1 Top Common Outlook Problems and How to Fix Them
Lauren Fiore edited this page 2025-10-01 08:44:13 +00:00
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There are a number of causes to Outlook not working you can troubleshoot. If you want to learn how to fix Outlook issues involving a frozen screen, here are some things you can do. Those are the most common ways to get back on track when the Outlook search is not working on Windows. Here are some solutions for when the search is not functioning on a Mac. For all of the Mac users struggling with Outlook not responding, we have a few pointers for you as well.

Use the Microsoft 365 shared computer activation (SCA) troubleshooter to enable shared computer activation for Microsoft 365 applications. Use the uninstall troubleshooter to uninstall Microsoft 365, Office 2021, Office 2019, or Office 2016 from your Windows PC. If you have Outlook in your startup folder, remove the shortcut from the startup folder. Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support. TrustedTech delivers unbeatable customer service, with experts in licensing and high-level technicians always on-call to answer your tech issues in-depth. Our Account Managers and Distribution Team fulfills orders quickly and efficiently, giving our customers digital downloads in record time so they can move on to their next big project.

Sometimes, a weak or unstable internet connection can cause Outlook to misbehave. To check if this is the issue, temporarily disconnect from your Wi-Fi or unplug your LAN cable, and then try opening Outlook again. If you receive a connectivity error, your network might be to blame.

One such issue is when you are stuck on loading your Outlook profile and the set of folders cannot be opened. Its too frustrating because you cant even use the app and find out whats wrong with it. Are you experiencing profile loading issues in Outlook?

In System Configuration, if you select a check box, the related service or startup program runs when you restart the computer. If the check box is cleared, the service or startup program doesn't run when you restart the computer. When you start Windows normally, several applications and services start automatically and then run troubleshooting Outlook Startup issues in the background. A Selective Startup or "clean boot" process can help you identify problems that are caused by application conflicts. To keep up with new viruses as they're created, antivirus software vendors periodically provide updates that you can download from the Internet.

As your mailbox size increases, more resources are required to open each folder. If you have a large number of items in any single folder, you may experience performance issues during certain operations. For more information, see Outlook performance issues when there are too many items or folders in a cached mode .ost or .pst file. Follow these methods to resolve the Outlook stuck on loading profile issue. If your antivirus software includes integration with Outlook, you may troubleshooting Outlook Startup issues experience performance issues. You can disable all Outlook integration within the antivirus software.

We're investigating the issues and will update this page when a fix is available. In the meantime, please use the workarounds suggested for each issue. We can say that you will likely need to reinstall your software and reconfigure the firewall settings. Often there is the option to add sites to a whitelist, and you can give more permissions to Outlook.

Get Help has troubleshooters for classic Outlook for Windows you can run for many common scenarios, troubleshooting Outlook Startup issues such as Outlook startup or profile setup problems. These often help resolve issues without the need to contact support. Get Help has troubleshooters for Microsoft 365 you can run for many common scenarios. If a troubleshooter is available for your issue, select Start to run that troubleshooter. Microsoft has its own tool for automatically scanning and correcting Office when things go awry. You can read about it and then run the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant to see if that helps.

To get support in Outlook.com, click here or select Help on the menu bar and enter your query. If the self-help doesn't solve your problem, scroll down to Still need help? Switch your alias to an Outlook.com or Hotmail.com account. Customers using the contact support buttons at the foot of the support pages, or the "email us" links in support Virtual Agent, are unable to open the Help Pane. Check that you have not accidentally blocked the Gmail domain when blocking one Gmail user.

The bad news is that the ScanPST.exe program doesn't work for severely corrupted files. You'll need to acquire a recovery tool designed for bigger jobs. Search "PST Repair Tool" and you'll find many reputable programs who know how to fix this Outlook issue.

Starting Outlook in safe mode, which starts Outlook without add-ins loaded, can tell you if an add-in is the source of the problem. Turn off all the add-ins, close Outlook, and reopen it (not in Safe Mode). If it opens correctly, you can enable the add-ins one by one. After turning on each one, close and reopen Outlook to see if it loads correctly. It will help pinpoint the troublesome add-in you can remove or replace.