Feature update: Email sending behavior for Groups in Outlook

We have recently fixed the email sending behavior to a group, where senders had complained about receiving the emails they send to a group, back in their personal inbox. With this fix, senders will no longer receive the emails they send to a group, back in their personal inbox. The sender can receive email sent to group in there Inbox, they have to login to there mailbox using OWA, and then Settings->Mail->Groups->"Send me a copy of email I send to a group"

The primary complaints we heard were about reading the same message users sent to a group multiple times - in their sent messages, and their inbox.

We believe sending an email to a person or to a group should be consistent, and this circling back of an email from a group was just leading to confusion, unnecessary triage, and inconvenience for a lot of our users.

We understand that some users had started using this inconsistent behavior as a way to confirm if their emails were delivered to a group. An email sent to a group is already available in the group's conversation archive as well as in the sender's sent email.

Update (4/7/2017):

Thanks for all your valuable feedback. Though a good majority of our users have embraced this change for Groups, there's also a section of our users who complained about this change affecting their workflows. We value all the feedback from our users and hence we are considering enhancing this feature to address the negative feedback. Please watch this space for further updates on this feature in the coming weeks.

groups

Office 365 Groups

Ravin Sachdeva
Mar 10, 2017
Nicholas Williams - No, there is no effect to group subscription options with this change. Subscribed users will continue to receive all group conversations, messages and events in their inbox as usual.

The only effect of this change will be on the sender of the messages to groups as below.

Old behavior

I send a message to a group, or reply back to a message from a group. Message is delivered to the group and is available in the group's conversation archive. I would also receive my message in back my inbox.

Revised behavior

I send a message to a group, or reply back to a message from a group. Message is delivered to the group and is available in the group's conversation archive. I would NOT receive my message in back my inbox.

Would be great if you can help us understand why your users are complaining with this change? What additional benefit does it provide to users when they receive their sent email back again in their inbox? Is it just a confirmation that the message was delivered to the group?

108 Replies

Robertbluedawnmtn
Copper Contributor
Jul 03, 2023
I am signed in to my Outlook account and I cannot receive emails. I can send and all my emails are in my mailbox and files, just can't receive? Help
prashantkadamendress
Copper Contributor
Dec 15, 2022
Ravin Sachdeva

I have the below requirement and my IT says it's not possible however I used to use this way previously.

Currently, the mail ID is in exchange.

Wanted to create one group id, so anyone marked mail to this id we all members should receive in our personal email id where as while replying we should have options which id need to use for reply. This is to avoid two different mail "Inbox".

Please help if this is possible.
- Victor_Ivanidze
  Bronze Contributor
  Jan 23, 2023
  Just enable the From field and select the From: address before sending.
ToddAlbers_Summit
Copper Contributor
Jul 29, 2022
I don't know that our organization minds this. Not sure. But, then again, I have had things become an issue with users that I never thought would be an issue. And I've seen things requested that I never foresaw someone requesting.  I don't think this is a big surprise, but the fact is that users don't always agree with each other in their preferences, even on something as "seemingly" trivial as this. (It bet this issue did seem trivial a while back, didn't it?)  Like most features like this one, there will be some users who will want it one way, while others will want it another way... and yes - there will be another set of users that don't care either way. So, I wouldn't be surprised if I saw a request for the old way tomorrow.

And generally, I could also see a CEO or VP asking their IT Department for this feature back. Maybe they used it before and haven't needed it in while. But, now they had a new group created and they are wondering why their emails to the group aren't showing up in their own inbox, they way the prefer it. I mention a CEO and VP because I think in most companies, if the CEO or a VP asks the IT Department for something, the IT Department really wants to provide that to them.

But, with that said, I would recommend making it an option that can be changed both full-tenant-wide and per user account. And even better, make it an option to let the user select their preference for the option. Then companies and their users can have the flexibility to decide for themselves on how they want to manage this feature - if they really care about it.

I suggest this approach for most features that any provider (including Microsoft) is planning on just completely changing based on complaints. You aren't hearing the complaints the other way until you throw that big switch. And then it's too late. The complaints are there. Your customers are unhappy. Sure you can have meetings and discussions and planning and then correct or change the option. But, you've already made your customers users unhappy. And now your customers are unhappy. Why do that to yourselves?

Look at the situation, and if it isn't some special situation where this flexibility simply won't work, then don't completely change the option. Instead of changing the option, widen the option INTO MORE OPTIONS. When you can, offer more options instead of forcing a change of the option onto everyone. If you give more options (rather than taking some away) you make more of your customers users happy. That will make your customers happy.

Your focus should be more on your customers users, not your customers. Very often your customers users can make your customers either very happy or very unhappy. If your customers users are happy, the customer is happy. And they will really be happy if a the CEO or a VP requests an option and they were able to respond with "Yes, we can do that." Win-Win. Happy users. Happy customer. When you can, consider expanding your options rather than "big switch" changing them. That's what I would do here. And now... I am really hoping that you do this soon because I am pretty sure that by writing this, I have destined our team to receiving complaints about this exact issue from a bunch of users in the near future. If you work in IT, you know it can happen. Karma. Here it comes... (holding breath)
Linda103
Copper Contributor
Oct 18, 2021
Ravin Sachdeva

Hello - I think that I may have figured out the problem... but I was not receiving emails from the group in members' inbox (this is not the same as a distribution group) nor were my members.

Step one: Open your groups folder and click on 3 dots:

Step two: Click on settings:

Step 3: Change settings for you as needed. If you are the owner, change settings for group:

Step 4: Change settings for Group as needed.

I hope this helps.
Kreera_House
Steel Contributor
Jan 13, 2020
Ravin Sachdeva Since this keeps popping up when searching for O365 Groups email sending behavior and there is now an option to control this, albeit only in OWA, I just want to add this here. The linked roadmap item, which has been launched, addresses the ability to control whether one wants to receive a copy of messages they send to one of their groups:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&searchterms=52391
Thanks, Microsoft, for adding this feature!
- Alpha66100
  Copper Contributor
  Aug 09, 2021
  Kreera_House any update on this, I am not able to access the link you shared in the message
  - Kreera_House
    Steel Contributor
    Aug 09, 2021
    Alpha66100 - The roadmap item is apparently so old that it is no longer available. Are you referring to this setting?
CWard1974
Copper Contributor
Oct 23, 2019
Ravin Sachdeva

As old as this is why does it still not work or am I missing something? When I send to a group I get my own email and I'd rather not as I know what I sent it's in my sent folder I don't need it in my inbox too unless I purposely send it to myself.
- DimitrisKavallaris
  Brass Contributor
  Oct 24, 2019
  CWard1974 There are distribution groups and Office 365 groups. Distribution groups have existed since forever. If a person sends an email to a distribution group they are a member of, they also get a copy in their inbox. This has been like this forever. When Office 365 groups where first introduced, the same philosophy applied, if a member of the O365 group sent an email to the group, they also got a copy. I am guessing because some people (like you) did not like that, Microsoft responded by changing this behaviour. This then aggravated people who liked that (like me). Good news is that after two and a half years, this is now configurable. By default if a member of a O365 group sends an email to the group they DONT get a copy, unless they enable this functionality (lool in your OWA options). So, I am guessing you are sending an email to either a distribution group, or if you are indeed sending to a O365 group, have a look in your OWA options, there is a tab/section called groups, check it out.
- entilza
  Copper Contributor
  Oct 23, 2019
  So our office has printers that we can scan from to a "group" if the user selects their "From" address they don't get the scan!!
  
  I am going to have to change everything to Distribution Lists... Groups is a big failure...
  - DimitrisKavallaris
    Brass Contributor
    Oct 24, 2019
    entilza I believe you are describing two different scenarios:
    1: FROM: Printer Device TO: O365 group: Email goes to all members
    2: FROM: Member of O365 group TO: O365 group: Email does not go to inbox of sender if sender is a member of O365 group. This the new funcionality, this is how CWard1974 for example would prefer for this to work.
    
    Good news is that if you go to your OWA options, under "Groups" you can enable sending a copy to your self, whenever you emailing (you are using your email in the FROM field of the scanner machine) a O365 group you are a member of.
TadeuszKM
Copper Contributor
Oct 10, 2019
Ravin Sachdevasorry for necroing old thread but it's the sole lead I got and I just ran face-on into this while moving my organization to O365 from competition. Is there a config option somewhere? In my case, the senders are getting messages they sent, and they don't want to. I have about 3 offices worth of people crowing at me in my basement now...
- datpete
  Copper Contributor
  Oct 10, 2019
  TadeuszKMsee the post by Dimitris Kavallaris above: In OWA there is now an option to turn this on/off.
  - TadeuszKM
    Copper Contributor
    Oct 10, 2019
    datpeteso it only works for "O365"-type Groups? In our case, we were setting them up as "list" type, since we DON'T need any extra features or workspaces (frankly speaking, we find them detrimental to our workflow), but do need the chance to have the address work for external senders… sigh, so I assume the only way would be to use rules to trash self-spam...
aparnad
Copper Contributor
Sep 09, 2019
Ravin Sachdeva - Just checking in to see if switching back to receive emails back in sender's Inbox is still considered or knocked off the consideration list?
- Simon Denton
  MVP
  Sep 09, 2019
  I do wonder whether 'by design' Microsoft have stymied Office 365 Groups by not understanding the simple use case that people need access to what they have sent. Why a Group does not have a simple Outbox / Sent items view to go with its current view (which is an Inbox) is baffling.
- DimitrisKavallaris
  Brass Contributor
  Sep 09, 2019
  Hey all,
  
  In OWA, if you go to options, there's a new tab/section called "Groups". If you enable this checkbox and send an email to an O365 group you are a member of, NOW you will get a copy in your inbox, Hallelujah!!!! It only took two and a half years for this checkbox. Only two and a half years to go back to how this worked originally. If when this change was made, it was made to be configurable, we would not be talking about this, two and a half years later.
  - swilburn
    Copper Contributor
    Jan 02, 2020
    DimitrisKavallaris
    How long did it take for the change to be effective? I went to the OWA, selected the option to receive a copy to my Inbox, waited 10 minutes, tried sending emails to my group from both Outlook and the OWA. They show in my Sent folder but not my Inbox. I then tried closing my Outlook, and when I reopened it I sent another email from Outlook to the group, it is in my Sent folder but did not show up in my Inbox.
    These are groups that I created, that I show as Owner of (which I assume means I'm also a member since I receive emails others send to the group).
Kurt Auzins
Copper Contributor
Apr 17, 2018
Ravin Sachdeva,

I confused as to how you appear to be confused with everyone's questions.

Plain and simple, when someone creates and sends an email to a group list we want that email to appear in the group members inbox (same inbox as all other emails). Current state, when someone sends an email to the group list, the email turns into a "conversation" and ONLY appears in the group folder below the inbox. Some people want a unified inbox where all emails can be viewed in one place.

Is that too confusing?
- Ravin Sachdeva
  Microsoft
  Apr 17, 2018
  Thanks for explaining, Kurt. I understand your scenario. Might I recommend finding the sent item in your sent items folder, like you do for all other emails that you send to an individual or a bunch of email addresses? I would like to understand how you manage all other sent items in your unified inbox?
  
  Speaking of Unified Inbox, Outlook will be making some improvements to the Message List which will allow you to find your replies to emails within the Inbox itself. Please bear with us for a bit till we deploy those improvements more broadly.
  - DimitrisKavallaris
    Brass Contributor
    Apr 17, 2018
    Ravin Sachdeva, an email that I send to a group and shows up in my inbox is a certain way to know that the email has at least traveled to the server and back. An email in my Sent Items is only a copy, regardless if it ever reach the server or not and it means squat. So people like to use it as a kind of delivery report, as a to do list (as it shows up in inbox) etc. What I absolutely don't understand is why do you keep defending this change (that came out of nowhere)? Why defend or fight it at all, MAKE IT CONFIGURABLE and we are all done and can go on with our work. Set it by default as you believe most people want it to be, what your telemetry tells you, but allow the rest of your customers to use it they way they like. Don't push it down their throats, again, make it default but configurable.
Deleted
Apr 13, 2018
I would need to complain about not receiving emails I sent to the group in my personal inbox. It makes it hard to keep track of emails in inbox.

Can we please have a setting to turn off this "Feature"?

Forum Discussion

Feature update: Email sending behavior for Groups in Outlook

108 Replies

Share

Resources