Email not working in Outlook

Check Microsoft’s Service Health Status first, because Outlook/Microsoft 365 currently has elevated user-reported problems and a working internet connection does not rule out an Outlook.com service disruption.^1^

Determine whether this is an outage

1. Open Microsoft’s Service Health Status site from the link in Microsoft’s Outlook.com known-issues page.^2^
2. Compare it with the Outlook outage-report page. Downdetector is not an official Microsoft status source, but a sharp increase in reports can indicate a wider disruption.^1^
3. If Microsoft reports an incident—or Outlook.com fails on several devices or networks—wait for Microsoft to restore service. Similar cross-device Outlook.com connection failures have required a server-side fix.^3^

If no incident is listed

Test the mailbox directly at Outlook.com:

• Web and apps both fail: This points to the account or mailbox service rather than one installed Outlook client. Record the exact error, particularly any HTTP status, X-OWA-Error, or “unable to connect to server” text.
• Web works but an app fails: The mailbox service is available; troubleshoot that app’s account configuration. In classic Outlook for Windows, check the bottom status bar. If it says Working Offline, select Send/Receive → Work Offline once to reconnect.^4^
• Mailbox opens but mail does not update: Check whether Microsoft cloud/mailbox storage is full. A full account cannot send or receive mail, and incoming messages sent while it is full are bounced and cannot be recovered. Also check Other, Junk Email, forwarding, inbox rules, and Filter → Sort → Date.^5^
• Sign-in fails: Use the Microsoft account sign-in helper identified in Microsoft’s Outlook.com troubleshooting guidance.^5^

If Outlook.com still fails and no outage appears, select Help in Outlook.com, enter the connection error, then scroll to Still need help? → Yes to contact Outlook.com support. Include the exact error, time it occurred, and that it reproduces on multiple devices.^5^

References

1. Microsoft Outlook down? Current problems and outages | US
2. Fixes or workarounds for recent issues on Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
3. My Outlook.com mailbox is inaccessible across all clients. - Microsoft Q&A
4. [Classic Outlook](https://support.microsoft.com/outlook/getstarted/how-to-work-offline-in-outlook-for-windows#status-messages-in-classic-outlook)
5. Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com | Microsoft Support