Slow send/receive with outlook classic

Paul Ficara 0 Reputation points
2026-07-04T12:29:07.4966667+00:00

Outlook classic is really slow sending and receiving emails. it can take 15-20 minutes at time for an email to leave the outbox. It's also slow synchronizing folders. what's the problem?

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For home
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  1. TaoLi 119.7K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-07-04T13:09:01.43+00:00

    Hello,

    Please click "Send/Receive" at the top, then select "Show Progress."

    Please provide a screenshot of this.

    Please make sure to mask any private or personal information. Thank you.

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  2. Paul Ficara 0 Reputation points
    2026-07-04T13:19:18.8566667+00:00

    User's image

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  3. TaoLi 119.7K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-07-04T13:29:52.61+00:00

    Based on the screenshot, Outlook is stuck on "Synchronizing." The sending process hasn't actually failed completely; instead, the synchronization of a specific mailbox or folder is slowing down the entire Send/Receive queue, causing the program to hang for 10–20 minutes.

    I suggest the following:

    Press the Win + R keys and enter: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook

    Locate the file with the .ost extension (usually named after your email account).

    Delete this .ost file or simply rename it (renaming—e.g., to .old—is safer).

    Restart Outlook; it will automatically re-download your mailbox data and generate a new OST file.

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