Problem with account configuration can also prevent fix MFA prompts not working Outlook from connecting to the mail server, resulting in Offline Mode. Check your Access work or school settings in Windows and remove any accounts you don’t actually use. That way, Outlook won’t try to log in to the wrong domain. If Outlook says Working Offline and won’t budge, you’re probably dealing with a network glitch, a bad setting, or a profile error. Tackling these one by one usually gets things back on track.

Check OST file

• Try opening a browser or running a quick ping test to check if your network’s up.
• And thus, an Offline Storage Table (OST) file is created to save a local synchronized copy of mailbox items.
• However, Outlook may fail to recreate the OST file if it can't connect to the server or your mailbox on the server.
• The intuitive interface of this tool is very smooth and easy to navigate.
• All the modifications are stored locally in the OST data file before syncing with the mailbox server.
• A corrupt or damaged Outlook profile can prevent Outlook from authorizing and connecting to the mail server.

By handling the setup yourself, you make sure Outlook always connects to the right server. If you’re on a company domain, make sure your DNS settings look right. Messed-up DNS can keep Outlook from finding the mail server. Flushing the DNS cache with ipconfig /flushdns sometimes clears up weird issues. Outlook might FixTechGuide login issue guide display an Offline working mode or ‘Disconnected’ if the issue arises with internet connectivity. Outlook could remain in disconnected mode until the connection is back online.

How To Fix Outlook Stuck in Offline Mode?

If you have to keep multiple accounts on one device, set up separate Outlook profiles for each one. Each profile should only connect to its own Office 365 tenant. This helps avoid cross-environment prompts that mess with your connection.

Verify Work Offline Button Status

If you skip patches, the client might stop connecting to Exchange Online or on-premises servers. By keeping unnecessary connections out and your profiles tidy, you keep Outlook connected to the right Office 365 environment. Don’t let secondary Exchange servers manage your device if you don’t have to. Accepting those prompts can shift control away from your main email domain and cause more offline issues. Sometimes Outlook connects to the wrong Exchange environment because of Autodiscover confusion, especially if your computer has several Office 365 or Exchange accounts. Setting up the Exchange account by hand avoids this.

Method 1: Reset 'Work Offline' to Reconnect

If you set up your Outlook profile wrong, it might not log in to Microsoft Exchange or Office 365. Sometimes, people connect their system to several Office 365 environments without realizing it. That can confuse Outlook, especially with Autodiscover, and you end up stuck offline. Reconnect Outlook by checking your connection, disable work offline mode, and relaunch app.





A broken Outlook profile can mess up syncing and keep you offline. We usually suggest making a new profile instead of spending ages trying to fix the old one. From the file explorer ribbon, under the 'Easy Access' drop down menu, you could toggle from "offline" to "online".

Setup Exchange Server Account Manually

Outlook has a Work Offline button under the Send/Receive tab. People hit it by accident all the time, so it’s worth a look. In doing so, you would switch the mapped drive status to "online" and access to the entirety of drive's content would then be possible/granted. If, in any case, you encounter any problems or issues in installing these updates, you must delete and uninstall all the updates and restart Outlook. You may use outdated Office versions, which can lead to further problems.



However, when Outlook cannot connect to the Exchange server, it automatically switches to Offline mode. All the modifications are stored locally in the OST data file before syncing with connection status shows disconnected the mailbox server. Users can also utilize the 'Work Offline' option when there is an unreliable internet connection. When the problem is with the internet connection, Outlook may display Working Offline or Disconnected status. The Outlook may remain stuck in the offline mode until the network is restored. Profile or configuration mistakes cause trouble too.