How to Fix the 5 Most Common Outlook for Mac Errors? – (Step-by-Step Guide)
Microsoft Outlook is still a vital piece of software when it comes to business and personal correspondence, and its use on macOS brings together all productivity tools. As every intricate program suite, Outlook for Mac may have its problems and synchronization issues. Having a deadline coming up, getting an error message becomes a very stressful experience.
The following guide is going to help you figure out five main Outlook for Mac errors and troubleshoot each of them.
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1. Outlook for Mac Keeps Crashing or Freezing during Startup
The problem that causes disruption to users is that the Outlook application crashes when it starts up or freezes midway while synchronizing emails. It can result from a corrupted identity database, conflicting background services, or an outdated version of the application.
The Fix:
Upgrade Microsoft Office: Numerous issues that cause crashes come with patches in new updates. Start by opening any Office application such as Word and select Check for Updates under Help in the upper tool bar. Ensure you use automatic updates from Microsoft AutoUpdate.
Create a New Profile: In case the database or profile has become corrupted, opening of Outlook becomes impossible.
- Go to your Applications folder and right-click Microsoft Outlook. Click Show Package Contents.
- Then go to Contents > SharedSupport and click on Outlook Profile Manager.
- Then click the “+” button to create a new profile. Then make it your default one (click on the gear icon).
2. Search Feature Stops Working or Returns No Results
Having a functional search box is essential to handling a large number of emails. It happens many times that for users of macOS, there are no results found by searching through Outlook, spinning endlessly, or not responding at all. It usually happens due to Spotlight indexing getting lost of the local data files of Outlook.
The Fix :
1. Reindex Spotlight for Outlook:
- Open macOS System Settings (or System Preferences).
- Go to Siri & Spotlight (or Spotlight), and select Spotlight Privacy.
- Drag the Outlook profile folder to the privacy list (typically found in ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/)
- Delete it from the list right away. This will force macOS to re-index everything related to your Outlook account.
2. Update Outlook:
There are constant updates from Microsoft in order to resolve search issues. Make sure your application is up-to-date using the Microsoft AutoUpdate feature.
3. “Account Already Exists” Error When Adding a Mailbox
When trying to create an alternate account, shared mailbox, or adding back an already created company account, the program can stubbornly generate an error stating “Account Already Exists”.
The Fix:
1. Delete Cached Credentials from Keychain:
This is where macOS stores your email login credentials and will likely cause the false positive.
- Press Cmd + Space, type Keychain Access, and run the application.
- Type Exchange or Outlook in the search bar on the upper-right side of the window.
- Remove all entries that match your email or login credentials.
2. Make a Clean Profile:
In the event that these measures do not succeed, refer to the guide for Profile Manager as stated in Error #1 for Outlook and create a fresh profile and then run Outlook through that profile.
4. Error 17099 or 3253: Unable to Send Emails with Attachments
If you find that the emails without attachments send without any problem, but those with an attachment get stuck in the Outbox folder with errors 17099 or 3253, it means that you are facing either a timeout issue or security software interference from a third party.
The Fix:
1. Third-Party Antivirus Interference Check:
Software such as Norton Security (Vulnerability Protection component especially) is known to cause problems with Outlook secure sockets connections on macOS platform. You can temporarily disable the web protection feature or update the antivirus to its latest hotfix version.
2. Adjust Outgoing Server Settings:
- Click on Tools > Accounts in the Outlook toolbar.
- Choose your email account and make sure that your port numbers are set correctly according to the provider’s guidelines (587 or 465).
5. Absent or Non-Working Email Signatures and Problems with Formatting
After the usual macOS or Office updates, users tend to complain about the signature function being completely grayed out, the plus sign being non-working for adding a new signature, or header sections being squeezed.
The Fix:
1. Toggling Between New and Old Outlook:
Microsoft provides an option of switching between new and legacy Outlook UI experience for Mac.
- Check the top right corner of your Outlook interface to find the “New Outlook” toggle.
- Change its state to turn off “New Outlook” to go back to Legacy Outlook (vice versa), which fixes issues in UI layout cache.
2. Clear the Caches Folder:
- Uninstall Outlook entirely.
- Access the Finder application, hit the keys Cmd + Shift + G and enter the following: ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.outlook/Data/Library/Caches
- Delete everything from that folder and launch Outlook again.
Epilogue
Technical problems with Outlook for Mac will affect your productivity, but the majority of these issues can be easily sorted using built-in utilities such as Profile Manager, Spotlight indexing, and making sure that all your Microsoft 365 applications are up to date. In case you still have problems, just keep in mind that you always have the option to contact Microsoft support directly from Outlook’s Help menu.