Can't open Shared mailbox on mobile device, works on every other client.

Anonymous
2021-06-15T13:20:37+00:00

We want to share mailboxes with 'Least privilege' principle.

So when creating a shared mailbox instead of making users Owner we want to assign only permissions on the necessary folders.

With a PowerShell session to Exchange Online we make the following changes:

Add-MailboxFolderPermission -Identity SharedMailboxTest:\ -user ******@contoso.com -AccessRights Reviewer

Add-MailboxFolderPermission -Identity SharedMailboxTest:\Inbox -user ******@contoso.com -AccessRights Reviewer

This works fine with Outlook Web App and Outlook desktop client. We can add the shared folder and read the messages.

But when we try to add a shared folder on a Outlook Mobile client we get an error:

Authentication failed

That didn't work. You may not have the right permissions to add this mailbox or this mailbox doesn't exist.

Also added permission directly on the mailbox:

Add-MailboxPermission -Identity SharedMailboxTest -User ******@contoso.com -AccessRights ReadPermission

But that didn't make a difference.

It must be possible to delegate folder permissions. It works for default clients, but it refuses to work on mobile Outlook unless I give the user Owner permissions, but that is not 'Least privilege'.
What I'm I missing here or did I stumble on a bug in Outlook Mobile?

(It has to be Outlook mobile client on cell phones)

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For home

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-09-10T13:03:31+00:00

    Same error on our Android. I can add shared mailboxes without any issues on my PC whether it's the desktop Outlook or the OWA. Please fix this error because it's hindering our business operations!

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-09-10T11:51:57+00:00

    I have exactly the same issue, also got redirected to Mobile support but after providing all the info to them no reply at all.

    I've also added a new shared mailbox and this also has the same symptoms :(

    I backed up the mail in the shared mailbox and deleted it and recreated it but still no.

    I also tried connecting to the shared mailbox via MAPI as a workaround but that just immediately said unable to connect with the server.

    If anyone has a resolution to this please share as I'm stuck.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-09-10T10:28:28+00:00

    Same problem for our company

    I already tried to remove/add my account on the app completly which did not work.

    The shared mailboxes whicht were working fine before can now not be added anymore.

    iOS Version: 14.7.1

    Outlook App: 4.2135.0 (updated on 09.09.2021)

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-09-10T08:59:32+00:00

    Same problem. Annoying.

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-09-10T08:35:33+00:00

    They really need to get onto this and fix it as so many businesses use shared mailboxes for general contact points for customers and really important for staff that are mobile or not fixed to their desk to be able to see emails and respond. Come on, Microsoft, the richest company in the world, sort it!

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