Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: Troubleshooting Outlook Send/Receive Errors. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Before you begin

Step-by-step troubleshooting

1. Basic checks first

• Internet connection: Ensure you can browse the web.
• Server status: Check if your email provider (Gmail, Microsoft 365, etc.) is experiencing outages. For Microsoft 365, check the service health page in the Microsoft 365 admin portal or the Microsoft 365 service status page.
• Password: Test your password by logging into your email via a web browser. If it fails, reset your password with your provider.
• Outbox: Look in your Outbox folder. If emails are stuck, check for large attachments that may be blocking the send queue, then try deleting the stuck messages.

2. Verify account settings

Incorrect settings are the most common cause. See How to add email to Outlook for guidance.

• Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
• Double-click your email account.
• Verify the following:
  • Server information: Incoming (IMAP/POP) and outgoing (SMTP) server names match your provider's requirements.
  • Logon information: Username (usually full email address) and password are correct.
  • More Settings > Outgoing Server: Ensure “My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication” is checked and “Use same settings as my incoming mail server” is selected.
  • More Settings > Advanced: Check port numbers and encryption types match the provider's requirements.

3. Test account settings

• Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
• Select your email account and click Change….
• Click Test Account Settings….
• Analyse the results. If an error occurs, it will indicate what is failing (for example, “IMAP server not available” or “SMTP authentication failed”). Use this clue to fix your settings.

4. Check server time-outs

• Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
• Select your account and click Change…, then click More Settings….
• Go to the Advanced tab.
• Under Server time-outs, move the slider to the right (longer) if your connection is slow. This gives Outlook more time to wait for the server to respond.

5. Check for corrupted send/receive settings

Modern Outlook versions store send/receive settings in the profile or XML configuration files rather than in Outlook.srs. If you are using an older Outlook version and suspect corruption:

• Close Outlook.
• Navigate to your profile folder by entering %appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook\ in the Windows File Explorer address bar and pressing Enter.
• If you see a file named Outlook.srs, rename it to Outlook.srs.bak.
• Open Outlook. It will create a fresh default send/receive file. You may need to review your Send/Receive Group settings again (Send/Receive tab > Define Send/Receive Groups).

6. Recreate or repair your Outlook profile

If the above steps do not resolve the issue, the Outlook profile itself may be corrupted.

• Close Outlook.
• Open Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles.
• Select the problematic profile and click Remove, then click Add to create a new profile.
• Follow the prompts to add your email account again (see How to add email to Outlook).

7. Check offline mode

• Go to the Send/Receive tab.
• Ensure the Work Offline button is not highlighted.
• For Exchange accounts, also verify File > Account Settings > Account Settings, select the account, click Change…, and ensure “Use Cached Exchange Mode” is checked.

8. Restart Outlook in Safe Mode

Third-party add-ins can interfere with sending and receiving. Starting Outlook in Safe Mode disables add-ins so you can test whether one is causing the problem.

• Close Outlook completely.
• Press Windows key + R, type outlook.exe /safe, and press Enter.
• Try sending and receiving email. If the issue is resolved in Safe Mode, go to File > Options > Add-ins and disable add-ins one at a time to identify the conflicting add-in.

9. Disable antivirus/firewall temporarily

• Temporarily disable your antivirus’s email-scanning feature or the antivirus completely.
• If emails then send/receive, configure your antivirus to exclude Outlook or Microsoft Office (see Antivirus alerts – what to do).

10. Repair or compact data files

If the data file (PST/OST) is near its size limit or corrupted:

• Close Outlook completely.
• Locate SCANPST.EXE (Inbox Repair Tool).
  • Microsoft 365 Click-to-Run: typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\ or C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office17\
  • MSI installations: typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX\ (replace “XX” with your version number)
• Run SCANPST.EXE, browse to and select your PST/OST file (usually in %localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook).
• Click Start to scan. If errors are found, click Repair.
• To compact a data file in modern Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings, select the Data Files tab, select the data file, click Settings, then click Compact Now.

Modern authentication and multi-factor authentication

Microsoft 365 and Exchange accounts use Modern Authentication (OAuth2) combined with multi-factor authentication (MFA). If your authentication token expires or becomes corrupted, Outlook may repeatedly prompt for a password or fail to send and receive email entirely.

Check your authentication type

• Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
• Double-click your Microsoft 365 or Exchange account.
• Look for an indication that the account uses OAuth2 or Modern Authentication. If you see fields for manual server names and port numbers, you may be using legacy Basic Authentication, which Microsoft 365 has disabled for most tenants.

Re-authenticate via browser

• Close Outlook completely.
• Open a web browser and sign in to your Microsoft 365 account at https://www.office.com.
• Complete any multi-factor authentication prompts.
• Once signed in successfully, close the browser and reopen Outlook.
• When prompted, sign in again and approve the MFA request on your phone or authenticator app.

Clear cached credentials

• Close Outlook.
• Press Windows key + R, type control keymgr.dll, and press Enter to open Credential Manager.
• Under Windows Credentials, look for entries starting with msoidentitycache, MicrosoftOffice16, or your email address.
• Select each relevant entry and click Remove.
• Reopen Outlook and sign in again using Modern Authentication.

Escalation guidance

If you have completed all troubleshooting steps and Outlook still cannot send or receive email, the issue may be related to your Microsoft 365 tenant, mailbox permissions, or server-side configuration that requires administrator access.

Contact your internal IT support team or Open a Ticket for further assistance. When escalating, please include:

• The exact error message or error code displayed in Outlook.
• Whether the issue affects all email accounts or only one.
• Whether you can send and receive email successfully via Outlook on the web.
• Any recent changes, such as password resets, new devices, or MFA enrolment.

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