Cannot Open Outlook After Update

Question

Cannot Open Outlook After Update

Robert Pregulman 0

After an Outlook for Mac update, Outlook stopped working. When I clickthe Outlook icon, it appears for a few seconds and then disappears. I can see all my emails and folders normally through Outlook.com in Safari. I need help repairing Outlook for Mac without losing my local Outlook data?

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Chloe-V 13,450 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Robert Pregulman

I’m sorry Outlook stopped opening after the update. Since your mailbox is still available in Outlook.com, please avoid deleting your Outlook profile or using Reset Account for now, as unsynchronized local data may be removed.

First, quit Outlook and back up this folder:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/

Then open another Office app, select Help > Check for Updates, install all available Office updates, restart your Mac, and try Outlook again.

If Outlook still closes immediately, open Applications, right-click Microsoft Outlook, select Show Package Contents > Contents > SharedSupport, and open Outlook Profile Manager. Create a temporary profile and set it as the default, but do not delete the original profile. If Outlook opens with the temporary profile, add your account and allow the mailbox to sync from the server.

Please let us know whether Outlook opens with the temporary profile.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes". If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Robert Pregulman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-20T12:11:09.3766667+00:00

I don’t understand what you mean by “back up this folder. How do I do it?
Chloe-V 13,450 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-21T01:20:15.7266667+00:00
Hi @Robert Pregulman

Sorry for the confusion. By “back up this folder,” I mean make a copy of the entire Outlook profile folder before continuing:

Quit Outlook.

Open Finder.

Select Go > Go to Folder from the menu bar.

Paste this path and press Return:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/

Right-click the Outlook 15 Profiles folder and select Copy.

Paste the copy onto your Desktop or an external drive.

Please do not move, rename, or delete the original folder. Once the copy is complete, you can continue with the troubleshooting steps in my previous reply.
Robert Pregulman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-21T11:00:49.3966667+00:00

Thank you! I'll give it a shot and see what happens.
Robert Pregulman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-21T19:09:49.4866667+00:00

I'm sorry but I don't see anything about go or go to folder under finder. What am I missing?
Chloe-V 13,450 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-21T23:50:25.6+00:00

Hi @Robert Pregulman

Please click the Finder icon in the Dock first, then press Shift + Command + G together. The Go to Folder box should appear.

If you still do not see it, please share a screenshot of your full Finder window, making sure to remove or hide any personal information, so I can guide you further.
Robert Pregulman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-22T19:39:03.7866667+00:00

Hi Chloe - It worked (thank you!) but none of my mailboxes are there. Are they lost?
Chloe-V 13,450 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-22T23:47:26.3433333+00:00

Hi @Robert Pregulman

I’m glad Outlook is opening now. Please don’t worry. The mailboxes are most likely not lost. They are not showing because Outlook is currently opening with the new temporary profile, which does not yet contain your email accounts. Each Outlook profile keeps its own accounts and data.

In Outlook, please go to Tools > Accounts, select +, and add each email account again. After signing in, messages and folders stored on the mail server should begin syncing back to Outlook.

Please do not delete the original profile or the backup copy. Any items that were stored only locally, such as folders under On My Computer, may still be contained in the original profile and will not automatically appear in the temporary profile.

Please let us know whether the mailboxes reappear after adding the accounts.
Robert Pregulman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-23T11:23:42.04+00:00

Thank you! My gmail is already on the account. Are you saying I should delete and reinstall it? Thanks so much for you help and patience.
Chloe-V 13,450 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-24T01:01:52.5666667+00:00

Hi @Robert Pregulman

No, there is no need to delete or reinstall Outlook. Please keep the original profile and backup copy as they are.

May I know whether the missing mailboxes are now showing in Outlook?
Robert Pregulman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-24T10:56:54.17+00:00

My question was about the email address that is already on Outlook. Do I delete that email address before adding it back in outlook?
Chloe-V 13,450 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-24T23:40:08.79+00:00

Hi @Robert Pregulman

Thank you for clarifying. Yes, I was referring to the email account that is already added to Outlook, not the Outlook application itself.

Please remove that email account from Outlook first, then add the same email address back to Outlook. This only removes the account from Outlook and does not delete the email account itself.
Robert Pregulman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-26T06:19:38.7166667+00:00

Great thank you!
Robert Pregulman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-27T14:07:01.7633333+00:00

I’m currently traveling in Europe and haven’t been able to try your latest suggestion. Will let you know what happens when I have a chance to try it.
Chloe-V 13,450 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-27T23:19:30.1766667+00:00

Hi Robert Pregulman

Thanks for the update. No worries at all. Please feel free to try it whenever you have a chance, and let me know how it goes.

Answer 2

Jassi Scott 0

Since Outlook.com is still working, I’d avoid deleting the existing profile for now. First make sure Office is fully updated, restart the Mac, and try Outlook again. If it still closes immediately, creating a temporary Outlook profile can help confirm whether the issue is with the profile itself without deleting the original data.

Chloe-V 13,450 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-28T23:19:37.17+00:00

Hi Jassi Scott

Thank you for sharing this helpful suggestion. I really appreciate your input!