# Connections

Connect an Outlook mailbox to TeamEmail, choose how much history to bring in, and reconnect or remove it later.

Every mailbox in TeamEmail is a real Outlook mailbox, connected through Microsoft. Connecting it is what lets TeamEmail read its mail and send from its address. TeamEmail calls each connected mailbox a *channel*.

![The Connections screen in TeamEmail Settings, headed with the instruction to connect the channels your team works from and pick a channel to set it up, listing the available providers to connect.](https://www.neuracrm.com/help/teamemail/settings/connections.png)

*Microsoft Outlook is available now; the other providers are marked Coming soon.*

> **Before you start:**
>
> A Microsoft account that can open the mailbox. To add a shared mailbox such as `sales@`, you also need to be a TeamEmail administrator.

## Connect your own mailbox

- Go to **Settings** > **Connections** and select **Microsoft Outlook**. If the screen says **No channels**, select **Connect channel** first.
- Select **Add User Mailbox**.
- On **Bring in your old email**, choose how much past email to copy in: **Last 7 days**, **Last 30 days (recommended)**, **Last 90 days** or **Last 6 months**. Beside it, under **What stays unread**, choose how much of that email stays unread; the rest arrives already read. Then select **Continue to Microsoft**.
- Sign in to Microsoft in the window that opens, and accept the permissions it asks for.

The window closes by itself and a message confirms **Channel connected successfully!**. The mailbox is listed as **Connected**, and a card at the foot of the sidebar shows the import progress. A long history can take several minutes.

**You're done when** the mailbox shows **Connected** on the Microsoft Outlook screen.

To see its mail in the sidebar, add it to an inbox: your individual inbox, or a shared one. See [Inboxes](/teamemail/help-docs/settings/inboxes).

## Connect a shared mailbox

- On the **Microsoft Outlook** screen, select **Add Shared Mailbox**.
- Enter its **Email Address**, such as `sales@company.com`, and a **Display Name**, such as `Sales`. Select **Add**.
- On **Bring in your old email**, choose how much past email to copy in. Under **What stays in Unassigned**, choose how much of it waits for someone to pick up: anything older goes to **Resolved**, already read. **Nothing** is selected at first.
- Select **Continue to Microsoft** and sign in with a Microsoft account that has access to that mailbox.

![The Bring in your old email screen for sales@ironvale.co.uk. On the left, How much email to bring in, with Last 30 days (recommended) selected. On the right, What stays in Unassigned, with Nothing selected and Last 90 days greyed out because only 30 days are being brought in.](https://www.neuracrm.com/help/teamemail/settings/import-history.png)

*You can't keep more in Unassigned than you bring in, so longer windows are greyed out until you pick a longer import.*

## Look after a connection

Each mailbox's row has buttons for the jobs you'll need later:

- **Test**: Checks TeamEmail can still reach the mailbox, and tells you the result.
- **Import more**: Brings in older mail than you chose at first. Administrators only.
- **Reconnect**: Signs in to Microsoft again. Use it when a mailbox shows Error, or TeamEmail says its connection has expired.
- **Disconnect**: Stops TeamEmail using the mailbox until you select Connect again. Nothing is deleted.
- **Remove channel**: The bin. Deletes the mailbox from TeamEmail, with its drafts and scheduled emails. Its conversations are kept but leave the inbox. Administrators only: you confirm twice, the second time by entering the address.

## If something doesn't look right

**The sign-in window didn't open.** Your browser blocked it. Select **Open Microsoft sign-in** in the message that appears, or allow pop-ups for TeamEmail.

**The mailbox shows Error.** Select **Reconnect** and sign in again. The reason is shown in red on the row.

**It connected, but its mail isn't in the sidebar.** A new connection isn't in any inbox yet. Add it to one on the **Inboxes** screen.

## Continue with

- [Inboxes](https://www.neuracrm.com/teamemail/help-docs/settings/inboxes): Add the mailbox to an inbox so its mail appears in the sidebar.