Simple Steps to Migrate Shared Mailbox to Office 365 Account

Shared mailboxes are essential for team communications and projects that require centralized email management. As more and more organizations move towards the modern Office 365 environment, migrating shared mailboxes is becoming critical yet important. This guide provides an overview of the best ways to migrate Shared Mailbox to Office 365 for free or with a reliable Office 365 Backup Tool to support departments to continue operations with ease. 

Convert Shared Mailbox to Office 365: Why?

Traditional on-premises mailboxes limit the accessibility of the data that a user can access, and even face downtimes during upgrades. Moreover, a lack of smooth collaboration is very common. Thus, it becomes necessary to perform the Shared mailbox to Office 365 migration. Some more beneficial factors supporting this are: 

  • Unified mailbox access across multiple devices without hassle
  • No downtimes and easy availability of data anywhere through the cloud
  • Strong legal control for compliance and retention of organizational data
  • Advanced search and eDiscovery features with complete Microsoft support
  • Integration with other Microsoft services like OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, etc.
  • Large mailbox storage of upto 1.5 TB in comparison to shared mailbox 50 GB storage.
  • Scalability and flexibility with robust security for protection from unauthorized login and data access. 

User Concern: 

“Our business Shared Mailbox is large, having around 45 GB of emails and important team communications within it. Now, we are switching to the Microsoft 365 ecosystem and need to urgently transfer Shared Mailbox to Office 365 without losses. Suggest the most feasible way that requires less effort and time, and migrate data securely.”

Ideal Ways to Migrate Shared Mailbox to Office 365 Account 

The migration from a Shared mailbox to Office 365 can be done in three different ways. It includes two manual solutions and a proficient software with more reliability and trust during conversion. These are explained in detail below; you can choose any one of them according to your preferences. 

Manually Move Shared Mailbox to Office 365

The two free ways are using the Exchange Admin Center by M365 and the PowerShell commands. Both method requires technical expertise and are not as straightforward to perform. These are briefed as follows. 

Method 1: Using Exchange Admin Center (EAC)

To use EAC for data import into Office 365, you first need to save the shared mailbox as a regular user mailbox. The steps are: 

  1. Initially, open the Microsoft 365 Admin Centre and log in to it with your Exchange Admin ID.
  2. Then, on the left menu, select Admin Centres, tap Exchange, choose Recipients, and then Shared.
  3. Further, select the shared mailbox and opt for the option to Convert to Regular Mailbox.
  4. Afterward, click Yes. Later, navigate to Users and select Active Users.
  5. Furthermore, select the converted mailbox and click on Assign license.
  6. Now, go to the Exchange Admin Centre and click Migration. Choose to create a New Migration Batch to migrate Shared Mailbox to Office 365.
  7. After that, select Migrate to Exchange Online as the migration type and pick the mailbox.
  8. Finally, configure and review the batch settings and start the migration process.

Note: Monitor the progress in the Migration Dashboard, and once it completes, you can reconvert the mailbox back to Shared within Office 365. 

Method 2: Through PowerShell Cmdlets

If you want to skip the manual hassle like in the above process and are comfortable with understanding command prompts, then follow these steps:

  1. First, connect PowerShell to Exchange Online with the given command:

Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName contact sharedmailboxID

  1. Next, convert the Shared Mailbox to a User Mailbox with the prompt:

Set-Mailbox -Identity sharedID -Type Regular

  1. After that, check the migration process to ensure no error occurs. 
  2. At last, to get the mailbox, use the cmdlet:

Get-Mailbox -Identity ID | Select Name, RecipientTypeDetail

Loopholes of the Manual Methods 
  • You need a licence to migrate files of more than 50 GB. 
  • The process is lengthy, hard to follow, and contains risk. 
  • Data formatting is inconsistent, and data loss is possible, too. 
  • Not suitable for complex structures and large shared mailboxes

Smartly Migrate from Shared Mailbox to Microsoft 365

SysInfo Office 365 Backup Tool is an all-in-one, reliable solution to simplify the way you migrate data from one mailbox to another. 

Steps to Migrate Shared Mailbox to Office 365

  1. Launch the Office 365 Migration Tool and click Backup >> Continue.Launch the Office 365 Backup Tool 
  2. Then, select Modern Authentication and provide credentials to Sign In.Select Modern Authentication 
  3. After that, under Get Sub User, choose Add User Automatically. Also, pick the mailbox type.
  4. Select your User IDs and click Next. All the email folders will be loaded in a tree structure.Select your User IDs and click Next
  5. Now, choose the desired folders from the tree view and click Next.Choose the desired folders
  6. Later, pick Office 365 from Email Client and apply the necessary filters. Finally, tap Convert.Pick Office 365 apply filter then tap Convert

Why Choose Expert Tool to Move Shared Mailbox to Office 365?

This tool is easy to use for everyone and works on all major platforms without trouble. Additionally, it ensures authentic migration to Office 365 and other email clients and file formats. Moreover, the tool preserves data fidelity, performs secure migration without losses, and provides numerous advanced features for convenience. Using it, you can even remove duplicate emails and maintain the folder structures. 

Besides this, the software has a Demo Version that allows you to convert upto 50 emails per folder at zero cost. In case of any queries or custom migrations, you can even contact technical support 24*7

Real World Success Snapshot

An IT support team managing around 120 GB of shared mailboxes with 15,000+ active threads needs to switch to Office 365. They required a fast, low-downtime migration, preserving the data structure and other attributes. Manual migration failed repeatedly due to PST size limits, and Outlook started to hang. Using the Office 365 Backup and Restore Tool, they executed batch migration, preserved permissions, and handled throttling, completing the process to convert Shared Mailbox to Office 365 in no time, accurately with a detailed migration log.

Conclusion 

For better storage, reliability, and access to cloud functionalities and Microsoft services, it is needed to migrate Shared Mailbox to Office 365. This blog explained two manual methods that can be performed only if you have technical skills and time. Alternatively, it suggests an optimal Office 365 Backup Software for fast, secure, and authentic migrations with no loss and risk. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How long does it take to move Shared Mailbox to Office 365?

Ans. The manual method may take a few hours to a few days, depending on the mailbox size and internet speed. Whereas, with the excellent software, it is completed in minimal time.

Q2. Is it possible to convert multiple shared mailbox at once?

Ans. Yes, you can migrate from Shared mailbox to Microsoft 365 ikn bulk using the Microsoft 365 Backup Tool. It has no mailbox size limitations and provides accurate results.

Q3. How do I avoid data loss when migrating a Shared Mailbox to Microsoft 365?

Ans. To avoid data loss, use a trusted and verified backup solution, like the SysInfo Microsoft 365 Backup Software. 

Q4. Which is the best tool to migrate Shared Mailbox to Office 365?

Ans. The best tool to migrate mailboxes is using the Office 365 Migrator. It has all the features that a user requires, such as:
1. Batch Processing
2. Duplicate Removal and Date Filter
3. Maintains structure and keeps data intact
4. Demo Version

5/5 - (1 vote)

About The Author:

Simran Bhatia is a technical content writer engaged in writing clear, concise, and SEO-optimized content. With a background in computer science and a passion for writing, I thrive to deliver complex technical content in simple layman terms.

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