Outlook is in “Work Offline” mode and must be switched back online from within classic Outlook. If Outlook will not open at all, start with Safe Mode and then toggle the offline setting.
- Try starting Outlook in Safe Mode
- Press
Windows + R.
- Type
outlook.exe /safe and select OK.
- If Outlook opens in Safe Mode, continue with step 2.
- Turn off Work Offline in classic Outlook
- In Outlook, go to the Send / Receive tab.
- Select Work Offline.
- Check the status bar at the bottom:
- If it shows Working Offline, select Work Offline again until the status changes and the highlight on the button disappears.
- When the highlight is off and Working Offline no longer appears in the status bar, Outlook is online and can send/receive mail.
- If Outlook is stuck in Work Offline (Outlook 2007/2010)
- For Outlook 2010: select Send / Receive, then select Work Offline once. The “Work Offline” text in the lower-right corner should disappear and mail flow should resume.
- For Outlook 2007: select the Offline button in the lower-right corner, then select Work Offline to clear offline mode.
- If Outlook still shows as disconnected or offline
- Verify the internet connection works.
- If Outlook shows Disconnected even with a working connection, there may be a mail server or profile issue. In that case:
- Check for Office updates and install any required updates.
- Create a new Outlook profile and add the account again, then test if Outlook connects normally.
Once Outlook is online, messages can be read and new mail will send/receive as usual.
References: