How to Disable Work Offline in Outlook?

Work Offline is an Outlook feature available for Exchange Server and Office 365 email accounts that allow users to continue their work when there are issues with the network connection or there is no network.

When the Work Offline mode is enabled, Outlook disconnects from the mailbox server. Thus, any email sent to you won’t be received in the Inbox and will remain on the mailbox server. Similarly, if you send an email while in Work Offline mode, the email will remain in the Outbox folder and won’t be sent until the connection to the mailbox server is established.

On the positive side, it prevents Outlook from displaying notifications, thus, you can work peacefully without getting disturbed by the notifications. All the changes made while working offline are stored in the local Outlook data file, i.e., Outlook Storage Table (OST). When you switch to the Work Online mode, the system connects to the mailbox server (if connected to the internet) and starts synchronizing the changes to and from the mailbox on the server.

If you have accidentally enabled the Work Offline mode and don’t know how to disable it, follow the steps below.

Steps to Disable Work Offline in Outlook

Below are the steps to disable the Work Offline mode in Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and 2007. You can follow them based on the Outlook version you use.

Disable Work Offline in Outlook 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, or 2021

To disable the Work Offline feature in Outlook 2010 and later versions, follow these steps:

• Open Outlook client.
• Go to Send/Receive tab.
• Look for the Work Offline option. When enabled, the Work Offline button is shaded and you will see Disconnected or Work Offline in the status bar.

• To disable Work Offline, click on the Work Offline button. Then, make sure it’s not shaded or greyed out anymore.

• To confirm Work Offline is disabled, check the status bar. It should display the Connected status.

• Further, you can send a test email to ensure you are connected to the mailbox server.  

Disable Work Offline in Outlook 2007

Follow these steps to disable Work Offline in Outlook 2007:

• Go to File and click Work Offline.
• Check the ‘Prompt me at startup so I may choose to work offline or online’ checkbox and click OK.
• Once this option is checked, restart Outlook. It will ask whether you want to be in Work ‘Offline’ or ‘Online’ mode.
• Choose Online Mode. You can also choose the folders you want to access in offline mode.

Outlook Work Offline Option is Greyed Out

If the Work Offline option is greyed out, you cannot disable it. This issue may arise when your Outlook profile or data file is damaged or inconsistent. It may also occur due to several other reasons. To learn more, refer to our detailed guide on how to fix the error Outlook Work Offline greyed out.

Still Can’t Connect to Server?

Follow these solutions if you have disabled the Work Offline mode but still can’t connect to your mailbox server or send/receive emails.

Check Internet Connection

Network issues can prevent Outlook from connecting to the mailbox server. If the network you are connected to doesn’t have internet access, you may notice the Disconnected status in the status bar with a warning icon. This indicates that Work Offline is disabled, but Outlook cannot connect to the mailbox server due to poor or no internet connection.

Although Outlook will connect to the server when the internet connection is re-established, you can go to the Send/Receive tab and click the Update Folder option to manually refresh and check if Outlook can connect to the mailbox server.

Verify Credentials

It’s possible that your login credentials may have been changed or updated by you or the administrator. You must update the login password to continue accessing your mailbox and send or receive messages. You can verify this by logging into Outlook Web App (OWA).

Although Outlook prompts and asks for a login password when it can’t connect due to invalid credentials, it may sometimes fail to do so, or you may not have noticed it. As a result, Outlook fails to connect to the mailbox server and stays offline.

In such cases, make sure Work Offline is disabled and restart Outlook. It will prompt you to enter the new password. If you don’t know the updated password or have forgotten it, you must contact your administrator for a new password and then change it.

If your system is connected to a domain network, your password for system login and Outlook remains the same. If you have recently reset or updated your system password, try that. However, this can vary based on your organization’s policies.

Update Outlook Client

Try updating the Outlook client to the latest available update. This will fix any bug that may have led to the issue. You can check and update Outlook via built-in Update Options or Windows Updates (if using Outlook in an organization).

To update Outlook, go to File > Office Account and click on Update Options. Then click Update Now.

Alternatively, check and install Windows Updates and apply the Outlook or Microsoft Office updates that might fix the Work Offline issue.

Create a New Profile

When your Outlook profile is damaged or corrupt, you may experience several issues such as slow Outlook performance, delay in sending or receiving emails, etc. By setting up a new profile, you can fix issues caused by the damaged profile.

To create and setup a new profile in Outlook, follow these steps:

• Close Outlook and open Control Panel.
• Find and click on the Mail option.
• Click Show Profiles…

• Click Add.

• Enter the new profile name and click OK. You can enter any name you want.
• Enter the login credentials of your email account and follow the wizard to complete the setup.

This will set up a new profile and fix the issue.

You can remove your old profile to avoid confusion and discrepancies at this stage. To remove it,

• Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings and click on the old profile.
• Click Remove.
• Confirm when the prompt appears and then restart Outlook for the changes to take effect.   

Important Note: A new profile will create a new Outlook data file (OST) and replace the older one at the default location. Before removing the old profile from Outlook, back up the linked OST file.

Recreate OST File

To recreate the OST file, you must delete the existing one. However, you must take a backup before deleting the OST file to avoid permanent data loss. Follow these steps:

• Open Control Panel > Mail.
• Click Data Files…

• Select the OST file associated with your Outlook profile and click Open File Location.

• Copy the OST file to a safe location. Ensure Outlook is not running; otherwise, you may encounter an error message.
• Once the backup is done, delete the OST file.
• Start Outlook. This will create a new OST file at the same default location and start downloading the mail items from the mailbox server.

Note: If you find missing mail items after all mail items are downloaded, convert the backup OST to PST format using an OST to PST converter tool, such as Stellar Converter for OST, and then import the PST file into your Outlook via Import/Export wizard.

Conclusion

Enabling or disabling the Work Offline option in Outlook is quite easy unless there’s an underlying issue with your Outlook client, profile, or data file (OST). In such cases, you may fail to disable the Work Offline feature or connect to your mailbox server. Following the resolutions discussed in this article, you can fix the issues, disable Work Offline, and restore Outlook mailbox connectivity. To avoid data loss, backup your Outlook OST data file before applying the solutions. After fixing the issue, if you found that there are missing emails, you can use an OST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for OST, to extract mail items from your backup OST file and save them to Outlook PST format. You can import the PST into your new Outlook profile or OST file to restore missing mail items. Using the software, you may also export the OST file directly to an Office 365, existing Outlook profile or live Exchange Server.  

FAQs

Can we turn off the Outlook Work Offline option permanently?

You can turn off Work Offline by clicking on the Work Offline button under the Send/Receive tab in Microsoft Outlook. However, if you want to disable or remove Work Offline permanently, disable the Cached Exchange Mode by following these steps:

• In Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
• Choose the email profile and click Change.
• Uncheck the Cached Exchange Mode option and click Next.

• Click OK to confirm and then restart Outlook for changes to take effect.
• You will notice the Work Offline option is no more available under the Send/Receive tab.

How to turn off Work Offline in Outlook for Mac?

To disable Work Offline in Outlook for Mac, click on the Outlook option and uncheck the Work Offline option to disable it. 

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About The Author

Ravi Singh

Ravi Singh is a Senior Writer at Stellar®. He is an expert Tech Explainer, IoT enthusiast, and a passionate nerd with over 7 years of experience in technical writing. He writes about Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365, Email Migration, Linux, Windows, Mac, DIY Tech, and Smart Home. Ravi spends most of his weekends working with IoT (DIY Smart Home) devices and playing Overwatch. He is also a solo traveler who loves hiking and exploring new trails.