Using older versions of Outlook for Mac for personal email and calendar
Try these steps in order on Outlook for Mac:
- Check internet and Outlook online status.
- Open a web browser and confirm websites load.
- In Outlook, open the Outlook menu and make sure Work Offline is not checked.
- Check whether mailbox storage is full.
- If Microsoft cloud storage is full, Outlook cannot send or receive email.
- Verify the account connection.
- Go to Tools > Accounts.
- Select the account in the left pane.
- If the connection indicator is orange, Outlook is not connecting properly.
- If the account worked before, try signing in through Outlook on the web to confirm whether the mailbox is reachable.
- Recheck account credentials and server settings.
- In Tools > Accounts, confirm the email address, user name, and password are correct.
- If this is a POP or IMAP account, the provider may require special settings such as SSL, custom ports, or a different outgoing SMTP server.
- If this is a POP or IMAP account, turn on SMTP authentication.
- Go to Tools > Accounts.
- Select the account.
- Under Outgoing server, select More Options.
- Choose the authentication type and enter credentials if required.
- If sending fails on some networks only, check for firewall or SMTP blocking.
- Some ISPs or networks block the outgoing mail server.
- In Tools > Accounts, select the account and update the Outgoing server if the provider gives an alternative SMTP server.
- If this is an Exchange account and mail is not syncing, empty the Outlook cache for the affected folder.
- Warning: this deletes any information not synchronized with the Exchange server, including contacts' mail certificates. Back up Outlook data first if needed.
- Make sure the Mac is connected to the Exchange server.
- In the navigation pane, Ctrl+click or right-click the Exchange folder.
- Select Properties > General > Empty Cache.
- Outlook will re-download the items from the Exchange server.
- If the message is stuck because of large attachments:
- Open the Drafts folder.
- Remove some attachments and send again, or delete the message from Drafts and then permanently delete it from Trash.
- If the account uses a proxy-required network, set the mail proxy in macOS System Preferences.
If the issue started with a specific provider account such as @shaw.ca or rogers, there is a known Outlook for Mac issue under investigation affecting send/receive for those domains.