How to Fix Office 365 Groups not showing in Outlook?

Office 365 Groups enable users to seamlessly share emails, calendars, and files among group team members. However, sometimes, users face a situation where Office 365 Groups are missing from or not showing in Microsoft Outlook. Such an issue can lead to disruption in email communication and workflow. There are various possible reasons for the Office 365 Groups not showing in Outlook issue. Below we help you understand the reasons that can trigger this issue and provide solutions to troubleshoot and resolve it.

Reasons for the Office 365 Groups not Showing in Outlook Issue

Below are some possible reasons that can trigger the Office 365 Groups not showing in Outlook problem:

1. Subscription and Licensing Issues

If your Office 365 or Microsoft 365 subscription does not include group functionality or there is an issue with the type of license you have, then the Office Groups will not appear in your Outlook.

2. Synchronization Problems

Synchronization issues between the Outlook client and the Office 365 or Microsoft 365 server can lead to issues with Groups’ visibility.

3. Oversized OST File

When the OST file becomes too large, Outlook may experience issues that could lead to disappearance of groups or other mail items and mail folders.

4. Incorrect Outlook Settings

Wrong or incorrect Outlook setup or settings, such as incorrect SMTP address for Microsoft 365, may also lead to such issues.

5. Organization or Admin Policies and Settings

Your organization or administrator may have changed policies or settings related to groups, restricting group visibility.

6. Outdated AutoDiscover XML File

The groups may also disappear when the AutoDiscover XML file is not updated with a new or changed email address.

7. Corrupt Outlook Profile

A damaged or corrupt Outlook profile may also lead to the Office 365 Groups not showing in Outlook issue.

Solutions to Resolve Office 365 Groups not Showing in Outlook Issue

Follow the below solutions to troubleshoot and resolve the Office 365 Groups not showing in Outlook issues in Outlook.

1. Verify Subscription and Licensing

The first thing you need to do is check whether your Office 365 subscription includes group functionality or not. To confirm this, you can reach out to your organization’s IT department or email administrator. Ensure that there are no changes related to licensing and that you have sufficient or required permissions to access the Office 365 groups.

2. Manually Re-Sync Groups

Sometimes, auto-sync stops working due to issues with the system, Outlook profile, data file (OST), or the client. In such cases, you can try manual synchronization. For this,

• Go to the Send/Receive tab in the Outlook client.
• Click Update Folders. Wait for the synchronization to finish.

• You can also click Send/Receive All Folders button.

3. Check Outlook Settings

Outlook may not show Office 365 Groups if the settings are not configured to display the groups. To check and change the settings,

• Open Outlook and click File > Options > Advanced.
• Then, look for a section called Groups and ensure that Show All Groups is selected. If not, select it and click OK.

4. Re-Add Groups

In case some groups are visible but a specific group is missing, then you can try to re-add it. The steps to do so are as follows:

• In the Outlook left navigation pane, find the Groups section. In case you don’t see Groups, click More to expand and then open the Groups section.
• Right-click on the Groups and choose the New Group or Browse Group option to create a new group or see all available groups in your organization.
• You can use the Search bar to find the specific group you need to add/re-add. Once found, click on it. This will open the group details.

• Click the Join button. In case the group is private, you need to reach out to the administrator to approve your request for accessing the group.  

5. Verify the AutoDiscover XML File

AutoDiscover XML file is a configuration file that Outlook uses to automatically configure the email settings for the users. It simplifies the process for the email client to map and provide access to all the mail folders, groups, etc. to the user without requiring them to manually add or configure additional settings. Thus, it is important to check and verify that the file is present and is in correct format. Here’s how:

• Find the file. It is located in the %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Outlook\xx folder.
• The file contains an email address that is used to create and identify groups. The format should look like this: AutoD.<Office365GroupName>@contoso.mail.onmicrosoft.com
  Here, the <Office365GroupName> is the name of the group.
• The primary email address for the group should replace the <Office365GroupName> in the above format.
• Also, the email address you use for the group must exist as an object on the Office 365 Server to ensure that the server recognizes the group.
• In case you have changed the primary email addresses for a group, make sure to update this new address in the AutoDiscover XML file.  

6. Switch Off Cached Exchange Mode

You can turn off the Cached Exchange Mode to view the Office 365 groups in Outlook. By disabling the mode, you can overcome any synchronization issues with the OST that may be preventing Outlook from displaying the groups. When Cached Exchange Mode is disabled, Outlook connects to the server directly and displays all contents in real time without relying on your local cache (OST) file. The steps to disable Cached Exchange Mode are as follows:

• In Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
• Click on your profile and then click Change.
• Uncheck the Cache Exchange Mode checkbox and click Next > Finish.

7. Create a New Profile

You may create a new profile to replace your corrupt or damaged Outlook profile. In the new profile, the email account is configured from scratch and all the groups that you have access to are automatically added and downloaded (synchronized) after the configuration. The steps to create new Outlook profile are as follows:

• Open the Control Panel, go to User Accounts, and click Mail.

• In the Mail Setup dialog box, click the Show Profiles button.

• Click Add, type any name for this profile, and click OK to create a new profile.
• Then, follow the sign-in wizard and prompts to configure your email account in the new profile.

• Set the new profile as the default one if there are more profiles. Just select “Always use this profile” and click Apply > OK.
• Also, from the available profiles, select the problematic profile, and click Remove. Confirm the removal.
• Start Outlook. You should be able to view the groups now.

8. Rebuild Outlook OST File

You can rebuild the OST file that could have become inconsistent or has errors preventing Outlook from accessing or storing new information, including groups. The steps to safely recreate or rebuild the Outlook OST file are as follows:

• Close Outlook (if running) and press Windows + R.
• In the Run dialog box, type %localappdata%/Microsoft/Outlook and press the Enter key or click OK to open the location where the OST file is stored. 
• You will see the OST file location in a new File Explorer window. Rename the OST file associated with your email account by adding the .bak suffix. For instance, if the file name is marie@abc.com.ost rename it to marie@abc.com.ost.bak.

• After creating the backup of original OST file, close all the windows and start Outlook.
• Outlook will automatically create a new OST file as it can’t find the old one at the same location and start synchronizing/downloading all mail items from the mail server to the new OST file.
• You should now be able to access all mail items, including Office 365 Groups that you have access to.

Make sure to check all mail folders and items are available in the new OST file after the synchronization is complete. In case you find missing mail items or folders, you can use an OST to PST converter tool, such as Stellar Converter for OST to extract and restore those missing mail items in a few clicks. You can convert the backup OST file to PST format using the software and then import this converted file (PST) into your new OST file via the Import Export wizard in Outlook. You can also use the software to directly export all the mail items from the OST file to your Office 365 or Exchange Server account with complete integrity and precision.

Conclusion

If you are experiencing the Office 365 Groups not showing in Outlook issue, follow the solutions discussed in this post to resolve the issue and restore the visibility of Office 365 groups. The issue may also occur when the OST file becomes inconsistent or inaccessible. In such a case, you can use an OST to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for OST. The tool can help you extract and restore mail items from inaccessible or orphaned OST files (up to 50 GB or larger) with complete integrity.

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About The Author

Shelly Bhardwaj

I am a Product Consultant and is associated with Stellar Data Recovery from last 8 years. I write about the latest technology tips and provide custom solutions related to Exchange Server, Office 365, MS Outlook, and many other Email Clients & different flavors of OS Servers. Read More