Switch from forwarding to a direct connection

With forwarding, your mail system sends a copy of each email to Elvo through an external mail service. A direct connection to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace reads email straight from your own mailbox instead. New email appears in Elvo immediately, replies go out through your own mail servers, and no external mail service is in between.

You can switch one address at a time. Start with the busiest addresses.

The order in shortCopy Anchor Link

1. Connect the mailbox first. Leave the forwarding on.
2. Select the same team that the address uses now.
3. Test that new email arrives in Elvo.
4. Remove the forwarding last.

Do not remove the forwarding first. Then no new email reaches Elvo until the mailbox is connected, and your team does not see it in the meantime.

Before you startCopy Anchor Link

• You need the administrator role in Elvo. Only administrators can connect shared mailboxes.
• Check which team each address goes to now: Settings → Teams shows the channels of each team.
• Microsoft 365: the Microsoft account you sign in with needs Full Access and Send As on the mailbox. Your Microsoft 365 administrator may need to approve Elvo once for the whole company. See For IT admins.
• Google Workspace: sign in with a Google account that has access to the mailbox. Your Google Workspace administrator may need to trust Elvo first. See Gmail / Google Workspace.

Step 1: Connect the mailboxCopy Anchor Link

1. Open Settings → Email and click Add account.
2. Select Office 365 or Gmail or Google Workspace and click Next.
3. Leave Email import history as it is, select Shared team inbox and click Next.
4. Under Which team inbox should this connect to? select the team that the address uses now and click Next. If your organization has only one team, Elvo skips this step.
5. Enter the address of the mailbox and the sender name your customers see. Click Connect account.
6. Sign in with your own Microsoft or Google account.
7. If Elvo shows Your Microsoft 365 admin needs to approve Elvo, send the link to your IT administrator. When they have approved Elvo, click Connect again.

When the mailbox is connected, Elvo does three things by itself:

• It stops using the forwarding for that address.
• It imports the email from the mailbox for the import period you selected, including email that is still on its way through the forwarding.
• It skips every email that is already in Elvo, so nothing comes in twice.

Elvo can only skip the emails that are already in Elvo when you select the same team as before. If you select a different team, the emails in the import period come in again as new conversations in that team.

Step 2: TestCopy Anchor Link

Send an email from an outside address, for example a personal address, to the mailbox. It appears in Elvo within a minute or two.

Step 3: Remove the forwardingCopy Anchor Link

When the test is OK, remove the forwarding to Elvo (an address that ends in @inbound.elvo.is) in your mail system:

• Microsoft 365: Exchange admin center → Mail flow → Rules, or the forwarding setting on the mailbox.
• Google Workspace: the rule under Gmail → Routing in the Admin console, or the forwarding setting in the mailbox.

Until you remove it, the forwarding still sends copies to Elvo. Elvo ignores them, so you do not get duplicates, but remove it so your email no longer goes through an external service.

Common questionsCopy Anchor Link

Do existing conversations change? No. Conversations that came in through forwarding stay where they are.

What about email that is delayed in the forwarding? The import gets it straight from your mailbox. Copies that arrive later through the forwarding are ignored.

Can I connect a group or distribution list? No. Microsoft 365 needs a shared mailbox (or a user mailbox). Ask your IT administrator to use a shared mailbox, or keep forwarding for that address.