MS Outlook Issues Today: Fixes and Workarounds

If you're experiencing MS Outlook issues today, you're not alone. Many users have reported problems with the email client, including crashes and freezing.

One common issue is the "Out of Memory" error, which can occur when Outlook runs out of system resources. This can be caused by a large number of emails or attachments.

To fix this, try closing unnecessary applications and freeing up disk space. This can help prevent Outlook from running low on memory.

If you're still experiencing issues, try restarting your computer in Safe Mode to isolate the problem.

Microsoft Outlook users reported issues with the email service on Saturday afternoon, with tens of thousands of users affected.

Reports of an outage were primarily for Outlook, but Microsoft said it had confirmed the issue was impacting various Microsoft 365 services.

Users on X posted that Xbox services, which are owned by Microsoft, were also having issues, with over 37,000 reports on DownDetector.

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Even using the Authenticator app for Outlook resulted in an error message due to the outage.

Microsoft has previously experienced massive global outages, which took more than a few hours to resolve, in 2023 and 2024.

On November 26, Outlook and Teams services were restored after more than 24 hours of technical delays.

Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and Exchange are currently down for many users worldwide, with over 800 users reporting issues on DownDetector.

Reports began appearing in early Monday morning BST and CET as workers were logging in to start their working week.

Users experienced issues such as the inability to access Teams Calendar, Outlook, and Exchange, and Outlook crashing for some users.

Microsoft is investigating the issue and has directed affected users to its online admin centre.

A recent change is believed to have resulted in the impact, and Microsoft has started to revert the change and is investigating what additional actions are required to mitigate the issue.

Microsoft's service status website initially indicated that all systems were not operating normally, but later reported that all systems were operating normally by 2 pm on Monday BST.

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However, some users were still reporting issues on Tuesday morning BST.

Microsoft Outlook users worldwide began experiencing login problems, app crashes, and freezes, with the East Coast and Midwest being the most affected in the U.S.

The desktop app alerted everyone to the outage, and other services such as Microsoft 365 and the Microsoft Store are also experiencing issues.

The fix is out, but you may need to take action to get back to your email. A bug caused the desktop app to crash and use high system resources, preventing some users from logging in.

Reports of affected users are falling, but Microsoft is still working on resolving the issue completely.

A potential solution is being worked on, with Microsoft preparing to apply a targeted configuration update. This update is suspected to fix the outage.

Microsoft recommends refreshing or restarting your Outlook sessions to see if the config change has taken effect.

User issues and errors with Microsoft Outlook have been reported, with users experiencing crashing and freezing issues in both the OWA and Desktop application. Some users have reported that the issues started shortly after 5 AM EST and still persist after 7 hours.

Users may encounter errors or failures when trying to access Outlook.com, including "There was a problem sending emails. Try again later" or "HTTP Error 404. The requested resource is not found." A software rollout over the weekend caused one component to send a high volume of messages to another component that had been deleted, overwhelming the routing plane servers.

The issues with shared calendars are specific to customers on Current Channel major version 16.0.8326.2062, who cannot edit shared calendars due to a permission error. The fix for this issue is being released in build 16.0.8431.2079.

Here are some of the errors users may encounter when trying to use Outlook.com:

Users are complaining about issues with Outlook, with some reporting crashing and freezing problems.

Complaints have been steady on DownDetector, with one user expressing frustration about the issues in both the OWA and Desktop application.

Some users are experiencing scrolling problems in Outlook 2016, where the view jumps to a different position after scrolling.

The issue is partially fixed in certain versions of Outlook, but a workaround is available for users on the Current Channel.

Certain add-ons in the Firefox browser may be preventing the Outlook.com Inbox from loading.

To resolve the issue, users can visit the Firefox support website to learn how to disable or remove add-ons.

Users may encounter errors or failures when trying to access Outlook.com, including HTTP Error 404 messages.

A software rollout over the weekend caused the issue, and engineers are investigating the root cause and identifying problematic servers.

The issue may occur when you register a 3rd party email address for your Microsoft Account and don't use Outlook.com for sending and receiving email.

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To resolve the issue, users can set up their account manually as an IMAP or POP account in Outlook.

Here's a step-by-step guide to setting up your account manually:

The issue may occur when you have multiple aliases on your account and the 3rd party email address is the primary alias.

To resolve the issue, users can follow the steps above to set up their account manually or set their Outlook.com email as the primary alias.

For another approach, see: How to Remove Email Accounts from Outlook

Duplicate contacts in Outlook.com can be a real hassle, but Microsoft has a fix for it. Starting August 9, 2023, a fix will automatically clean up duplicate contacts for end users.

This fix will clean up duplicate contacts for end users starting August 9, 2023, and rollout to all users will take a few weeks. Some users may see the fix applied by the end of September.

If you're not waiting for the fix, you can try a workaround. Microsoft has released a Windows Hotfix file to remove the contacts folder synced by the Teams app.

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To use this workaround, you'll need to download ContactsCleanup.exe to your Windows PC and follow these steps:

Remember, blocking an item already in your Junk Email folder won't delete it.

Some users have reported difficulties with sending and receiving emails due to an email storage error, where the storage displays as 0/0GB.

Deleting large email attachments and signing out and back in has allowed most users to resume sending and receiving emails, but the storage information remains incorrect.

A fix is being rolled out to WW servers to address this issue, which was caused by a bug introduced in build 8962.

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Users unable to send or receive emails due to an email storage error have reported difficulties with sending and receiving emails due to an email storage error, where the storage displays as 0/0GB.

Deleting large email attachments and signing out and back in has allowed most users to resume sending and receiving emails, but the storage information remains incorrect.

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The root cause has been isolated to a bug introduced in build 8962, which was partially reverted, and further mitigation efforts are ongoing.

A fix is being rolled out to WW servers, which should resolve the issue.

To troubleshoot, try deleting large email attachments and signing out and back in.

If you're having trouble receiving email from Gmail accounts in Outlook.com, it's worth checking if the Gmail domain has been accidentally blocked.

Open your Blocked Senders list and see if Gmail.com is listed. If it is, select the checkbox next to it and click Save.

This is a common issue that can be easily resolved by following these simple steps.

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If you're trying to edit a shared calendar in Outlook 2016, you might be out of luck. Currently, you can't use Outlook on Windows to edit calendars that are shared with your Outlook.com account, even if you've reconnected your Outlook.com account to Outlook.

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To edit a shared calendar, you'll need to go online to your own Outlook.com calendar, or use a mobile device. This is a temporary workaround until a fix is available.

You might also encounter issues with shared folders, where you see an error message saying you don't have permission to create an entry in the folder. This issue has been fixed in a recent update, but if you're still experiencing problems, you can try installing the update immediately by going to File > Office Account > Update Options > Update Now.

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You may be experiencing issues editing shared calendars, and it's not just you. Currently, you can't use Outlook on Windows to edit calendars that are shared with your Outlook.com account, even if you've reconnected your Outlook.com account to Outlook.

To edit a shared calendar, you'll need to go online to your own Outlook.com calendar, open Calendar for Windows 10, or use a mobile device. This is because Outlook on Windows is not yet capable of editing shared calendars.

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If you're trying to accept a shared Outlook.com calendar using your Microsoft 365 for business account in Outlook 2016, you might receive the "Something went wrong" error or your sign-in might fail. This is a known issue that Microsoft is working to resolve.

To access the calendar shared with your Microsoft 365 for business account, you'll need to accept the invitation from Outlook on the web, iOS, or Android. The person who sent you the invitation will need to remove your permissions and then send a new invitation if you've already clicked the Accept button in Outlook 2016.

Another option to consider is using the Filter Email button on the ribbon, but this won't help you edit shared calendars. For more information on filtering email, see the Microsoft support page.

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Users are unable to access groups, group calendars, and group folders on Outlook.com, which can result in frustrating error messages like "You can't access this right now" or "Your request can't be completed right now".

These issues are caused by a known regression, which was introduced by a pull request that moved rules and related code out of services.

There is a fix being rolled out to WW servers, and exceptions are decreasing.

To resolve the issue, users need to be on the latest OWA builds, specifically 15.20.7982.017 and 15.20.8005.007.

This fix should help resolve the problem for most users, although some may still experience issues until the rollout is complete.

Adding a calendar to Outlook.com has been a bit of a challenge for some users. The issue with subscribing to .ics/ical calendars has been fixed.

This is great news for those who rely on this feature to view all their events in one place. The Outlook.com team has confirmed that the issue has been resolved.

You can rest assured that Outlook will continue to support .ics/ical calendars, holidays, and professional sports team schedules. No plans to deprecate these features, so you can keep using them without worry.

The Family Calendar Hidden issue is a bit of a bummer, but don't worry, I've got the lowdown.

If you're having trouble finding the Family Calendar, it's because of a recent change that removed its visibility in other apps.

The good news is that none of the events or information was lost in the move to the new calendar.

You can still access the Family group calendar, but now it appears in the Outlook.com groups area in the left nav on Outlook web and in the groups area of the Outlook mobile app.

It's also been added to your favorites automatically, so it's still easily accessible.

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Auto Forward Meeting Invitations can be a blessing in disguise, but it's also a feature that can get out of hand if not managed properly.

Outlook forwards meeting invitations to other attendees without anyone actually sending an update or forwarding an invite, which can be overwhelming if you have many meetings scheduled.

This happens to accounts that are configured in the iOS Mail app, so if you're using that, you might want to check your settings.

To fix this issue, you'll need to check the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\ExperimentEcs\Overrides.

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Some users may experience issues sending emails with attachments from their Outlook.com mailbox, receiving an error code 550 5.7.520 Message blocked.

The good news is that there's a workaround for this problem. You can send the file as a OneDrive link, which is a great alternative.

This solution is a temporary fix while Microsoft works on resolving the issue.

Reports are dropping fast, and it's a good sign that the worst of the outage is behind us. The number of user reports has decreased significantly, from over 2,100 to around 600. This suggests that most people can now access their Outlook email and other Microsoft 365 products without issues.

The Downdetector report shows a clear trend of decreasing user reports, which is a positive indication that the problem is being resolved. Microsoft has been working hard to fix the issues, and it's great to see progress being made.

There's still a small minority of users experiencing problems, but it seems like the majority have been able to access their services without any issues. Hopefully, Microsoft will continue to work on resolving any remaining problems and provide a stable experience for all users.

If you're having trouble sending emails with attachments, you're not alone. Error code 550 5.7.520 Message blocked is a common issue that some users may encounter.

Unfortunately, this means you won't be able to send files as attachments from your Outlook.com mailbox.

The good news is that there's a workaround. While the issue is being fixed, you can send the file as a OneDrive link instead.

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Tens of thousands of Microsoft Outlook users reported issues with the e-mail service on Saturday afternoon.

Microsoft's Microsoft 365 service, which manages services like Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint, was also affected.

Users on X posted that even using the Authenticator app for Outlook resulted in an error message due to the current outage.

Reports of issues peaked around 4:00 p.m. ET with over 37,000 problems tracked by DownDetector.

Microsoft did not respond to CNN's request for comment on the matter.

Users have experienced off-and-on issues with Outlook in recent weeks.

This isn't the first major outage for Microsoft, as the company has experienced massive global outages in 2023 and 2024 that took more than a few hours to resolve.

The company previously restored Outlook and Teams services after more than 24 hours of technical delays on November 26.

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Users with Outlook.com accounts are seeing emails they delete from the Inbox reverting back to the Inbox. This is an issue that the Outlook Team is currently investigating.

Some customers may not be able to see their Profile, Account or Sign Out options when selecting their picture on the top toolbar.

If you're experiencing issues with deleting emails, it might take some time for those items to move to or be deleted from the Deleted Items folder - just leave the browser window open while the deleting takes place.

If the email still fails to delete properly, try selecting a smaller batch to delete.

If you're still having trouble, it could be because you've deleted a lot of email recently. In that case, please try again later.

If deleted email comes back, you can try going to the originating account (like Gmail.com) and deleting the email from there to workaround the issue.

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Some Web-based Outlook add-ins don't work in Outlook when using on premise Microsoft Exchange 2013, specifically with MSI installations of Outlook 2016/Office 2016.

This issue may cause an Operation Failed error or make the Office App add-in seem unresponsive to button presses or UI choices. Click-2-Run installations are not affected by this issue.

Certain add-ons in the Firefox browser may prevent your Outlook.com Inbox from loading, requiring you to visit Firefox support to learn how to Disable or remove Add-ons.

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If you're having trouble finding the navigation arrows in your email, try checking the toolbar ribbon for the up and down arrows.

The issue is likely due to a known problem where the arrows are missing or have moved. To work around this, use the Reading Pane, which allows you to click to select the next/previous email.

For example, when you double-click an email, it opens and the Inbox is no longer displayed, making it harder to navigate. To avoid this, simply click once on an email to keep the Inbox displayed.

Here are some tips to help you navigate your emails:

If you're using Safari and having trouble getting support in Outlook.com, you're not alone. Some users have reported issues with the Outlook.com Help pane.

The problem is likely due to Safari's default settings, which can block certain features. To get around this, you'll need to make some adjustments in your Safari preferences.

First, open the Safari app on your Mac and choose Preferences from the menu. Then, select Privacy and uncheck two boxes: Website Tracking: Prevent cross-site tracking and Always allow cookies: Block all cookies.

By making these changes, you should be able to access support in Outlook.com again.

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Some Web-based Outlook add-ins don't work in Outlook when using on premise Microsoft Exchange 2013. This issue is specific to the MSI installations of Outlook 2016/Office 2016, while click-2-run installations are not affected.

The Office App add-in may show an Operation Failed error or seem to not respond to button presses or other UI choices. If you're experiencing this issue, you might want to try switching to a click-2-run installation of Outlook 2016/Office 2016 to see if that resolves the problem.

Status: Investigating.

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A potential memory management issue might be behind some of the crashes and freezing issues you're experiencing with Outlook.

The Microsoft Outlook team is working with organizations to replicate the issue and develop a fix, which is great news.

If you're experiencing crashes and freezing issues, it's likely due to a technical problem rather than a user error.

Hopefully, the team will come up with a mitigation for this issue soon, so you can get back to work without interruptions.

To troubleshoot the issue, try checking the Microsoft Outlook team's posts on X, where they often provide updates on known issues and workarounds.

Creating a secondary account in Outlook 2016 can be tricky, especially with ADAL enabled. You might receive an error saying "An encrypted connection to your mail server is not available" when trying to configure a secondary account from the same Microsoft 365 tenant.

The issue is fixed in Office Insider Build 16.0.9124.2004 and higher. If you're on an older build, you'll need to wait until the fix is available for Monthly Channel versions later in March. For Semi-Annual Channel and Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) versions, disabling ADAL on the client is a good workaround.

To disable ADAL on the client, you'll need to enable Modern Authentication for Office 2013 on Windows devices. Here's a step-by-step guide:

If you're using IMAP or POP accounts, be aware that configuring Junk Email Options to Safe Lists Only can cause issues. If you send multiple emails from an unsafe email account, the initial email will go to Junk Mail, but the rest will continue to arrive in your Inbox.

The issue is fixed in Monthly Channel Version 1709 (Build 8528.2139). To get the latest update immediately, open Outlook and choose File > Office Account > Update Options > Update Now.

Security and Authentication is a crucial aspect of MS Outlook, and it's essential to understand the common issues that can arise.

One common issue is password reset problems, which can occur when users forget their passwords or encounter account lockouts.

Users often report that they are unable to reset their passwords, leading to frustration and downtime.

This issue can be resolved by checking the password reset policies set by the administrator, as mentioned in the "Troubleshooting" section.

In some cases, users may also experience authentication issues due to outdated browser versions, which can cause compatibility problems.

Outdated browser versions can lead to errors when trying to access MS Outlook, as seen in the "Browser Compatibility" section.

To resolve this issue, users are advised to update their browser versions to the latest version.

Regularly updating browser versions can help prevent authentication issues and ensure a smooth MS Outlook experience.