to confirm that the changes have taken effect, you can send a test email to the shared mailbox using the new alias. You should see the updated display name in your sent items folder.
Notifying Users of the Change
After you've changed the shared mailbox name, it's a good idea to let your team know about the update. You can send out a brief email explaining the change and encouraging everyone to update their address books if needed.
If you want to automate this process, you can use Microsoft 365's email distribution groups. You can create a group for your team and send an announcement to everyone at once.
Managing Sender Rewriting
When you change the shared mailbox name, it's possible that the email header information may not be updated automatically. This can cause confusion because the 'From' field in received emails might still show the old mailbox name. To resolve this, you can use the Exchange Online PowerShell to manage sender rewriting.
Using the PowerShell, you can update the 'From' field so that it matches the mailbox name you've changed it to. This ensures that emails sent from the shared mailbox will display the correct 'From' field in the recipient's inbox.
And that's it! With these steps, you've successfully changed the shared mailbox name and managed any related updates. Keep an eye on your mailbox for any potential issues, and don't hesitate to reach out to Microsoft Support if you need further assistance.