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How to Optimize Microsoft 365 Licensing for Admins and Shared Mailboxes
Question details
The user needs to understand Microsoft 365 licensing requirements for administrator accounts and how to use shared mailboxes to reduce subscription costs.
- Product
- Microsoft 365
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Managing Microsoft 365 tenant licenses, admin roles, and shared email addresses for a business.
- Observed behavior
- Administrators want to optimize license allocations by removing unnecessary licenses for tenant-only admins and converting secondary email addresses into free shared mailboxes.
Ensure you have global administrator or Exchange administrator privileges in the Microsoft 365 admin center before attempting to modify user licenses or convert mailboxes.
Convert a Secondary User Mailbox to a Shared Mailbox
Reduce licensing costs by converting an existing user mailbox to a shared mailbox if it only serves as a shared address (e.g., info@ or support@).
A shared mailbox generally does not require a license as long as it remains within the applicable 50 GB storage limit. Once converted, you can unassign the license from the account to save costs while still allowing authorized users to send and receive emails from that address.
Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center and navigate to Users > Active users.
Find and click on the user whose mailbox you want to convert to open their properties panel.
Go to the Mail tab, select 'Convert to shared mailbox', and confirm the conversion.
Switch to the Licenses and apps tab, uncheck the Microsoft 365 license assigned to the account, and click Save changes.
Go to Teams & groups > Shared mailboxes, select the newly converted mailbox, and add members who need 'Read and manage' and 'Send as' permissions.
Remove Licenses from Admin-Only Accounts
Unassign licenses from administrators who only manage the tenant and do not need a personal mailbox or Office applications.
Reduce Software Costs with WPS Office
If you are optimizing Microsoft 365 licenses to reduce business expenses, consider switching users who don't need heavy cloud email services to WPS Office. It provides powerful, lightweight, and free desktop applications for document editing with high compatibility with Microsoft Office formats, eliminating the need for expensive per-user subscriptions.
- 1. Download the Installer: Visit the official WPS website and click 'Download WPS Office Free'.
- 2. Install the Software: Run the downloaded installer and follow the quick setup wizard.
- 3. Open Your Documents: Launch WPS Office and directly open any existing Microsoft Office files to continue working seamlessly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an admin account without a license still have global admin rights?
Yes, administrative privileges are independent of user licenses in Microsoft 365. An unlicensed user can still fully manage the tenant, but they will not have access to an Exchange mailbox or Office desktop apps.
What happens to the email data when I convert a user mailbox to a shared mailbox?
All existing emails, folders, and calendar events are preserved during the conversion. You can safely remove the license after the conversion is complete without losing any data, provided the mailbox is under 50 GB.
Can I use a shared mailbox to log in to Office applications?
No, shared mailboxes do not have their own active login credentials. Authorized users must log in to Microsoft 365 or Outlook with their personal licensed accounts and access the shared mailbox via delegate permissions.
