- An Outlook server connection problem prevents you from sending or receiving mail or messages from recipients.
- Don’t panic! Then just try the various troubleshooting tips mentioned below.
- You can ask your IT administrator for help, but what do you do when you’re at home? Try a few troubleshooting tricks yourself and see if you can get Outlook to connect to the Exchange server.
- Download and install the software.
- It will scan your computer to find problems.
- The tool will then correct the issues that were discovered.
In most cases, users will choose to cease using Outlook because they are unable to connect to the server. An Outlook server connection problem prevents you from sending or receiving emails and messages. It is crucial that you resolve this Microsoft Outlook connectivity issue as soon as possible since you are not sharing information with your officemates via email and you are not receiving updated instructions from them.
While in Office 365 Outlook Web Access, click the Gear icon at top-right and Select View all Outlook Settings. 1. Scroll down to POP and IMAP, and then click on Mail on the left.
The technical support team can generally be reached by email, but what can you do if you are at home and cannot get in touch with them? The first thing you should do is not panic. Try the troubleshooting tips below, and then check to see if Outlook is connecting to Exchange.
Business email is often accessible through Outlook Exchange Server, which is sometimes hard to connect to. The “Have you tried turning it off and on again” answer to Outlook connection problems often does wonders for most technical problems. On the other hand, it sometimes does nothing at all.
For Outlook to be able to connect to IMAP Server, you must enable outgoing server authentication.
You will learn how to fix Outlook’s connection problems in this guide for several reasons.
When you’re at home and you can’t get help from your IT administrator, what do you do? Don’t panic. The second step is to try a few troubleshooting tricks yourself. If you can’t connect Outlook to the Exchange server, try doing some troubleshooting yourself.
What causes Outlook’s inability connect?
The outgoing (SMTP) server of your Outlook program cannot be connected. If this error message persists, contact your server administrator or Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Outlook works offline as well. It tries to connect to your mail server at regular intervals. Outlook allows you to view all e-mail messages from your computer, but you may not be able to do so if the application itself cannot connect. Outlook retrieves all e-mail messages from your local storage and displays them on your computer.
Several factors could contribute to this:
Bad Internet connection: We can’t ignore the obvious reason why you can’t connect to Outlook. If you have a bad/absent Internet connection, you cannot connect to the Internet.
Offline Operation Enabled: Outlook has a feature called “Offline Operation” that allows users to remain disconnected from the Internet while still using the full capabilities of the application. When this feature is enabled, Outlook is not connected to the Internet.
Third-party Outlook add-ons: Like other Office products, Outlook allows you to use third-party add-ons within the application. These add-ons can be good for you, but they have been known to cause a lot of problems with the application itself.
Outlook Is Not Connecting To Server
Connecting the Microsoft Exchange server to SSL is as easy as following these steps:
Account Damage: Another reason why you can’t connect Outlook to your network is that the account you’re using is corrupt in some way or has its own problems. In this case, the application cannot use your account to connect to the mail server.
Damaged data file: Another interesting reason we found that Outlook data files were corrupted. This scenario occurs frequently, especially when Outlook failed to update its data properly due to a sudden shutdown.
Rebuilding Outlook Profile
A manual repair can certainly be performed on your Outlook profile if you suspect that it is damaged. The procedure for performing this repair varies depending on the Outlook version. For the user’s convenience, we have divided it into two sections. To perform this repair, you need to select that damaged Outlook profile in Account Settings and select the Repair option.
Outdated application: Microsoft publishes several updates, including security patches for all of its Office applications. These updates are also aimed at fixing bugs that can affect the application’s performance.
Installing a corrupt Office: Outlook is part of Microsoft Office/Office 365, and Office is part of a suite of applications such as Word, Excel, etc.
Connecting to the Internet will be impossible if Outlook’s installation is corrupted.
Open MS Outlook and configure your email profile. If not, follow the next steps. If not, download the MS Office setup and install it manually.
Computer error: Although rare, we have also encountered situations where the computer itself has malfunctioned. Properly shutting down the computer usually solves the problem.
The OST file will be created and mail items will be synchronized from the server if your profile and mailbox on the server are still active. If not, delete, move, or rename the OST file.
Please make sure you have access to your computer as an administrator before you proceed. You should also know the password for your Outlook account and the address of the webmail server, since several modules will need to be reset. Start by working your way down the list of difficulties and efficiencies until you find the best solution.
How to fix Outlook that won’t connect with the mail server
Updated: December 2023
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Reset offline mode.
You’ll be able to work again in Outlook 2007 if the checkbox next to “Work offline” has been unchecked. If you’re using Outlook 2007, click the File menu; if the checkbox next to “Work offline” is checked, uncheck it.
You will need to do the following if you use Outlook 2010 or later:
- Tap Send/Receive.
- You will find an offline work button there.
- By clicking Offline, you will be taken offline.
Your problem should be solved if the message Attempt to connect….. appears at the bottom of Outlook. If it does not, move on to the next step.
Reboot.
My experience has shown that Outlook connectivity problems can sometimes be solved simply by restarting your computer, even if it doesn’t work. When you can’t access a website or internal resources when you open a web browser, that is probably the problem. If you can’t connect to a website or internal resources when you open a web browser, that might be your problem.
The next step is to contact your IT department if you still cannot connect to Outlook, access websites, or access internal resources.
Recovering
Here are some helpful tips for handling errors in Outlook’s data files (.pst and .ost).
- Close Outlook.
- Control Panel can be found under the Start menu.
- The Mail icon may be located in the Users section of Windows Explorer, depending on how it is set up.
- The Data Files window will appear.
- Click Open File (Figure A) to open a data file from the list.
- If your email address is the same as the name of the file, you will find it easily.
- .OST files must be renamed to .OLD. PST files cannot be renamed.
- Outlook should now open after you close these two windows.
Outlook’s data file list appears in this window.
Note: You must see the file extensions to know if your data file is .pst or .ost. This is done through the Windows Explorer settings.
Scanpst can be used to scan .pst files as follows:
To access the following locations, close Outlook and select:
You will find Office 16 in the Office program folder in C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Office/root/Outlook 2019
If you are using Outlook 2016, you need to put the following path in C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Office/root/Office16:
Microsoft Office 15 – C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office 14 is located in C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Office/Office14 if you are using Outlook 2010
C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Office/Office12 is the location for Outlook 2007
The following steps can be taken while you’re in this folder:
- To run SCANPST.EXE, double-click it.
- (Figure B) A window will appear. Click Browse.
- The .pst file can be found in your computer.
- Click Start.
You will find the location already filled in if Scanpst has already been run with your data file.
This may take some time, depending on the size of the data file. Scanpst will ask you to click the Restore button if there are any errors in the data file. If something goes wrong with the scanned file, make sure you check the box “Back up the scanned file before restoring it.”
In case Outlook cannot connect after the repair, open MS Outlook and close Scanpst.
Repair Base.
To solve problems that can’t be resolved by standard repairs, you can perform a Microsoft Office repair installation. The steps are as follows:
- Control Panel can be found under the Start menu.
- To access Programs and Features, click on the icon.
- Select Microsoft Office installation from the list of entries.
- Click Change.
- Select Restore in the resulting window.
- Click Continue.
- Make sure the repair is complete before continuing.
- your computer.
Hopefully, Outlook will work after your computer restarts.
Restore your profile
The only alternative is to recreate your Outlook profile if all else fails. Just in case, I prefer to create a new profile (not deleting the old one). To create a new profile, you need to know your account settings, so you’ll need this info before you can start.
- Control panel should be open.
- Open Mail.
- Visit the profile page by clicking on it.
- In Figure C, click Add.
- A name should be given to the profile.
- The setup wizard for Outlook accounts can be found here.
- In order to set the profile as the default, you need to delete the old one first.
RECOMMENATION: Click here for help with Windows errors.
Most Frequently Asked Questions
Outlook is not connecting to the server.
Try connecting another device to the same network. If Outlook is installed on that device, try opening it, and see if it's working now. Try opening a browser and going to an email site and see if you can get your email from there. If not, there's a problem with the server.
How can I get my email back to the server?
- Check your Internet connection.
- Check the details of your SMTP server. This is a very common mistake: you have configured your email client with the wrong SMTP settings.
- Check all usernames and passwords.
- Check the connection to your SMTP server.
- Change your SMTP port.
- Check your antivirus or firewall settings.
How can Outlook connect to a server with ease?
- Click Tools, then Account Settings.
- Click on New.
- Select Manually Configured Server Settings or Advanced Server Types and click Next.
- Select Internet Email and then click Next.
- Under User Information, enter your name and email address.
- Select the Outgoing Mail Server tab.
- Select the Advanced tab.
- Click Finish.
How do I fix an Outlook server error?
- Check your Internet connection.
- Avoid accessing suspicious emails.
- Check your antivirus settings.
- Reinstall Outlook.
- Change server timeout settings.
- Delete or move e-mails from the Outlook folder.
- Correct PST corruptions with third-party tools.
Mark Ginter is a tech blogger with a passion for all things gadgets and gizmos. A self-proclaimed "geek", Mark has been blogging about technology for over 15 years. His blog, techquack.com, covers a wide range of topics including new product releases, industry news, and tips and tricks for getting the most out of your devices. If you're looking for someone who can keep you up-to-date with all the latest tech news and developments, then be sure to follow him over at Microsoft.
