Outlook 365 slow to load print preview for end users

Kevin Kiggundu 0 Reputation points
2026-11-12T08:08:34.0566667+00:00

our web outlook is taking to respond when user want to print an email . even after refreshing . you sometimes have to open the email independently and use ctrl + P to get it to print . this is happening for more than 10 users at a go

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Email
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  1. Vikki-T 14,115 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-11-12T14:14:40.09+00:00

    Hi Kevin Kiggundu,

    I understand how disruptive it can be when several users have to wait for Print Preview or use an extra step each time they need to print an email.

    Since you mentioned that more than 10 users are affected, could you confirm whether they are using personal Outlook.com accounts or Microsoft 365 work or school accounts managed by an organization? Also, are all affected users connected to the same network or using the same browser?

    In the meantime, users can continue opening the email separately and pressing Ctrl + P as a temporary workaround. Thank you so much for your understanding.     

    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.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-11-12T08:09:46.7766667+00:00

    Because more than 10 users are affected simultaneously, first check the tenant’s Exchange Online and Office on the web service health before changing individual computers or printers.

    1. Check for a Microsoft 365 service incident

    1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center with a Service Support admin, Helpdesk admin, or another account permitted to view service health.
    2. Go to Health → Service health.
    3. Review:
      • Exchange Online
      • Office on the web
      • Active issues Microsoft is working on
      • Issues for your organization to act on
    4. Open any matching advisory and compare its start time and user-impact description with your print-preview delays.

    Microsoft identifies Service degradation as including slower-than-usual performance or an intermittently failing feature. If a matching incident exists, monitor that advisory rather than making endpoint changes.^1^

    If nothing relevant is listed, select Report an issue on the Service health page. Include the approximate start time, number of users, affected locations, browsers, and whether opening the message separately changes the result.

    2. Isolate browser versus tenant/network behavior

    Since refreshing has not helped, test one affected user under controlled conditions:

    1. Open Outlook on the web in an InPrivate/Incognito window.
    2. Print the same email and record how long preview takes.
    3. Repeat in the latest version of another supported browser—Edge, Chrome, or Firefox on Windows 11.
    4. If private browsing or another browser resolves it, disable extensions for the Outlook site, particularly AdBlock, Ublock, and pop-up blockers. Microsoft documents that these extensions can cause Outlook on the web to load slowly or encounter loading problems.^2^
    5. If needed, clear only the Outlook/Microsoft site data, sign in again, and retest.

    Test users from different locations or networks as well:

    • Only one browser profile affected: browser cache, policy, or extension path.
    • All browsers on one office network affected: proxy, DNS, filtering, or network egress path.
    • Different networks and browsers affected in the same tenant: tenant/service-side escalation becomes more likely.

    3. Test the affected office network

    If affected users share an office, VPN, proxy, or internet connection:

    1. Open the Microsoft 365 network connectivity test tool from an affected workstation.
    2. Sign in with the organization account so the report is available to the administrator.
    3. Select Run test.
    4. Run the downloadable advanced diagnostics when prompted.
    5. Review the report for:
      • Exchange Online latency
      • Distant network egress
      • Blocked Microsoft 365 domains
      • DNS or proxy-related findings

    Microsoft specifically recommends this tool when users at an office location experience slow Outlook web access or when network controls may block Microsoft content domains.^3^

    Temporary printing path

    The workaround users found is a supported Outlook on the web printing path:

    1. Open the email.
    2. Select Print, or press Ctrl+P.
    3. Complete printing in the browser dialog.

    For an attachment, use its menu and select Preview → Print. If preview remains slow, select Download, open it in its associated application, and print from there.^4^

    This avoids waiting on the embedded attachment preview, but it does not resolve the shared performance problem.

    Escalation information to collect

    If Service health is clear and the delay persists across current supported browsers and separate networks, open a Microsoft 365 support request with:

    • UTC date and time of several occurrences
    • Number of affected users
    • Tenant region and affected office locations
    • Browser names and versions
    • Whether InPrivate mode changed the result
    • Whether the delay affects all emails or only emails with attachments/images
    • Network connectivity test report
    • A browser network trace/HAR captured while reproducing the delay, if requested by support
    • Confirmation that opening the email and using Ctrl+P succeeds

    Avoid focusing initially on printer firmware or drivers unless the browser preview appears promptly and the delay begins only after submitting the job to the printer; that would be a separate printing-stage problem.

    References

    1. How to check Microsoft 365 service health
    2. Supported browsers for Outlook on the web and Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
    3. Microsoft 365 network connectivity test tool
    4. [Web](https://support.microsoft.com/outlook/print-attachments-received-in-email-messages)
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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