Top 5 Ways to Fix Microsoft Outlook Stuck on Updating Inbox on Windows (2024)

While Microsoft Outlook is a reliable email client, occasional glitches are not entirely uncommon. A specific issue you may encounter while using Outlook on your Windows 10 or 11 computer is when the app becomes stuck while updating your inbox. This seemingly endless cycle can be inconvenient and potentially impact crucial communications.

When relying on Outlook for work or personal communication, encountering such issues can disrupt your workflow. Below, we’ll guide you through some quick and useful tips to help get Outlook to update your inbox on Windows.

1. Disable Cached Exchange Mode

Cached Exchange Mode (CEM) is a feature available in Microsoft Outlook that allows you to keep a copy of your Exchange mailbox on your local computer’s hard drive. This feature provides you with offline access to your emails, contacts, and tasks. However, sometimes Outlook may get stuck on inbox updates due to CEM.

You can start by disabling Cached Exchange Mode in Outlook to see if that solves the problem.

Step 1: Open the Outlook app and click the File menu at the top-left corner.

Step 2: In the Info tab, click on Account Settings and select Account Settings from the list.

Step 3: Select your email account and click the Change button.

Step 4: Clear the ‘Use Cached Exchange Mode to download email to an Outlook data file’ checkbox and hit Next to save changes.

Restart the Outlook app to check if the issue still persists.

2. Delete the OST File

Another reason why Outlook may not update your inbox is if the OST files associated with your account have become corrupted. In that case, you will need to delete the problematic Offline Outlook Data (OST) file. This will force Outlook to rebuild the file from scratch, resolving the issue.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box. Type the following path in the text box and press Enter.

%localappdata%/Microsoft/Outlook

Step 2: In the File Explorer window, select the OST file associated with your account and click the trash icon at the top to delete it.

3. Open Outlook in Safe Mode

One of your add-ins may be causing the Outlook app to become stuck while updating your inbox and outbox. If you suspect that is the case, you can open Outlook in safe mode. For that, press and hold the CTRL key on your keyboard and double-click the Outlook shortcut. Then, select Yes to confirm.

Once Outlook opens in safe mode, check if the app updates your emails as expected. If it does, you should disable all the add-ins and re-enable them one at a time. This will allow you to determine which add-in is causing the issue.

Step 1: Click the File menu at the top in the Outlook app.

Step 2: Select Options from the left pane.

Step 3: Switch to the Add-ins tab and use the drop-down menu next to Manage to select COM Add-ins. Then, click the Go button.

Step 4: Uncheck the boxes to disable add-ins and click OK.

Restart the Outlook app after this and enable your add-ins one by one. Check your inbox after enabling each add-in until the issue occurs again. Once you find the problematic add-in, consider removing it.

4. Temporarily Disable the Antivirus Program

If Microsoft Outlook is not updating your personal or shared mailbox, your antivirus program may be the cause of the issue. To check for this possibility, temporarily disable your antivirus program and then try using Outlook again.

5. Run the Office Repair Tool

Microsoft offers a dedicated tool for fixing issues with Office apps like Outlook. You can try running this tool to see if that gets Outlook to update your inbox on Windows.

To run the Office repair tool on Windows:

Step 1: Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box. Type appwiz.cpl in the box and press Enter.

Step 2: In the Programs and Features window, select the Microsoft Office product on the list and click the Change button at the top.

Step 3: Select the Online Repair option and click Repair.

This might take a while, so be patient. Once the repair process is complete, check if the issue is still there.

Unlock Your Inbox

Microsoft Outlook, like any other app or program, may encounter issues from time to time. However, that’s no reason to give up and look for alternatives. Going through the above tips should help solve your problem and get Outlook to update your inbox on Windows.