Outlook (Windows) - one IMAP account permanently stuck on "Waiting for your email provider"

Kočica, Sinja 5 Reputation points
2026-08-18T15:09:52.4333333+00:00

I'm having problems with a single IMAP account that never finishes setup in New Outlook for Windows, while everything else about it checks out fine.

Setup: self-hosted IMAP/SMTP mailbox (docker-mailserver, not Microsoft 365/Exchange/Google Workspace), account [Moderator Note: Personal Info Removed]@bsafe.si.

Symptom: Adding the account to Outlook hangs indefinitely on "Waiting for your email provider" — through Automatic setup, manual/Advanced setup, and repeated attempts over more than a week.

What rules out a credentials or server problem:

  • The exact same login works perfectly in Outlook Mobile (iOS/Android), legacy/classic Outlook (Win32), and Thunderbird.
  • Other mailboxes on the identical domain and mail server (e.g. a second address, same server, same PC) add to Outlook cleanly and instantly - only this one address fails.
  • Confirmed via server logs: no IP bans, no rate limiting, nothing account-specific blocking it on our end.

Already tried: remove and re-add, resetting credentials, waiting several days between attempts, adding via Outlook Mobile first (succeeded there, didn't fix Windows).

This points to a stuck provisioning/shadow-mailbox record specific to this one address inside Microsoft's backend for New Outlook on Windows. Has anyone found a way to get Microsoft to reset this, short of the in-app support form (which only returns a generic auto-response for me)?

Happy to provide further logs/diagnostics.


Moved form Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For business

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For home
0 comments No comments

1 answer

Sort by: Newest
  1. Chloe-V 13,960 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-08-19T02:43:45.0266667+00:00

    Hi Kočica, Sinja

    Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

    I understand how frustrating this situation must be, especially since the mailbox works normally in Outlook Mobile, Outlook Classic, and Thunderbird.

    Based on the troubleshooting you've already completed, the IMAP/SMTP settings and credentials appear to be correct. Since other mailboxes on the same server can be added to New Outlook without any issues, the problem may be related to an account-specific issue within New Outlook rather than the mail server or network configuration itself.

    If the affected account is currently listed in New Outlook, please go to Settings > Accounts > Your accounts, select the account, choose Manage, and then click Remove from all devices. After that, restart your computer and try adding the account again.
    Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas only.

    If the issue persists, I recommend contacting Microsoft Support for further investigation, as they may be able to check whether there is an issue with the account's provisioning or synchronization in New Outlook.

    In the meantime, you may continue using Outlook Classic or Thunderbird as a temporary workaround, since both clients are able to connect to the mailbox successfully.

    Thank you 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.  

    Was this answer helpful?


Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.