If you are unable to send and receive new emails in Outlook, it might be because you are working offline on Outlook.
While working offline is a feature in Outlook for the benefit of users, they sometimes get into trouble because of it.
In this article, we will tell you how you can turn off work offline in order to go online and connect with the server. We will also tell you how you can use the feature whenever needed.
Follow these quick links to read the desired section of this article:
How to fix Outlook working offline?
Depending on the version of Outlook you are using, there are several ways to disable the offline working mode in Outlook. Before that, we would like to tell you how to fix offline working quickly in new versions of Outlook.
Quickly fix offline working in Outlook
Use the following 2 easy steps to fix the offline working status quickly in Outlook 2016 or later:
- Firstly, open Outlook and click on tell me what you want to do next to a bulb icon at the top as shown below.
- The option will turn into a text box, search and click Work Offline. Within few seconds, you will be connected to the server.
Fix offline working in Outlook 2010 or later
Follow these steps to fix offline working in Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2016, and Outlook 2019:
- Open Outlook and go to Send/Receive tab.
- In the options ribbon, you will see the Work Offline option highlighted in the preferences group as shown below.
- Click on the option to disable it. Upon disabling, the highlight will go away.
Fix offline working in Outlook 2007 or older
Follow these steps to fix offline working in Outlook 2007, Outlook 2003, and Outlook 2002:
- Firstly, open Outlook and find the working status Offline in the bottom right as shown below.
- Click to expand the working status and uncheck work offline to disable offline working.
- Finally you will be connected to the server.
Why is Outlook working offline?
Often, users tend to forget when they go offline or inadvertently turn on offline mode. You might have also gone offline while managing old or redundant data. However, if that is not the case, there are two more reasons for which your Outlook is working Offline.
Using Outlook earlier without internet
When you work without an internet connection, Outlook automatically shifts to Offline mode after some time in order to avoid disturbance caused by repetitive error messages.
Inadvertently Pressing Hot Keys
There are hotkeys to enable and disable Work Offline mode in Outlook quickly. You might have mistakenly pressed the hotkeys (Alt + SW or Alt + FK) because of which you are offline now.
What does Outlook working Offline mean?
Outlook working offline means that you won’t be able to send and receive emails and schedule meets for the time being. However, the changes you have made will come into effect once you have disabled work offline mode and are online again.
There are several benefits of working offline on Outlook. While working offline, you won’t be distracted by incoming emails.
Apart from that, you can make all the changes you want and let them come into effect altogether. For instance, you can schedule meets for your employees or co-workers, allot slots to them and send notifications for the same to all of them at the same time.
How to check if you are working offline?
Since inadvertently going offline can hamper the workflow, Outlook gives obvious signs to let you know when you are offline. We will discuss some of them here:
Connection Status
You might have seen text like connected, connected to, or working offline at the bottom ribbon while working on Outlook. This is to let you know your working or connection status.
Depending on the version you are using, phrases such as Offline, Working Offline, and Disconnected appear in the working status when you are offline.
Red cross on icon
When you are working offline, you will see a red X (cross) on the Outlook logo in the taskbar.
The logo also tells you when Outlook is connecting to the server or there is some connection error by showing a warning sign (black exclamation mark in a yellow triangle).
Work Offline button highlight
The Work Offline button in the send/receive tab gets highlighted when enabled. In comparison, there is a checkmark against the Work Offline option when it is enabled in older versions.
How to work offline in Outlook?
Depending on the version of Outlook you are using, there are several methods to work offline in Outlook. Before that, we would like to tell you how to enable offline working quickly in new versions of Outlook
Quickly enable work offline in Outlook
If you are using Outlook 2016 or later, use the following 2 easy steps to quickly enable work offline:
- Firstly, open Outlook and click on tell me what you want to do next to a bulb icon at the top as shown below.
- The option will turn into a text box, search and click Work Offline. Within few seconds, the Connected status will turn into offline.
Work offline in Outlook 2010 or later
You can work offline in Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2016, and Outlook 2019 using the following steps:
- Open Outlook and go to Send/Receive tab.
- In the options ribbon, you will see the Work Offline button in the preferences group.
- Click on the button to enable it. Upon enabling, the button will get highlighted as shown below.
Work offline in Outlook 2007 or older
You can work offline in Outlook 2007, Outlook 2003, and Outlook 2002 using the following steps:
- Open Outlook and find the working status Connected in the bottom right as shown below.
- Click to expand the working status and check mark Work Offline.
- The working status will change to either Offline or Disconnected and you are ready to work offline.
Work offline button missing
If you cannot find the Work Offline button in the send/receive tab or any other tab, you can manually add it to any tab by creating a new group.
Follow these steps to manually add the work offline button in the toolbar:
- Firstly, open Outlook and go to the File tab.
- Go to options > Customize Ribbon
- Select any tab in the right table, click on New Group and name it.
- Click the Work Offline command, then click Add between the two tables and click OK to save the changes.
- You will find the Work Offline button inside the tab in which you had added it.
Conclusion
After reading this article, you can easily disable offline work mode in any version of Outlook if you had enabled it mistakenly or it was enabled automatically. After reading this article, you can also enable it easily as per your requirement.
To resolve more queries on Outlook kindly click here.
FAQs
What is offline work in Outlook?
Work offline is an Outlook feature using which you can use Outlook without sending/ receiving emails while working.
How to work offline on Outlook?
You can work offline on Outlook by enabling Work Online mode in Send/ Receive tab in the Preferences group.
Can I work offline in Outlook web app?
No, you cannot work offline in latest version of Outlook web app.