Outlook - Outlook is Offline: How to bring it Online

How to bring Microsoft Outlook back online if it is offline.

Checking to see if you are Offline in Outlook and resolving it

1.  In your Outlook Inbox, look at the bottom right of your window for this text area: All folders are up to date.  Connected to: Microsoft Exchange. 

Image of working online in Outlook

2.  If instead you see: Working Offline.  Then your Outlook is in Offline mode due to either internet issues or you are set to Work Offline. 

Image of text saying working offline in outlook

3.  First, click on the Send/Receive tab in the top of Outlook. Under the Preferences section, is your Work Offline button highlighted? Then you have set Outlook to work offline.  

Image of Send/Receive tab and Working Offline button.

4.  To undo this, click the Work Offline button once and it will de-highlight and your Inbox and folders will update after a while. Note: You can monitor the progress of the update by viewing the bottom right section of Outlook discussed in Step 1.

5.  If the Work Offline button is not highlighted and it still says you are Offline, then it may be an internet connectivity issue.  For internet issues, check your internet connection and settings.  
*If you are unsure how to do this, contact your IT pros from this directory: https://techsupport.aces.illinois.edu/departmental-it-offices



Enabling Work Offline mode (not recommended)

It is possible to work offline in Microsoft Outlook.  However, you will not receive recent emails until you are back online.  
Note: Recent emails you receive while Offline are not gone, they are just queued to be shown once you are back online

1.  In Outlook, click on the Send/Receive tab.

2.  Under Preferences, click the Work Offline button once.  Done!

You are now working offline!  To go back online, do the two above steps again.


If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact your ACES IT Pro. You can find your department's IT contact information here: https://techsupport.aces.illinois.edu/departmental-it-offices






KeywordsOutlook Offline Email Mail E-mail   Doc ID92034
OwnerJoshua H.GroupAnswers @ ACES
Created2019-05-30 09:10:46Updated2021-03-23 15:44:45
SitesUniversity of Illinois - College of ACES
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