outlook is trying to retrieve data from the microsoft exchange server - exchange 2016

Question

Hello all,

Recently we started getting the message "outlook is trying to retrieve data from the Microsoft exchange server" in outlook 2016. It only occurs when someone tries to access public folders, it freezes about 5-10 seconds then back to normal. The servers are in DAG mode, running Exchange 2016 with latest CU and windows update.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Brian

Answer 1

Hi @Brian Zhang ,

Do you get the same error when you open public folders in OWA?
Does the problem occur with all users？ Or just specific users?

According to this error. This issue can be caused by many reasons.
You could follow below steps to try to solve this issue

Method1: Re-create the outlook profile.
1 Open Control Panel and click on Programs

2 Go through User Accounts , Mail to open Mail items

3 Choose the profile which you want to remove

4 Click the Remove, then add the new outlook profile.

Method2：Switch outlook to cache mode.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/turn-on-cached-exchange-mode-7885af08-9a60-4ec3-850a-e221c1ed0c1c

In Outlook, click File > Account Settings > Account Settings, click on the Exchange account, and then click Change.

Under Offline Settings, make sure to select the checkbox before Use Cached Exchange Mode and set to cache 3 months emails.

You can also try going to Account settings > More settings > Advanced to uncheck the option Download Shared Folder and check if the issue still persist.

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Answer 2

Hi @Brian Zhang ,

It's difficult to locate the root cause. It could be a network issue or you are accessing an online folder with lots of items.
Generally, it can resume to work shorty so there’s no need to worry about it.

If you are using the outlook 2013 or 2010, you could also reference below document.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/-outlook-is-retrieving-data-from-the-microsoft-exchange-server-message-after-you-upgrade-to-outlook-2010-or-outlook-2013-28ee9ffe-4170-7bd9-71d4-b0b756a87dc5

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