Emails stuck in outbox

Mark Gluesenkamp 0 Reputation points
2026-09-19T15:19:35.5166667+00:00

I recoved my email account on my laptop, but now I cannot send emails, they get stuck in the outbox.

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For home
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  1. SD - IA 179.4K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-19T15:59:25.3866667+00:00

    Hi,

    I will walk through a few steps with you. Some of these are just to help figure out what is wrong, not to fix it right away. So if nothing changes after a step, that is normal. I will keep going until we solve it.

    Please go to Send/Recieve tab > Show Progress button.

    Please attach a screenshot of the Show Progress button since it will inform about the error code to me.

    Also please let me know the email provider of the account, and if you have done any troubleshooting steps.

    I look forward to hearing from you to get the results of the troubleshooting.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-19T15:19:51.9366667+00:00

    Try these steps in classic Outlook on the laptop:

    1. Check whether Outlook is offline.
      • Go to Send/Receive.
      • If Work Offline is turned on, click it to turn it off.
      • If the button was blue, Outlook was disconnected.
    2. Open the Outbox and inspect the stuck message.
      • If it has a large attachment, remove it.
      • Large attachments are a common reason messages stay stuck.
      • For Outlook on Windows, messages with attachments larger than about 20MB can cause sending problems with some providers.
    3. Put Outlook in offline mode so the message can be edited safely.
      • Select Send/Receive > Work Offline.
      • Open Outbox.
      • Either:
        • delete the message, or
        • drag it to Drafts, open it, remove the attachment, and save it.
    4. If Outlook says it is trying to transmit the message, close Outlook.
      • If it does not close, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and open Task Manager.
      • On the Processes tab, find outlook.exe and end it.
      • Reopen Outlook and repeat the Outbox steps.
    5. Go back online and resend.
      • Select Send/Receive > Work Offline again to turn offline mode off.
      • Then choose Send/Receive all folders or Send All.
    6. If messages only send when manually pressing Send/Receive, enable automatic sending.
      • Go to File > Options > Advanced.
      • Under Send and receive, turn on Send immediately when connected.
    7. If the account password was recently changed when the account was recovered, update the saved password in Outlook.
      • A password mismatch can stop send/receive after an account recovery.
    8. Make sure the laptop has internet access.
      • Open a browser and confirm websites load.
      • If there is no connection, Outlook cannot send.

    If the Outbox shows a number but no visible message, Outlook may be repeatedly trying to send a stuck read receipt rather than a normal email.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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