Outlook not loading, receiving or sending emails

If Outlook is not loading, receiving, or sending emails, there are several troubleshooting steps you can take to resolve the issue:

1. Check for Software Updates: Ensure that both your Outlook client and Windows operating system are up-to-date. Running outdated software can lead to connectivity issues.
2. Repair Office Programs: You can automatically repair your Office program files. To do this, exit any running Microsoft Office programs, open Control Panel, go to Programs and Features, right-click on your version of Microsoft Office, and select Repair.
3. Check Your Email Accounts: Ensure that both email accounts are set up correctly. You can do this by going to File > Account Settings > Account Settings and verifying the settings for each account.
4. Run Microsoft 365 Diagnostics: If you have a Microsoft 365 administrator account, you can run diagnostics to troubleshoot connectivity issues. This tool performs automated checks and suggests possible solutions.
5. Create a New User Profile: Sometimes, creating a new user profile in Outlook can resolve issues. You can do this by going to Control Panel, selecting User Accounts, then Mail, and following the prompts to add a new profile.
6. Check for Antivirus Conflicts: Ensure that your antivirus software is not interfering with Outlook. You may need to check if the antivirus software is up-to-date or if it has any integration with Outlook that could be causing issues.
7. Selective Startup: Performing a Selective Startup can help identify if other applications are causing conflicts with Outlook. This is a more advanced step and may require technical knowledge.

By following these steps, you should be able to troubleshoot and resolve the issues with Outlook not loading or syncing emails properly.

Hi Jenny Boden

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Forum. I understand how frustrating it is when both your email accounts in Outlook won't load, receive, or send emails.

Before we proceed, could you share a bit more information:

• Which Outlook are you using? (Desktop app, Outlook.com web, or mobile?)
• Are you getting any error messages?
• Have you tried any of the AI Assist steps above? If yes, which ones and what happened?

In the meantime, please try the following steps:

1. Test email accounts on web:

• Go to Outlook on the web
• Sign in with each account separately
• Check if emails load and you can send/receive there
• If web works but the app doesn't, the issue is with your Outlook app installation

2. Try starting Outlook in Safe Mode

• Press Windows + R, type: Outlook.exe /safe
• Choose OK
• If Outlook works normally in Safe Mode, disable add-ins via: File > Options > Add-ins > COM Add-ins > Go, then uncheck all and re-enable them one by one

3. Repair the existing mail profile

• In Outlook, choose File > Account Settings > Account Settings > On the Email tab, choose your account (profile) > Repair
• Restart Outlook

4. Check for known Outlook service issues

Sometimes sync outages affect multiple accounts. You can check Microsoft service health status here: https://status.cloud.microsoft

For more details, you can see these official guidelines:

• I can’t start Microsoft Outlook or receive the error “Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook Window - Microsoft Support
• Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com - Microsoft Support

If you can share whether the problem is specific to one protocol (IMAP/POP/Microsoft account) or both accounts use the same provider, I can help narrow down the cause further. Also let me know which Outlook you're using and if you've tried any steps so I can provide more specific guidance!

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