Sending, receiving, and organizing email in Outlook.com
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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