Inbox under personal folders no updating.

Question

I have two accounts, one work account and a personal account. My outlook installed on my personal computer stopped updating my inbox under personal folders. At the top it shows sign in but says email account already added no matter which account I try. I tried running the repair utility and have the same results. It used to work fine but after an update or something it doesn't work. I this happened in the past and I had to uninstall the app and reinstall the app, but I lost emails, archives, and rules doing so. Is there another fix? Also can I turn these updates off so my stuff continues to work? This is very annoying and a waste of my time.

Answer 1

Hi Mr Brainfreeze,

For Classic Outlook on Windows, this behavior can sometimes occur when Outlook’s saved sign‑in token/credentials or the Outlook profile becomes stuck after an update, especially when both a work account and a personal Microsoft account are configured on the same PC.

In most cases, you don’t need to uninstall/reinstall Outlook (which can disconnect local PST archives and cause rule loss if they weren’t exported).

Please try these steps in order:

1) Make sure Outlook isn’t offline

• Outlook > Send/Receive tab > confirm Work Offline is off
• Click Send/Receive All Folders

Expected result: bottom‑right status shows Connected and mail starts updating.

2) Clear stuck Outlook sign‑in credentials

This usually fix many “Sign in” loops and “account already added” errors.

• Close Outlook completely
• Open Control Panel > Credential Manager
• Under Windows Credentials and Generic Credentials, remove entries clearly related to:
  • Outlook / Office / MicrosoftOffice
  • ADAL / MSAL
  • Exchange
  • The affected email address
• Restart the PC, then open Outlook and sign in again

3) Create a new Outlook profile

This does not delete your old profile. It remains available as a fallback.

• Close Outlook
• Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles > Add
• Set the new profile as default
• Add the personal account first, then the work account

If you have local data:

• Reattach PSTs: Outlook > File > Account Settings > Data Files > Add
• Export/import rules to avoid loss: Home > Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts > Options > Export / Import

About turning updates off

You can disable Office updates via File > Account > Update Options > Disable Updates, but this isn’t recommended long‑term since updates include security fixes.

If it still won’t sync, please reply with:

• What the Outlook status bar says (Connected / Working Offline / Disconnected)
• Whether the personal mailbox updates at Outlook.com in a browser
• The exact wording of the “account already added” message (in quotes)

Please let me know if this proves useful to you, or if you would like further assistance.

I'm looking forward to your reply.

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Answer 2

The most likely cause is a corrupted Outlook profile or a connection problem on the personal account, not something that requires reinstalling Outlook.

Try these steps in order:

1. Repair the existing profile
   1. In classic Outlook, select File.
   2. Select Account Settings > Account Settings.
   3. On the Email tab, select the personal account that is not updating.
   4. Select Repair and follow the wizard.
   5. Restart Outlook and check whether the Inbox under Personal Folders is updating.
   If the Repair button is not available for that account type, skip to step 2.
2. Create a new Outlook profile (safer than reinstalling) A new profile replaces the broken configuration without removing Outlook or its data files.
   1. Close Outlook.
   2. Open Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles….
   3. Select the current profile and choose Remove (this does not delete server‑stored mail; PST files remain on disk).
   4. Select Add…, give the profile a name, and add both the work and personal accounts again.
   5. Start Outlook and choose the new profile when prompted.
   This is the recommended way to fix profile corruption instead of uninstalling the app.
3. If the personal account is an Outlook.com / Hotmail / Live address Ensure it is added using the correct account type so that folders and messages sync properly:
   • For an address like @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, or @live.com, add it as Outlook.com, not as Exchange or Microsoft 365. Using the wrong type can prevent proper syncing of existing messages and custom folders.
4. If using an IMAP account for the personal mailbox If the personal account is IMAP (for example, from an ISP, Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) and Outlook is not prompting for a password when trying to connect:
   • Edit the account settings and on the IMAP details page make sure Require logon using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) is unchecked.
   • If it still will not connect, remove and re-add the IMAP account via Control Panel > Mail > Email Accounts… > New, entering the password when prompted.
5. Use the Outlook connectivity troubleshooter if problems persist If the Inbox still does not update after repairing or recreating the profile, run the classic Outlook connectivity troubleshooter described in the documentation to let it automatically diagnose and fix profile and connection issues.

Regarding turning updates off: the provided information only covers using profile repair and the connectivity troubleshooter to fix connection issues; it does not describe a supported way to disable Outlook updates. Keeping Outlook updated is recommended for reliability and security.

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References:

• Troubleshoot Outlook email setup
• Fix your Outlook email connection by repairing your profile
• Shared mailbox is not automatically refreshing for new email in Outlook