how to fix "there was a problem sending this message. try sending it again or close this draft and send it later."

Question

how to fix "there was a problem sending this message. try sending it again or close this draft and send it later."

David RamirezRodriguez 55

I am trying to send an email using a shared template on a shared drive. When sending I get the error message "there was a problem sending this message. try sending it again or close this draft and send it later." The message does not send. I am the only person experiencing this issue and other colleagues are able to do so with out problems. What may be the issue?

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Matthew K 0 Reputation points

2024-08-14T22:01:32.27+00:00

I'm experiencing the same issue, I can't send emails on my MacBook or iPhone using the outlook smtp server (smtp-mail.outlook.com).
Faery Fu-MSFT 19,896 Reputation points Moderator

2024-08-15T04:22:33.5933333+00:00

Hi @David RamirezRodriguez ,

What detailed version of Outlook are you using?(File > Office Account > About Outlook)

Can you verify if the issue happens on all you outgoing emails?

Are you able to receive emails?
Amber Neufeld 15 Reputation points

2024-08-15T16:47:05.66+00:00

I'm getting this error on OWA
Rob Young 15 Reputation points

2024-08-16T11:15:29.19+00:00

I encountered this problem today while trying to send to a Contact List of recipients. Although my Contact List appeared in the To: area, when I hovered over it, it was identified as having 0 members. However, once I clicked "+" to expand the Contact List, the individual members appeared and the email was able to be sent successfully.

Did your recipient list include a Contact List?
Faery Fu-MSFT 19,896 Reputation points Moderator

2024-08-20T05:53:53.6366667+00:00

Hi @David RamirezRodriguez ,

Is there have any update from you? If yes, please feel free to let us know.
Amber Neufeld 15 Reputation points

2024-08-21T16:25:58.7166667+00:00

Mine happens randomly. Just creates a draft and says "This message hasn't been sent."
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
David RamirezRodriguez 55 Reputation points

2024-08-21T17:32:22.6566667+00:00

@rob young

No necessarily. I did with a recipient list and as a single recipient. Both did not work
David RamirezRodriguez 55 Reputation points

2024-08-21T17:38:04.1566667+00:00

@Faery Fu-MSFT

@rob young

Hi there the Outlook version is :

1.2024.814.200 (Production).

Client Version is 20240809006.12.

WebView2 Version is 127.0.2651.105.

The issue seems to have been resolved. It seems that the user had scheduled too many events.

To answer your questions:

Can you verify if the issue happens on all you outgoing emails? It did not happen in outgoing emails but on scheduling assistant while trying to schedule an event.

Are you able to receive emails? Yes sending and receiving is not the issue.
Yuliya A 0 Reputation points

2024-09-08T16:54:12.3233333+00:00

I have the same isssue. It started suddenly and I am only not ale to send email. receiving is not a problem. I noticed this issue happend to my other account earlier. What can be a solution?
Haail, Ibrahim 0 Reputation points

2024-11-21T14:42:51.69+00:00

Hello, I have a similar issue. I am trying to reply to a shared email account from my account and this error message pops up.
Wan Cheng TAN 0 Reputation points

2024-11-21T15:23:35.3366667+00:00

I'm getting this error on OWA as well
Mike Germann 0 Reputation points

2024-12-11T15:57:09.54+00:00

I have this same problem. No emails will send and I get that same message every attempt. I do receive emails. I can send emails from my phone with that email address, so it is clearly outlook/my computer issue.
McDermot, Lee (Appleton, WI) 0 Reputation points

2025-03-17T13:55:01.58+00:00

I also had the problem when using a contact list. Once I clicked the "+" to expand the list, it did finally send. This needs to be fixed.
Lombard, Courtney@CIO 0 Reputation points

2025-08-18T21:17:19.9866667+00:00

I am having the same issue. The Service Desk with in our department is having trouble sending email templates to the department regarding outages. They create a new email, paste the desired template content into the body, and save it. When they try to send it using the saved template, they receive the "there was a problem sending this message. try sending it again or close this draft and send it later." Error. Do templates need to be created every time? Is there a way to use saved templates in New Outlook?
Laurie Lindsey 0 Reputation points

2026-08-10T23:49:58.6533333+00:00

There seem to be a lot of problems with contact lists in Outlook 2024. For example, while searching for a name/email to add to the list, if you type one more letter than is absolutely necessary (even though it matches the name), the name name doesn't show up, so you have to back up and try again. Tons of usability issues. I would go back to Outlook 2019 in a heartbeat, but I'm not going to buy it again! The comment below about expanding the contact list before sending worked, but we should not have to do that!
Hornblower409 16,760 Reputation points

2026-08-12T04:42:02.5366667+00:00

@Laurie Lindsey said

There seem to be a lot of problems with contact lists in Outlook 2024.

You will not get any help for your issue by adding to an existing post on a different topic. I would suggest that you start a new thread using the "Ask a question" button at the top of this page to create a new Question and include the details for *your specific problem.*This provides much higher visibility to your issue than adding on to an existing post, which is only seen by people who are already following this question.

2 answers

Matthew K 0 Reputation points

2024-08-14T22:01:32.27+00:00

I'm experiencing the same issue, I can't send emails on my MacBook or iPhone using the outlook smtp server (smtp-mail.outlook.com).
Faery Fu-MSFT 19,896 Reputation points Moderator

2024-08-15T04:22:33.5933333+00:00

Hi @David RamirezRodriguez ,

What detailed version of Outlook are you using?(File > Office Account > About Outlook)

Can you verify if the issue happens on all you outgoing emails?

Are you able to receive emails?
Amber Neufeld 15 Reputation points

2024-08-15T16:47:05.66+00:00

I'm getting this error on OWA
Rob Young 15 Reputation points

2024-08-16T11:15:29.19+00:00

I encountered this problem today while trying to send to a Contact List of recipients. Although my Contact List appeared in the To: area, when I hovered over it, it was identified as having 0 members. However, once I clicked "+" to expand the Contact List, the individual members appeared and the email was able to be sent successfully.

Did your recipient list include a Contact List?
Faery Fu-MSFT 19,896 Reputation points Moderator

2024-08-20T05:53:53.6366667+00:00

Hi @David RamirezRodriguez ,

Is there have any update from you? If yes, please feel free to let us know.
Amber Neufeld 15 Reputation points

2024-08-21T16:25:58.7166667+00:00

Mine happens randomly. Just creates a draft and says "This message hasn't been sent."
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
David RamirezRodriguez 55 Reputation points

2024-08-21T17:32:22.6566667+00:00

@rob young

No necessarily. I did with a recipient list and as a single recipient. Both did not work
David RamirezRodriguez 55 Reputation points

2024-08-21T17:38:04.1566667+00:00

@Faery Fu-MSFT

@rob young

Hi there the Outlook version is :

1.2024.814.200 (Production).

Client Version is 20240809006.12.

WebView2 Version is 127.0.2651.105.

The issue seems to have been resolved. It seems that the user had scheduled too many events.

To answer your questions:

Can you verify if the issue happens on all you outgoing emails? It did not happen in outgoing emails but on scheduling assistant while trying to schedule an event.

Are you able to receive emails? Yes sending and receiving is not the issue.
Yuliya A 0 Reputation points

2024-09-08T16:54:12.3233333+00:00

I have the same isssue. It started suddenly and I am only not ale to send email. receiving is not a problem. I noticed this issue happend to my other account earlier. What can be a solution?
Haail, Ibrahim 0 Reputation points

2024-11-21T14:42:51.69+00:00

Hello, I have a similar issue. I am trying to reply to a shared email account from my account and this error message pops up.
Wan Cheng TAN 0 Reputation points

2024-11-21T15:23:35.3366667+00:00

I'm getting this error on OWA as well
Mike Germann 0 Reputation points

2024-12-11T15:57:09.54+00:00

I have this same problem. No emails will send and I get that same message every attempt. I do receive emails. I can send emails from my phone with that email address, so it is clearly outlook/my computer issue.
McDermot, Lee (Appleton, WI) 0 Reputation points

2025-03-17T13:55:01.58+00:00

I also had the problem when using a contact list. Once I clicked the "+" to expand the list, it did finally send. This needs to be fixed.
Lombard, Courtney@CIO 0 Reputation points

2025-08-18T21:17:19.9866667+00:00

I am having the same issue. The Service Desk with in our department is having trouble sending email templates to the department regarding outages. They create a new email, paste the desired template content into the body, and save it. When they try to send it using the saved template, they receive the "there was a problem sending this message. try sending it again or close this draft and send it later." Error. Do templates need to be created every time? Is there a way to use saved templates in New Outlook?
Laurie Lindsey 0 Reputation points

2026-08-10T23:49:58.6533333+00:00

There seem to be a lot of problems with contact lists in Outlook 2024. For example, while searching for a name/email to add to the list, if you type one more letter than is absolutely necessary (even though it matches the name), the name name doesn't show up, so you have to back up and try again. Tons of usability issues. I would go back to Outlook 2019 in a heartbeat, but I'm not going to buy it again! The comment below about expanding the contact list before sending worked, but we should not have to do that!
Hornblower409 16,760 Reputation points

2026-08-12T04:42:02.5366667+00:00

@Laurie Lindsey said

There seem to be a lot of problems with contact lists in Outlook 2024.

You will not get any help for your issue by adding to an existing post on a different topic. I would suggest that you start a new thread using the "Ask a question" button at the top of this page to create a new Question and include the details for *your specific problem.*This provides much higher visibility to your issue than adding on to an existing post, which is only seen by people who are already following this question.

Answer 1

Bev S of Norwich 10

I had the same problem a couple of times using a contact list in my gmail account. When I click the list to expand it, the email sent with no problems.

Bev S of Norwich 10 Reputation points

2026-03-27T10:23:06.34+00:00

I am using new outlook on my desktop

Microsoft Outlook Version: 1.2026.310.300

Client Version: 20260313003.09

WebView2 Version: 146.0.3856.72 (Stable)

Session ID: 9cce8321-1078-3a4a-93a8-39c175798311
Doug Betts 5 Reputation points

2026-03-27T15:47:00.9966667+00:00

I'm glad that worked for you. Apparently I should have provided my initial comment as an answer like you did but I'm not very familiar with this forum. I am trying that now.

Answer 2

I worked extensively on this today when getting the message in Outlook "There was a problem sending this message. Try sending it again or close this draft and send it later." I narrowed it down to when sending from a gmail.com address to a list of recipients. When I click on the symbol next to the list name in the BCC line to expand the list so that I can see all the email addresses the email will send. I tested this multiple times with several variations and the symptom was consistent. When sending from a non gmail.com address I did not have to expand the list.