Outlook not updating or failing to update folders or mail items is a common but serious problem that many Outlook users experience every once in a while. This problem may trigger due to one or more reasons associated with Outlook client, profile, or data files (Offline Storage Table or OST).
Although the mailbox is synchronized and changes can be seen in the Outlook Web App (OWA) or Outlook Web Access and Online Mode, Outlook does not reflect the changes in Cached Mode (also referred to as Offline Mode).
The changes only occur when you restart Outlook or manually synchronize the mailbox by clicking on one of the options under the Send/Receive tab.
- Update Folder
- Send/Receive All Folders
- Send All
If you check the synchronization status or stats, you can see the current time in the Last Synchronized on statistics. However, there is no new email in your Inbox or missing mail items from the mail folders.
Learn More, How to Fix Outlook IMAP Sync Issues?
In this blog, we have discussed the reasons and shared some solutions to resolve the ‘Outlook in Cached Mode profile is not updating folders from Exchange’ problem.
Reasons for Outdated Mail Folders in Outlook Cached Mode
There could be many reasons why Outlook is failing or not updating the mail folders.
- Incompatible or faulty Add-Ins.
- Corrupt Outlook profile.
- Oversized or large OST file.
- Too many mail items in a mail folder or folders in your mailbox.
- Network issues.
- Antivirus conflicts.
- Damaged Outlook program or driver files.
The problem may also occur when the messages are stuck in the incoming item processing pipeline due to unexpected conflicts or corrupt data. The pipeline feature was first introduced in Outlook 2007 that uses the hidden ItemProcSearch folder in your mailbox to process messages before showing them in your Outlook Inbox.
Solutions to Fix Outlook Not Updating Mail Folders in Cached Mode
Below we have discussed all possible solutions to fix the Outlook not updating mail folders in the Cached Mode issue in Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.
Start Outlook with /Cleanips Switch
The /Cleanips switch is used with Outlook to restore receiving new mail items or messages in Cached Exchange Mode. This can help update all mail folders with the latest emails.
The steps are as follows:
- Close Outlook.
- Press Windows + R key.
- Type Outlook.exe /cleanips and press the Enter key or click OK.
This will fix any underlying issue with the Cached Mode in Outlook and may fix the Outlook not updating or synching mail folders issue.
Clear Offline Items to Enable Resynchronization
The Clear Offline Items option is used to clear items in a specific mail folder where you are not receiving new mail items or messages. However, this permanently removes the offline mail items from the folder where you perform this operation. If you are unsure, you may skip this method or take a backup before following the instructions below.
- Start Outlook and right-click on the mail folder, such as Inbox, where emails are outdated or not updating.
- Choose Properties.
- Under the General tab, click Clear Offline Items. This will remove offline messages from your Outlook data file (.ost). Again, make sure you have a backup before confirming.
- Click OK to close the message box.
- Then select the mail folder and press Shift+F9 or click Update Folders to force the resynchronization of your selected mail folder.
If the emails you’re sending are also not synchronizing or updating in Cached Mode, you can enable the ‘Send Immediately When Connected’ option. The steps are as follows:
- In Outlook, go to File > Options > Advanced.
- Under Send and receive, click the Send immediately when connected option.
- Click OK and restart Outlook for the change to take effect.
From now onwards, any email you send will be immediately synchronized with the mailbox server and changes will reflect in real-time.
Adjust the Sync Slider
You can use the Sync Slider in Cached Mode to choose how much data you want to store offline in the Outlook Offline Storage Table or OST file. The more days you choose, the more data is stored in the OST file. Follow these steps to adjust the slider and keep the OST file size small.
- Open Outlook and go to File > Info > Account Settings > Account Settings.
- Double-click on your email profile. This will open a Change Account window.
- Next to Mail to keep offline, adjust the slider to 1 year or less based on the number of emails you receive daily. Do not keep it at ALL.
- Then click Next and then click OK.
- Restart the Outlook for the changes to take effect.
Archive Mail Items to Reduce Mailbox Size
By archiving mail items, you can move older emails to a local PST file and delete them from the mailbox or OST file. This helps reduce the mailbox and OST file size and may resolve the synchronization issue in Outlook Cached Mode. To archive mail items, follow these steps:
- In Outlook 2013, go to File > Info > Cleanup Tools > Archive.
- In Outlook 2016, 2019, or 2021, navigate to File > Info > Tools > Clean up old items.
- Select the Archive this folder and all subfolders option and then click the folders from where you want to archive the mail items.
- Choose the date under Archive items older than.
- Click Browse to choose a save location with the file name. Also, select the Include items with the “Do not AutoArchive” checkbox.
- Click OK.
This will archive all the mail items, older than the date selected, into a local PST file. As a result, the archived emails are no more available in your mailbox or local OST file, reducing the size and making space for newer mail items.
You can create multiple archives or .pst files for each mail folder with the same or different settings based on your needs.
Learn More: How to, Reduce Size of OST file when it reached the maximum Size?
Remove Faulty Add-Ins
You can run Outlook in Safe Mode to find and remove faulty add-ins. When in Safe Mode, Outlook does not load the Add-ins. Thus, if any add-in is causing the problem, it should be fixed in safe mode. Now check if the mail items are updating and the mailbox is synchronizing. If that happens, follow these steps to deactivate or disable the Outlook Add-Ins.
- Launch Outlook and go to File > Options > Add-Ins.
- Click the Go… button and then uncheck all the Add-Ins.
Once disabled, restart Outlook normally and enable one add-in at a time. This will help you find the faulty add-in. Once found, uninstall it from Outlook to permanently fix Outlook not updating mail folders in Cached Mode.
Create New Profile
A corrupt profile can also prevent Outlook from synchronizing mail items as it fails to authenticate or connect to the mailbox server. To fix this, you can create a new profile and set up your email account under the new profile. This should fix the synchronization problem in Outlook. The steps are as follows:
- Open Control Panel and go to the Mail option.
- Click Show Profiles and then click New.
- Enter the new profile name and click OK.
- Enter your email credentials to set up this new profile.
- Once the profile is set up, open Outlook and choose the New Profile if the prompt appears.
- The Outlook will connect and start synchronizing the mail items. This may take a while to complete.
- Once the synchronization or update is complete, you can remove the old profile.
Important Note: Creating a new profile will create a new OST file at the default location where your current OST file is. Once the new profile is created, you must verify the mail items before removing the old profile from Outlook to avoid data loss.
Recreate OST File
When nothing works, you can try recreating a new OST file. To recreate the OST file,
- Close Outlook and copy the OST file to a different location as a backup.
- After backup, delete the OST file from the default location.
- Start Outlook. Since you have deleted the OST file, Outlook can’t find it, and as a result, it creates a new OST file and starts synchronizing and updating all mail items from the mailbox server to your local OST file. This should fix the issue of Outlook not updating mail folders.
After synchronization, check your mail folders and items. If you find missing mail folders or items, you can use Stellar Converter for OST to extract the mail items from the backup OST file and save them to PST format. After the conversion, you can import the PST into your Outlook via the Import Export wizard and restore the missing mail items.
Conclusion
Although Outlook Cached Mode is recommended for Microsoft Exchange and Office 365, you must ensure that synchronized mail items do not lead to oversized or large OST file. Keeping the OST file smaller can prevent OST errors and synchronization issues. If you see outdated mail items in the Outlook client, follow the solutions shared in the blog to fix the issue and ensure OST synchronization. If the issue is not fixed, you can use an OST to PST converter tool, such as Stellar Converter for OST, to extract mail items from inaccessible, orphaned, or inconsistent OST file to PST format and then import the PST into your Outlook profile. Using the software, you can also export the mail items from the OST file directly to Office 365 or live Exchange Server.
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