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Out-of-office on a
shared mailbox.

You want an automatic reply on a shared inbox — like info@ or accounts@ — over the holidays, but there's no password to log in with. Good news: you don't need one. Here are two ways to do it.

Applies to: Microsoft 365 shared mailboxes Time: ~5 minutes Needs: Full Access permission
Quick answer

Sign in to outlook.office.com with your own account. Click your profile picture (top-right) → Open another mailbox, type the shared mailbox address, and open it. In that window, go to Settings → Mail → Automatic replies, turn them on and write your message. Done — no shared password required.

METHOD 1 · RECOMMENDED

Via Outlook on the web.

This works for everyone with Full Access to the mailbox and is the most reliable option.

  1. Sign in as yourselfGo to outlook.office.com and log in with your own Microsoft 365 account (not the shared mailbox).
  2. Open the shared mailboxClick your profile picture at the top-right, choose Open another mailbox, type the shared mailbox's email address, and open it. It launches in a new browser tab as that mailbox.
  3. Open its settingsIn that new tab, click the gear / Settings icon, then Mail → Automatic replies.
  4. Turn on automatic repliesSwitch Automatic replies on. Optionally set a start and end time so it turns itself off automatically.
  5. Write your messageType the reply. If you want it to go to external senders too, tick Send replies outside your organisation and add a message there as well. Click Save.

Method 2 · Desktop Outlook

This only works if the shared mailbox has been added as its own account in Outlook (not just auto-mapped into your folder list).

  1. Select the shared mailboxClick File. Under Account Information, use the dropdown at the top to select the shared mailbox (not your own).
  2. Open Automatic RepliesClick Automatic Replies (Out of Office), turn them on, set your message and time range, and click OK.
Don't have access? If "Open another mailbox" says you don't have permission, you'll need Full Access granted to that shared mailbox — a quick change your IT admin can make in the Microsoft 365 admin centre. An admin can also set the reply centrally without touching a single PC.
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