Email / Outlook Sync Problems

Symptom

New emails are not appearing in Outlook, or sent emails are stuck in the outbox.

Possible Causes

• Outlook is in "Work Offline" mode.
• An internet connection issue.
• The mailbox is full or near its storage limit.
• A corrupted local data file (OST).
• An Outlook profile issue.
• An email service outage.

Step-by-step Resolution

1. Confirm the user has a working internet connection.
2. Check whether Outlook is in "Work Offline" mode, and switch it back online if so.
3. Perform a manual Send/Receive on all folders.
4. Confirm the mailbox is not full or close to its storage limit.
5. Test webmail (browser-based email) to see if the issue is specific to the Outlook desktop app.
6. If webmail works but the desktop app doesn't, close Outlook and rename the local data file so Outlook rebuilds and resyncs it.
7. Repair the Office installation if the issue continues.
8. Create a new Outlook profile as a last resort before escalating.
9. Confirm new emails are arriving and sent items are delivering before closing the ticket.

When to Escalate

• Webmail also fails, which points to a mailbox or service-side issue.
• The mailbox is full and needs a storage or archiving policy change.
• Multiple users are affected, suggesting an email service outage.
• The issue involves account permissions, shared mailboxes, or settings you cannot change at L1 level.

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Still stuck? Submit a ticket and reference this article. The agent will already know what steps you've tried.