6 Best Ways to Fix Outlook App Not Working on Mac

Microsoft Outlook is a worthy alternative to the Apple Mail app and offers almost every feature that you would expect from an email app. So, you’ll need to sign in with your Microsoft account and use the app to access and manage your emails.

But sometimes the app stops working properly for some Mac users which further disturbs their workflow. If you are also facing the same, here is a list of solutions to fix the Outlook app not working on Mac.

1. Force Quit and Restart the Outlook App

To begin troubleshooting, you’ll need to force quit and restart the Outlook app. That’ll just reset the app to give it a fresh start. Here’se how you can force quit the app.

Step 1: Click the Apple icon in the top-left corner.

Step 2: Select Force Quit from the list of options.

Step 3: In the Force Quit window, select Microsoft Outlook.

Step 4: Click on Force Quit.

Try to relaunch the Outlook app on your Mac.

2. Update the Outlook App

Moving on to the next solution, you should check for an update of the Outlook app. Installing a new version will squish off the bugs that are stopping the app from functioning properly. Follow these steps.

Step 1: Press Command + Spacebar to reveal Spotlight Search, type App Store, and press Return.

Step 2: Once the App Store window opens, click on Updates in the left menu.

Step 3: If there’s an update available for Outlook, download and install it.

Step 4: Try to launch Outlook and see if it is working properly or not.

3. Run First Aid in Disk Utility

The Disk Utility app on your Mac allows you to examine both the internal and external storage devices connected to your Mac. You can also format the storage drive and create partitions of the storage with the help of Disk Utility. In the case of the Outlook app not working on Mac, we suggest using the First Aid feature for checking and repairing any possible storage errors. Follow these steps.

Step 1:  Press Command + Spacebar to open Spotlight Search, type Disk Utility, and press Return.

Step 2: In the Disk Utility window, click on First Aid.

Step 3: Click on Run to start First Aid.

Step 4: Click on Continue to confirm your choice.

Step 5: Once Disk Utility repairs your disk, close the window and try launching the Outlook app.

4. Disable Preview for Encrypted Email

Outlook offers the Encryption feature that lets you protect any confidential information you share in your email message. This feature is useful when you don’t trust the recipient’s email provider to be secure. If the Outlook app is still not working on your Mac, you should try disabling the Preview feature for Encrypted email, which might be freezing the app. Follow these steps.

Step 1: Force Quit the Outlook app by following the steps mentioned above.

Step 2: Press Command + Spacebar to open Spotlight Search, type Terminal, and press Return.

Step 3: In the Terminal app, type the following command and press Return.

defaults write com.microsoft.Outlook DisablePreviewForSMIME 1

Step 4: After this, enter the following command and press Return.

killall cfprefsd

Step 5: Close the Terminal app, click the Apple icon at the top-left corner, and select Restart.

Step 6: After your Mac restarts, try launching the Outlook app.

5. Create a New Outlook Profile

If the Outlook app is still not working, your current Outlook profile may be corrupt. The Outlook Mail profile saves all the settings and configurations related to your account. You can create a new Outlook profile by using Outlook Profile Manager and check if your original Profile is corrupted or not. Follow these steps.

Step 1: Press Command + Spacebar to reveal Spotlight Search, type Finder, and press Return.  

Step 2: Click on Applications from the left menu.

Step 3: Look for Microsoft Outlook and right-click on it to reveal options.

Step 4: Select ‘Show Package Contents’ from the list of options.

Step 5: Double Click on Contents.

Step 6: Double Click on Shared Support.

Step 7: In the Shared Support window, double click on Outlook Profile Manager.

Step 8: After the Outlook Profile Manager opens, click the Plus icon at the bottom to add a new profile.

Step 9: Assign a name to the profile and press Return.

Step 10: Select the newly created profile and click on the three dots at the bottom.

Step 11: Select Set As Default.

Step 12: Force quit and try to relaunch Outlook.

If the Outlook app starts working properly, it means that your original profile got corrupt.

However, you’ll need to repair the Outlook app so that it doesn’t disrupt your workflow. Follow these steps to repair the same.

Step 1: In the Outlook Profile Manager window, select the newly created profile.

Step 2: Click the Minus icon at the bottom to delete it.

Step 3: Click on Delete to confirm your choice.

Step 4: Close the Outlook Profile Manager and open Finder.

Step 5: Select the Go option from the top Menu Bar.

Step 6: Click on Go To Folder from the list of options.

Step 7: Type the following path in the search box and click the first result:

 ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/Main Profile/Data

Step 8: From the Data window, select and drag Outlook.sqlite file to the Desktop.

Step 9: Open the Outlook app and click on Repair when you see the notification.

Once your Outlook Profile gets repaired, it should start working properly on your Mac.

6. Uninstall and Reinstall the Outlook App

If you still can’t use the Outlook app properly on your Mac, your last resort is to uninstall and reinstall the app. You can login again with your account, and everything should be good to go. Follow these steps.

Step 1: Click on Launchpad on your Mac.

Step 2: Find the Outlook app icon and long-press till the icon starts wobbling.

Step 3: Click the X icon to delete the app.

Step 4: Click on Delete again to confirm your choice.

Step 5: Once the app gets deleted, open the App Store and download Outlook again.

Use Outlook App on Your Mac

The Outlook app for the Mac can suffer from hiccups and glitches. Try out the solutions mentioned above to fix whenever Outlook is not working on your Mac. If you wish to improve your email productivity, check our list of best Outlook keyboard shortcuts.