Outlook not working

Question

I've been using Outlook for years with my Gmail account. For the last couple of hours I haven't been able to send or receive emails from within Outlook. I get an error message saying it can't connect to the server. I've followed all the recommended steps, but it's still not working.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John!

Are you using Outlook Classic (desktop app)?

If so, you can try the "Manual Workaround" provided in this Microsoft article:

https://support.microsoft.com/office/unable-to-add-a-gmail-account-to-classic-outlook-4d9530c5-3f40-4e6d-9b45-4477f160828f

Please follow the steps under "Manual Workaround" and then restart Outlook after completing them.

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Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 2

Use the following checks and fixes in classic Outlook for Windows with a Gmail account:

1. Confirm Outlook is online and connected

• Look at the status bar at the bottom of the Outlook window.
• If it shows Disconnected, Working Offline, or Trying to connect…, Outlook is not reaching the mail server.
• Go to the Send/Receive tab on the ribbon.
• In the Preferences group, select Work Offline once to toggle it back online.
• Then click Send/Receive and see if messages send/receive successfully.

2. Verify the internet connection

• Open a browser (Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome).
• Browse to http://www.microsoft.com or http://www.bing.com.
• If these sites do not load, fix the network first using the steps in Fix network connection issues in Windows.
• After restoring internet connectivity, return to Outlook and try Send/Receive again.

3. Check for large or stuck messages

• In Outlook, open the Outbox folder.
• Look for messages that are not sending, especially those with large attachments (over about 20 MB).
• Open the oldest stuck message, remove large attachments, or replace them with a link to the file.
• Send the message again. For more details, see Reduce attachment size to send large files with Outlook.

4. Manually trigger a sync

• In Outlook, go to the View tab.
• Select the Sync button to force a manual sync.
• Watch the status message at the bottom of the message list while Outlook is syncing.
• Note: For third-party accounts such as Gmail, the dedicated Sync button may not behave the same as for Microsoft accounts, but still confirm whether any sync activity occurs.

5. Confirm the Gmail account password and settings

• If the Gmail password was changed recently on the web, update the same password in Outlook for that account.
• If Outlook still reports it cannot connect, verify Gmail’s IMAP is enabled and that IMAP/SMTP settings are correct, following the guidance in Fix problems connecting your Google account to the Microsoft Cloud:
  • IMAP server: imap.gmail.com, SSL required, port 993
  • SMTP server: smtp.gmail.com, SSL/TLS required, authentication required, port 465 (SSL) or 587 (TLS/STARTTLS)

6. Repair Outlook or the Outlook profile if connection still fails

• If Outlook still cannot connect to the Gmail server after the above checks:
  • Run a repair of the Office/Outlook installation using the steps in Repair an Office application.
  • If needed, repair or recreate the Outlook profile as described in Fix your Outlook email connection by repairing your profile.

7. Test Outlook in safe mode

• Some add-ins can interfere with sending/receiving.
• Press the Windows key, type outlook.exe /safe, and press Enter.
• If Outlook connects and Gmail works in safe mode, create a new Outlook profile as described in Create an Outlook profile and then re-add the Gmail account.

If the issue persists after all these steps, focus on the Gmail side (IMAP enabled, security settings, and app access) using the configuration in the Google-account connection article above.

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References:

• I can't send or receive messages in Outlook
• Fix problems connecting your Google account to the Microsoft Cloud