How to Switch from Working Offline to Online in Outlook? Best Solution

  

Nimisha Ramesh   
Published: Mar 24, 2023 • Outlook • 6 Min Read

Microsoft Outlook is, undoubtedly, a feature-rich desktop client that is capable of email management. The essential aspect of Microsoft Outlook is sending and receiving emails. With the Outlook 2010 version, Microsoft introduced the feature of working online or offline for email accounts using Microsoft Exchange Servers. Outlook not receive new emails and not be able to send emails if it is working offline. Instead, to send and receive emails, it will wait for you to switch from working offline to working online.

Now, how would you know if you are working offline? Check with the status bar at the bottom of the Outlook Window. If either of the status indicators given below is shown, then it means that Outlook is not connected to your mail server.

or

Let’s look at how we can reconnect as per the statuses mentioned above.

Status – Working Offline

Users work offline as per their choices. Switching to Working Online can be done in two simple steps.

1. Open Outlook; go to “Send/Receive” tab
2. Click on “Work Offline” option to reconnect.

Notes:

• If the “Work Offline” option has a shaded background, it means you are still working offline. If it is clear, it means you are back online.
• You can also check the status by going to the “Quick Launch Taskbar”. Check if there is a white cross on the Outlook icon, if yes, you are working offline.

• There is another way to check the status by seeing the status bar. If the status displays “Connected”, you are working online.

Status: Disconnected

The reasons for Outlook to show this status are mentioned below. These are a few examples of various reasons.

• There may be an issue with your mail server if your internet connection is working but you are still offline.
• If you are logging into your account from a website, check if you are able to send and receive emails. If it is not working then you need to make a call for technical support to your email service provider for help.
• If the sending and receiving of emails on the website is working, then your email server is alright. In this case, your computer might be needing updates or there could be a problem with your account settings.

If you are using Outlook 2007 version, you can follow the steps given below to switch from working offline to online:

1. Launch Outlook on your local computer
2. Click on the “Files” option
3. Mark the “Working Offline” option. Click on it
4. You will start working online

This method does not require a user having any technical skills. Still stuck in Offline mode? Don’t you worry now you can still switch from offline to online using other methods.

Missing “Work Offline” Mode?

Sometimes, you not be able to see the switch button to work offline in the Outlook Window. This button is usually missing because the email account you are using doesn’t have a mail server which is compatible with Microsoft Exchange.

However, it is possible that the Work Offline button is missing from Outlook even if you are using an email account capable of working offline. In cases like these, what follows are the steps to fix the Work Offline button:

1. Open Outlook on your computer and go to the “File” tab and click on “Info Menu” option

2. After that, go to “Account Settings” and choose “Account Name and Sync Settings”

3. Next, select the “More Settings” button from the “Account Name and Sync Settings” window

4. A window will popup, hit the “Advanced tab” and mark the checkboxes “Use Cached Exchange Mode” and “Download shared folders”.

Warning: The above-mentioned steps have a bug. Outlook shows the “Use Cached Exchange Mode” is checked even if you previously unchecked the box. Even though this option is unchecked, Outlook shows this option to be checked. You need to uncheck and then re-check this option and click on the “OK” button to make sure Cached Exchange Mode is enabled. Exit Outlook and start it again. You will be able to see the Work Offline mode on your Send/Receive tab in Outlook.

If this doesn’t help you, then you can create a new profile to resolve the issue of switching from Working offline to online.

Create New Profile

Follow the steps given below:

• Click on the “Start” menu and browse for “Control Panel”
• Choose the >strong>“Control Panel” option. You’ll find a “View by” option. Ensure that this option is set in large icons
• Next, choose the “Mail (32 bit)”. After that, hit “Show Profiles” option

• Hit the “Add” button
• Fill in a new name for the new profile and hit “OK”

• Check the “Always use this profile” option. Choose the new profile

• Select the “Apply” option and you can open Outlook with the new profile after.

If the issue of working offline to working online is still not fixed by using the method given above, then there may be issues in your PST files. Your PST files may be corrupted causing Outlook to not work in online mode. It can be fixed by using the FreeViewer PST Repair Tool. The tool is capable of recovering damaged PST File and save it as PST, EML, MSG, HTML, and Office 365. This software does not impose oversized PST limitation and can even recover highly damaged files in batch. Let’s take a look at the working of this software.

Download Now Purchase Now

1. Run the software and click on “Add File” option. You can either choose the “Select File” option or “Search File” option

2. Click on the “Search File” option. From there, hit the “Search Selected Drive” option. Click on “Search” button

3. Choose the “Quick Scanning Mode” and click on “Add” button

4. Once the scan is complete, you will be prompted to choose if you want to save the scan, click “Yes”, if not, click “No”

You can choose the “Select File” option to choose single or multiple files as well. In the “Search File” option, the “Select All Drive” option is provided to search data from all the drives.

The software provides support two types of email encryption i.e. SMIME and OpenPGP. You are also offered an “Advanced Scan Mode” to recover the data which is highly corrupted.

The tool supports to view recovered data in these types; Hex, MIME, Message Header, HTML, RTF, etc. It can recover all the data Items of Outlook PST File: Emails with Attachments, Calendar, etc.

Wrap Up

User can simply use the methods mentioned in this blog to switch from offline to online. But, in case none of these methods work, there is a possibility of the PST file to be damaged or corrupted. We have provided the solution to recovering PST files as well as how it works. Users can take the help of PST Repair Tool to recover damaged PST file. This tool doesn’t require the installation of Microsoft Outlook to repair corrupt PST files. It supports Windows 10 (32 bit and 64 bit) and Microsoft Outlook 2019 (32/64 bit) with all below versions.