Outlook requires updates before it can start

Question

Our organization uses Outlook 2016, recently a number of staff have been receiving this error message stating that Outlook is out of date and cannot start. I've clicked the learn more link and it does not offer much assistance. Would anyone know if we are able to find a KB update file for this to remedy the issue?

Answer 1

Hi,

I am currently facing the same issue..

We tried a few things;

1. Click away the message > File > Office Account > Update options > Update
   There is no update.
   2. Install the update below
      https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=102753
      The update doesn't work, it says it can't detect it

We are going to try this: Settings - Update & Security - Windows Update - Advanced options > receive updates for other Microsoft products

Answer 2

I received a warning message today which indicates that the issue still persists. The laptop is newly installed with Windows 10 and Office 2016. I am wondering if Microsoft has come up with a proper solution for this issue yet. I noticed that this problem was first reported in 2022, but it seems that there is still no proper solution available.

Answer 3

@Thilan Hewage

The solution is to install updates. That build number indicates the release version of Outlook/Office Volume License is installed without any updates applied. A later build number is required for compatibility with you version of Windows 10 and/or Exchange.

Depending on the update environment of your company, it generally is sufficient to enable Windows Update to also install updates for other applications as already indicated above.

You can find step-by-step instructions with screenshots here;
Not getting Office updates via Windows Update

Regardless of the error, you should apply updates anyway, as you're currently missing about 8 years worth of security updates as well. Once you've applied all updates, your build number should be 16.0.5430.1000 or higher.