Not being able to send and receive emails in Outlook is one of the most common problems our remote support specialists have to contend with. All businesses and most home users rely completely on email to communicate and be productive and any disruption to it can have serious repercussions. Or at the least be very frustrating.
Usually, a quick reboot or even a restart of Outlook will fix the issue and have you emailing again in no time. Sometimes it takes a little more work. Our computer support team deal with Outlook within Office and Microsoft issues all the time so are perfectly placed to help with this kind of problem.
Cannot send and receive email in Outlook
If you switch on your computer and find your inbox empty or nothing happens when you hit Send, there are a few things you can do. I’m going to talk you through a few basic checks that we use to begin isolating the root cause.
Check your internet connection
It sounds obvious but you would be amazed at the number of people who don’t check that their internet is actually working before raising a trouble ticket. If your Outlook isn’t sending or receiving, make sure you can get to the internet okay. Just open a browser and go to one of your favorite websites. If it works, move on to the next check. If you have no internet, follow up with your ISP or network provider.
Reboot your computer
Not everyone shuts down their computer fully overnight. Some leave them in sleep or hibernate mode to save valuable seconds in the morning. That’s fine and won’t harm the computer in any way but it does mean any issues with running programs will not be flushed out and fixed with a reboot. If your internet is working, a quick computer reboot might fix the issue.
Check webmail
Most email providers will have a webmail system where you can log in via your browser to check emails. If you have internet, log into your webmail portal and check whether emails have been sent or received from there. If they have not, this points to an issue with your email provider. If email looks to be sending and receiving properly, use webmail to work for now and continue troubleshooting.
Check/repair email settings
We can perform a quick check within Outlook to see if anything has happened to your account settings. It is a useful step if you cannot send and receive email in Outlook. Select File from within Outlook, then Account Settings and Account Settings. In the window that appears, select an email box and then Repair.
This opens a new Auto Account Setup window where you can ask Outlook to check settings and send a test email. Check the details in the window and hit Next. Outlook will verify the settings and tell you whether it could successfully log into your mail server or not. If the test passes, the configuration is fine. If it could not, the configuration has been corrupted or changed. If you find the latter, find out the account details and verify them manually. You could also create a new email account and see if that works too.
Open Outlook in Safe Mode
Just like Windows has a safe mode to verify the core settings, Outlook has one too. Opening it in Safe Mode is useful if you use add-ins or have customized Outlook to work in a specific way or in a specific environment.
Hold the Ctrl key and select the Outlook icon as you normally would to open the application. You could also paste ‘outlook.exe /safe’ into the Cortana/Search Windows box. Send a test email to a separate email account to see if it works. If the email arrives, it is an add-on causing the issue. If the email does not arrive, move on to the next task.
To disable add-ons, select File, Options and then Add-ins. Select Go at the bottom of the window next to Manage COM Add-ins. Uncheck all Add-ins and retest Outlook.
Create a new Outlook Profile
All Outlook settings are controlled through the Outlook Profile so our next step is to check that for any issues. The simplest way to do that is to create a new one and see if it performs any better.
Type ‘control’ into the Cortana/Search Windows box and select Control Panel. Select Small icons next to View by: in the top right of the Control Panel window. Select Mail and Show Profiles. Select ‘Prompt for a profile to be used’ and then Add. Name your new profile and save then OK. Restart Outlook and select the new profile. Test it to see if it works properly or not.
Outlook repair
Depending on how your Outlook was set up, you may or may not be able to perform this step. You will need the original installer to do this so if you work for a company, you may need to contact IT. If you’re unsure, just bring it over to Dave’s Computers and we can do it for you.
Open the Microsoft Office installer DVD or application. Select Repair when you see the Install/Repair window appear. Continue and allow the installer to verify and repair any issues it finds. It should not affect your email or configuration. It checks the core files to make sure nothing has happened to them and will reinstall or repair individual files as it needs to.
Reinstall Outlook
Finally, if you have internet, webmail seems to be working okay and you have performed the tests here, you may have to reinstall Outlook altogether. If you have the original Office installer app or DVD, uninstall your current version and install it anew. You will need to set up your email accounts again and add any specific configurations or add-ins you use but this is the final way to get Outlook working again.
If you’re unsure, contact your company’s IT department or contact Dave’s Computers. We are Office and Outlook experts and provide remote and store-based computer support for both businesses in New Jersey and home users. If you cannot send and receive email in Outlook, Dave’s Computers can help!Whenever you use or create an email address in Microsoft Outlook, all the data within that email account is contained within a .pst (Personal Folders file). This is a database-type file that Outlook uses to keep everything organized. An .ost, Outlook Data File is essentially a mirror of your Exchange mailbox held locally on your computer.
As email is quite important to all of us as a communications medium, I thought I would share everything I know about these files. I refer to Outlook here as this is the default email client for these files. Other email clients do work with .ost and .pst files so if you use something else, just refer to that instead of Outlook.
There are two types of Outlook Data File. The .pst, Personal Folders file and .ost, Outlook Data File. A .pst file is primarily for home users and anyone who uses Outlook Web Access through Outlook.com or Hotmail.com. An .ost file is for small to medium-sized businesses that use Microsoft Exchange.
Personal Folders file
The Personal Folders file (.pst) is like a database of all your emails, attachments, replies, calendar entries, contacts and all the contents of your email inbox. If you use Office 2013/16 without Exchange, you will have one or more .pst files on your computer. One .pst file is created for every POP3 mailbox you have in Outlook.
The .pst file will be stored in C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Outlook Files.
The .pst file is a copy of your email data that is permanently stored and updated on your computer. Should you need to, you can copy the .pst file onto another computer to set up email and everything would work if you import it into a different copy of Outlook or other email client.
Outlook Data File
The Outlook Data File (.ost) is for users of Microsoft Exchange IMAP email accounts. This is usually businesses that utilize either Office 365 or Office 2013/16. The Outlook Data File is also often referred to as the ‘Offline Data File’ as that is its purpose. To allow users to manage emails even if they don’t have a live link to Exchange. You will still need Exchange to send and receive emails but read and replying can all be done offline and are then sent by Outlook once connected.
The .ost file is stored in C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
An Outlook Data File is a mirrored copy of your Exchange email data. So rather than being the main copy of your inboxes like the .pst, an .ost is only a copy. If it gets lost or damaged, Outlook will automatically download a fresh copy from Exchange and continue working.
Unlike the .pst file, you ideally should not move or import an .ost file. You have to create a new one within the instance of Outlook you are using at the time. If you needed to migrate email to a new computer, you would need to set up the email account from scratch and let Exchange download a new file to that computer.
Copying, storing and deleting
There are some computer repair companies that don’t back up .ost files because they can be quickly downloaded from an Exchange server. What’s the point in adding another location to a backup routine when you don’t need to right? Wrong. At least in my opinion.
What happens if something goes wrong with the local computer and the internet connection? What would happen if the Exchange server got hacked or went down? What id Exchange caching hasn’t been set up? Having a copy of the .ost file and recovering it means the user could still be productive while connectivity is restored. Otherwise, the user cannot do anything with email until that time.
I would always suggest backing up .ost files as part of your standard backup routine. While the files themselves can grow up to a few hundred megabytes, if you depend on email to get work done, it makes sense to back it up. Plus, if the person who set up your email didn’t enable Cached Exchange Mode, which is a synchronized copy of your email on your computer, you could lose a lot of work if you lost the file.
Exporting .ost files
As mentioned above, you can copy and move a .pst file as you see fit. Any copy of Outlook and most other email clients will pick it up and run with it without issue? So what about an .ost file?
Microsoft suggests you create a new .ost file rather than importing an existing one but it is possible to do. There is a procedure whereby you disable Cached Exchange Mode and create a standalone .pst which you can import into another instance of Outlook should you need to. This page on the Microsoft Office site shows you how. If the new computer has a live connection to Exchange, there should be no need to import a .pst file but the option is there should you need it.
What happens if you delete a .pst or .ost file?
I, and the team here at Dave’s Computers have dealt with many dozens of users who accidentally deleted their .pst or .ost files when housekeeping or trying to free up disk space. While an inconvenience, it isn’t terminal.
If you accidentally delete a .pst file, you can potentially restore it from the folder itself. Navigate to C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Outlook Files, right click on the folder and select ‘Restore previous versions’.
If you accidentally delete an .ost file, you should be able to get Exchange to download a fresh copy.
- Open Outlook and select File.
- Select Account Settings and the email address in question.
- Select the Data Files tab and the email address in question.
- Select Settings and the Advanced tab in the new window.
- Uncheck Use Cached Exchange Mode and hit Apply.
- Close all the windows and shut down Outlook.
- Restart Outlook.
When Outlook restarts, it should automatically connect to Exchange and download a new copy of your .ost file. Repeat the above process to enable Cached Exchange Mode once more to complete.
So that’s my guide to Microsoft PST and OST files. There is a lot more to running Outlook and Exchange but that is an overview of what the tow files are, what they do and how they enable you to use your email. Hope the information helps!
Dave's Computer Repair Blog - Fixing ‘Outlook must be online or connected to complete this action’ errors.
Microsoft Outlook is a great email application that works pretty well once you have it set up and running. However, it being Microsoft, Outlook also has its fair share of problems. Whether you’re running it as an installed version or within Office 365, there are quite a few errors you can come up against.
One of which is the ‘Outlook must be online or connected to complete this action’ error. Fortunately, it is also one of the easiest to troubleshoot and fix. The error syntax tells us exactly what is wrong, Outlook cannot contact the Exchange server. That is where our troubleshooting begins.
Here are some basic steps you can take to overcome this error. I’ll assume your internet is working correctly and it is only Outlook that cannot connect. Try each step and retest Outlook. Only move on to the next step if the error still appears.
- Reboot your computer. The most basic troubleshooting step but also the most effective.
- Check Work Offline isn’t enabled by clicking the Send/Receive tab and checking for a red X in the Work Offline box.
- Log into Outlook Web Access using your browser. If you can login fine, the issue is with Exchange or Outlook, not with your credentials.
- Download and run the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant for Office 365 if you use Office 365.
- Create a new profile through Mail in Control Panel. Don’t delete your old one!
- Check account settings. Navigate to File, Account Settings in Outlook, Change and then Advanced Settings. Verify all settings are correct and click Test Account Settings.
- Add or remove email accounts from Outlook but don’t delete the .ost file. You can add them again once testing is complete.
One of those methods is sure to address the ‘Outlook must be online or connected to complete this action’ error. If it doesn’t or you need extra assistance, we can help.
Thank you for reading Dave's Computer Repair Blog, if you ever need computer repair or data recovery assistance give us a call or fill out the contact form on the bottom right of the website.Microsoft Outlook has all sorts of shortcuts in place for the people who know how to use them. Dave's Computers tech support has some tricks up our sleeve to help small business owners get the most out of Microsoft Outlook. The following list of tips should allow all individuals to save themselves time, energy, and even money when they are going about using Microsoft Outlook, whether they are trying to delete email or just use their own services more effectively. Even increasing Internet security is going to be that much easier with a good portion of the tips available here.
Tech Support Tip #1: Learning how to group email messages can save time and frustration.
For many people, deleting email can be one of the most time-consuming tasks to get through during an average work day. Rummaging through all of the different email messages in order to find the ones that actually matter can be even more annoying, since people can't just go through and mindlessly delete messages unless they want to risk deleting the ones that are actually important.
Emails can be emerged into conversations if people access the View tab and click 'Show as conversations.' Then, users need to activate the 'Arrange by' bar. Once they activate the 'View settings' function, they can set the grouping options that they want. Once people get into the habit of doing this, they will quickly be able to distinguish between the important messages and the messages that can just be checked off and deleted without comment.
Arrange & Group Email in Microsoft Outlook
Tech Support Tip #2: Learning how to filter email messages can make all the difference.
On the Home tab, there should be a Filter Email drop down. A search box should be made available to anyone who does this. From there, users will be able to access emails from whatever category currently interests them, whether it is more recent emails, less recent emails, emails with attached files, or others. There is also a More Filters option that people can access in order to narrow down their searches further to save themselves additional time and energy.
Tech Support Tip #3: Getting rid of unnecessary messages is easier to do than people think.
As long as users are using the Microsoft Outlook versions from 2010 or 2013, they should have a Clean Up tool that will be able to help them get rid of emails that are truly redundant. Messages are often reproduced in other messages during email conversations, which creates a situation in which people are wasting endless amount of space on messages that already exist elsewhere. This tool is actually able to detect that sort of duplicated content, so people can avoid wasting space and wasting time on it. There is a drop down for Clean Up on the Home tab, and people can use this function to clean up individual conversations. However, they will also be able to use this function to clean up entire folders if that is what they want. The Settings button can allow users to distinguish between the messages that need to be either deleted or preserved.
Tech Support Tip #4: Delivering future messages can help people stay more organized.
There are lots of reasons why someone would want to send an email at a future date. They might want to send their future selves certain messages. They might also want to withhold certain pieces of information from the recipient for the time being. On the Options tab, there should be an option that will allow users to Delay Delivery. When they get to that area, they can choose a date and time for the field that says 'Do not deliver before.'
Even then, the users should still hit the Send button as if they were sending any other email. However, the message still isn't actually going to be sent to the recipient in question until the aforementioned date and time. Some people like to send messages to themselves in order to remind their future selves of their plans at the time, or to give their future selves advice. This is a whimsical option that is now possible in Microsoft Outlook.
Tech Support Tip #5: Unwanted emails can be Junked or Ignored.
Almost everyone who has ever used email before will run into some sender who keeps on sending annoying or unnecessary emails that can get through other filters. Other unfortunate individuals might actually be dealing with individuals who are harassing them in some way, which is going to make the experience of getting lots of emails from them outright emotionally painful. At both ends of the spectrum, there is a solution. On the Home tab, there should be a Junk drop down. There should then be a Junk Email Options option that people can select. From there, people will be able to differentiate between what qualifies as Junk and what does not qualify as Junk, which can more or less revolutionize their email Inboxes altogether.
People who receive a lot of Spam from one source can make anything from that source Junk. It's the same with people who receive a lot of unwanted email from certain individuals, or even from certain nations. People who deal in International Business might have that problem, although many people have that problem in a global society. Either way, it is now a fixable problem.
Tech Support #6: It is possible to send text messages without a smartphone for the people who know how to use Microsoft Outlook correctly.
As long as people register with third-party messaging services in advance, they are going to manage to send SMS text messages to people on their own smartphones or on anything else. These messages might stand a better chance of actually reaching them, since plenty of people are going to send text messages as a form of communication instead of email in this day and age. It is also true that people tend to check their text message folders more often than their email folders these days. Learning how to send text messages to people from Microsoft Outlook can be very convenient for people who are on their computers at the time and need to get some information to their contacts quickly.
On the Home tab, there should be a New Items drop down. There should also be an option to select Text Message. From there, people can specify that they are trying to find a text messaging service for a mobile operator.
Tech Support #7: It is possible to set up Microsoft Outlook in order to accommodate for changes in time zones.
Lots of people work internationally, or at least do work that is going to manage to cross time zones. There should be an option for File Options Calendar that will allow people to set a local time zone appropriately, thus making it that much easier for them to get calendar entries and email timestamps that have been labeled in the correct manner.
Tech Support #8: Users can make sure that they know who their email messages are really from through the encryption option.
Getting emails cryptographically signed can allow people to confirm that they are the ones who sent their emails, which is going to allow them to avoid getting emails that were sent from people posing as them. Individuals who are trying to increase their levels of Internet security as much as possible are encouraged to learn how to do this. For individuals who are in the process of being harassed by someone, this might be an outright means of survival.
Users need to open up the Trust Center settings to do this. They can then activate Email Security. People who have a digital ID or people who create a digital ID can then enable the digital signing and the encryption.
Tech Support #9: Google Calendar can be matched up with Microsoft Outlook in order to save people time.
Lots of people rely on Google Calendar for all of their scheduling concerns, and switching back and forth between Google Calendar and all of their email checking can be somewhat irritating for the people who are already running late for whatever reason. Individuals who learn to sync up these two functions are going to make it that much more likely that they won't miss anything. Users will need to go to the Calendar Settings menu. They will need their calendar's iCal feed address. They can then access the Internet Calendars tab in Outlook and paste in the address in order to make sure that the information from both of these services is going to interact correctly.
Tech Support #10: A folder for common searches can help people save time.
People who perform the same search over and over again ought to be able to just create a shortcut that will allow them to do this more rapidly. They will be able to do this in Microsoft Outlook. In the Search Folder menu, there should be a Folder tab. From there, people can click on the New Search Folder option, and they will be able to get everything that they need.
For more tech support tips from Dave's Computer, get in touch with us with your computer repair and IT support issues by calling 958-428-9558.
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