outlook 2021 is stuck on synchronizing

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outlook 2021 is stuck on synchronizing

Jim Hagner 0

outlook 2021 is stuck on synchronizing folders and has a grey icon

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Answer 1

John Jefferson Doyon 65,415 Independent Advisor

Thanks for explaining the steps you already tried. Creating a new profile and removing the OST are good troubleshooting steps.

Even though your account is Outlook.com/MSN, I want to mention that Microsoft recently reported a known issue in Classic Outlook where synchronization problems can occur, especially when other accounts were previously added in the profile. The Outlook team is currently investigating this issue.

You can see the details here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/users-get-errors-0x800ccc0e-0x800ccc0f-synchronizing-gmail-and-yahoo-accounts-in-classic-outlook-e5a7b684-7c5c-4848-ab2d-d48291451f67

You can also 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

The article also includes a manual workaround that some users reported helps clear the synchronization state.

One quick question:

Does the status bar at the bottom of Outlook always show “Synchronizing folders”, or does it sometimes change to “All folders are up to date”?

Jim Hagner 0 Reputation points

2026-03-15T05:28:10.3933333+00:00

About 99% of the time, it is “Synchronizing folders” and the outlook icon at the clock area is grey. The other time all folders are up to date and the normal blue outlook icon is back. Thanks for helping John!
Jim Hagner 0 Reputation points

2026-03-15T05:39:31.3533333+00:00

I am using Outlook Classic. The offline folder doesn't seem to want to catch up to the Server folder either.
John Jefferson Doyon 65,415 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-15T07:39:22.05+00:00

Glad to assist!

From the image, I can see the Server folder contains 3743 items while the Offline folder only has 1458 items. This means the OST file has not fully synchronized with the server, which explains why Outlook stays on “Synchronizing folders” most of the time and the Outlook icon appears grey.

Since you already recreated the profile and OST, the behavior may be related to a recent synchronization issue currently being investigated by the Outlook team in Classic Outlook (link earlier).

The article also provides a manual workaround that some users reported helps clear the synchronization issue.

You may try the workaround steps in that article and check if Outlook resumes normal synchronization.
Jim Hagner 0 Reputation points

2026-03-15T16:01:58.18+00:00

The work around doesn't seem to apply to my situation. Do you think Microsoft will be correcting this issue or are the phasing out outlook classic?
John Jefferson Doyon 65,415 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-15T20:03:00.56+00:00

At this time, Microsoft has not announced that Classic Outlook is being immediately discontinued. However, Microsoft is gradually transitioning users to the new Outlook for Windows. Existing Classic Outlook installations are expected to remain supported until at least 2029 with security updates.

In the meantime, since your email still sends and receives normally, the issue you are seeing with “Synchronizing folders” staying active may be related to a temporary service or client sync behavior that Microsoft may address in updates.

If the issue becomes disruptive, a temporary option is to use Outlook on the web, or try the new Outlook for Windows and see if the behavior is the same.

Answer 2

John Jefferson Doyon 65,415 Independent Advisor

Hi, I'm John!

To help narrow down the issue:

When you open Outlook, does it stay on “Synchronizing folders” for a long time?
What type of account did you add to Outlook? Is it a Microsoft account (Outlook/Hotmail), Gmail, or a work or school email?
Do you see “Working Offline” at the bottom of Outlook?

Please share what you see so we can narrow down the cause.

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

Jim Hagner 0 Reputation points

2026-03-15T02:15:44.6433333+00:00

This started yesterday and yes it stays on Synchronizing folders and the outlook icon which is blue when "happy" is grey 99% of the time. It is a Micr. Account (outlook.com, Micro. Exchange). I do not use working offline. Co-pilot has tried to help and we created new outlook profile and checked a bunch of things. Outlook does sends and rec. and seem normal other than the stated problems.
John Jefferson Doyon 65,415 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-15T02:56:59.2+00:00

Just to confirm, are you also using a Gmail or Yahoo account in the same Outlook profile, or is it only your Microsoft account (Outlook.com / Exchange)?

I’m asking because Microsoft recently reported a known issue with Gmail and Yahoo accounts in Classic Outlook where synchronization problems can occur (errors like 0x800CCC0E or 0x800CCC0F). This issue is currently still being investigated by the Outlook team.
Jim Hagner 0 Reputation points

2026-03-15T04:11:10.2866667+00:00

Really! Well this started yesterday when I did have another email account in the same profile but it was an older MSN email. It appeared that that was the issue but after removing it and creating a new profile, deleting the OST file, and removing all the credentials associated with the msn account, the problem continued.

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outlook 2021 is stuck on synchronizing

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