Fix Outlook connection problems for Microsoft 365 account

• Applies to:

  Exchange Online

If you're using Outlook to access your Microsoft 365 email account or another Exchange-based email account, and you're having problems, we want to get you back to sending and receiving email as quickly as possible.

Note

If you're looking for help with Outlook.com, check Get help with Outlook.com. If you're looking for help with Outlook for Mac, check Outlook for Mac Help.

Let us fix your Outlook connection problems for you

We can diagnose and fix several common Outlook connectivity issues for you. If our automated tool can't fix your issue, or you'd like to fix it yourself, see the next section.

Let us fix your issue Support and Recovery Assistant for Microsoft 365

Need more help? Contact support for business products - Admin Help

Fix software update and profile issues

Out-of-date software and corrupted Outlook profiles are two of the most common issues that can prevent you from sending and receiving email. If you're an admin with multiple users reporting problems, you also should check for service issues with Microsoft 365.

Common Outlook fixes

	Run Windows Update	If your Outlook client software or Windows operating system software is out of date, you might have problems sending and receiving email. Run Windows Update to make sure that you have the latest updates for Outlook and other desktop applications for Microsoft 365. For Windows Update instructions, see Windows Update: FAQ.
	Run a Microsoft 365 Diagnostic	There are Microsoft diagnostics that you can run to troubleshoot connectivity issues. The diagnostics perform automated checks to detect issues and provide possible solutions to fix them. Select Run Tests: Outlook User Connectivity to download and run the diagnostic. This feature requires a Microsoft 365 administrator account. This feature isn't available for Microsoft 365 Government, Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet, or Microsoft 365 Germany. Run Tests: Outlook User Connectivity
	Check for service issues	Admin only: If more than one person in your organization is experiencing email problems in Microsoft 365, it could be due to a problem with the service. Go to the Microsoft 365 Service health status (admin sign in required), and check the status of the services under Exchange Online.