Why does Outlook require an internet connection ?

Question

Hello. I have been testing DRP in an isolated environment. Exchange 2016, Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2016.

I had no internet connection. When connecting via mapi, Outlook requires a gateway. Installed the gateway.

An error appeared: Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot open the outlook window. The set of folders cannot be opened. You must connect to microsoft Exchange with current profile

I got Internet, the error went away, Outlook connected to the server.

I removed the gateway, Outlook still connects to the Internet.

Outlook requires internet after installation ? No license as this is as a test.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A community!

Initial Internet Connection: Outlook often requires an initial internet connection to authenticate and configure the profile with the Exchange server. This is likely why the error disappeared once you connected to the internet.

Cached Credentials: After the initial setup, Outlook can use cached credentials and settings to connect to the Exchange server, even if the internet connection is removed. This might explain why Outlook continued to work after you removed the gateway.

Licensing and Activation: Since you’re using Office Pro Plus 2016 without a license for testing, it’s important to note that Office applications typically require periodic internet access to validate the license. However, for short-term testing, this might not be strictly enforced.

Gateway Requirement: The gateway you installed initially might have been necessary to facilitate the initial connection and profile setup. Once the profile is configured, Outlook can operate with the cached settings.

In summary, while Outlook does require an internet connection for initial setup and periodic license validation, it can operate in a limited capacity using cached credentials and settings once these initial steps are completed.

Please feel free to contact me for any updates. And if this helps, don't forget to mark it as an answer.