Outlook Not Working: Check Microsoft Service Health, Then Fix

When Outlook or Outlook.com stops working, first check Microsoft’s public service status page at status.cloud.microsoft. If a problem is listed for Exchange Online or Outlook, wait for Microsoft to fix it. If nothing is listed, check storage, your sign-in and your account for a temporary block.

Microsoft’s own support page on Outlook.com says a full cloud storage allowance means you can neither send nor receive email, and that messages sent while the account is full bounce and cannot be recovered. See also our Outlook.com status and Microsoft 365 status pages.

How do I check if Outlook is down?

1. Open status.cloud.microsoft, which Microsoft’s documentation names as the service status page for known issues that prevent sign-in to a tenant.
2. Try Outlook on the web in a private browser window. If webmail works but the desktop app does not, the issue is the app or its profile.
3. Try a different network, such as mobile data, to rule out your connection.
4. Check our live Outlook status for recent reports.

Work and school accounts have a second route. Microsoft’s article “How to check Microsoft 365 service health” says admins sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Health then Service health, and see each service’s state. Service Support admins and Helpdesk admins can view it. If you are not an admin, ask your IT team to check. Our guide to Microsoft Teams problems covers that route in more detail.

Why can’t I send or receive email in Outlook.com?

Microsoft’s support page “Can’t send or receive email in Outlook.com” points to several causes. Work through them in this order:

1. Storage. Check your mailbox storage. If it is full, free space.
2. Password. If you changed your password recently, update it in every app that uses the account.
3. Temporary block. Microsoft says an account can be blocked after unusual sign-in activity, and it provides an unblock process. Use only Microsoft’s official account pages for it.
4. Junk Email. Check the Junk Email folder and its settings. For a legitimate message, select it and choose Mark as not junk.
5. Other tab. Check the Other tab, which can hold messages that filters moved out of the main view.
6. Rules and forwarding. Check that no rule hides the messages and that forwarding is not enabled by mistake.

On the sending side, Microsoft notes that attachments over 25 MB cannot be sent, that a bounce message states the reason, and that new accounts have a low sending limit at first.

Why does Outlook keep asking for my password?

Repeated password prompts in a third-party mail app often come from Basic authentication. Microsoft’s support page says this causes recurring prompts and recommends OAuth, for example by re-adding the account as Outlook.com in Apple Mail. Never enter your password on a page you reached from an email link; go to the app’s settings or to outlook.com directly.

What if only the app fails and webmail works?

If Outlook on the web works, your account and Microsoft’s service are fine. Restart the app, update it, and then try removing and re-adding the account. For phone apps, Microsoft’s page on Outlook mobile issues suggests the app, not the service, is the likely culprit when mail works on a computer.

Symptom	First check
Nothing loads anywhere	status.cloud.microsoft; mobile data test
Webmail works, app does not	Restart, update, re-add account
Sending fails, bounce says mailbox full	Storage
Cannot sign in after unusual activity	Microsoft’s account unblock process
Mail goes missing	Junk Email, Other tab, rules

What if I use a work or school Outlook account?

For a Microsoft 365 account, the status of Exchange Online and other services is in the admin center, and only admins see it. Ask your IT team whether Service health shows an advisory or an incident for Exchange Online. Microsoft’s documentation defines an advisory as a problem affecting some users while the service stays available, and an incident as a critical issue where the service or a major function is unavailable, such as users being unable to send and receive email or sign in.

The admin center also lists statuses such as Investigating, Service degradation, Service interruption, Restoring service and Service restored. Seeing the same wording in an IT notice tells you where the fix stands. For more on reading them, see how to read a status page.

What if Outlook says it cannot connect?

Check the connection first: load any other website, then try mobile data. If the internet works elsewhere, restart Outlook, then your device. Update the app through its official store or Microsoft’s update feature. Remove the account and add it again only if you know the password and have access to any verification prompt, and keep to Microsoft’s own sign-in pages.

Bottom line

Check status.cloud.microsoft first. Then compare webmail with the app, and look at storage, sign-in blocks and Junk Email. Admins have a more detailed view in the Service health page. For the general routine, see is it down or just me.

FAQ

Is Outlook.com the same as Outlook?

Not exactly. Outlook.com is Microsoft’s free web email; Outlook is also the name of the desktop and mobile apps, which can connect to many email services. Status can differ between them.

Where do I see Microsoft’s planned maintenance?

Microsoft’s documentation says planned maintenance is not shown in Service health; admins follow it in the Message center.

Can I report an issue Microsoft has not listed?

Admins can select Report an issue on the Service health page, per Microsoft’s documentation. Other users should ask their administrator.