What to Do If You're Having Trouble With Outlook.com (2024)

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This article explains how to check if Outlook.com is down on Microsoft's end or if it's an issue with your computer or local network and how to solve most common causes. Instructions in this article apply to all Microsoft Outlook, Hotmail, MSN, and Live services.

How to Tell If Outlook.com Is Down

Can't access your email and you're not sure who's at fault? Check these places first to see if it's down for everyone or not.

1. Visit the Microsoft 365 Service Status page to see the service status of Outlook.com. If a green checkmark displays next to Outlook.com, then from Microsoft's perspective, everything is working correctly with the Outlook.com service.

   If the web page displays a red or yellow symbol next to Outlook.com, Microsoft is currently experiencing an issue and is aware of the problem. Comments next to that symbol can help you uncover what's going on.

   

2. Another way to check if the Outlook.com website is down is to use a web service such as Down For Everyone Or Just Meor Down Detector. If those websites show that Outlook.com is down after entering the web address, chances are it's down for everyone or for a vast majority of users. If this is the case, wait for Microsoft to fix the issue.

   

   Down Detector shows how many users reported issues over the last 24 hours or longer. Down Detector checks if Outlook.com is experiencing problemssporadically (working sometimes, but not loading other times).

3. If you're an X (formerly Twitter) fan, search it for #Outlookdown. If the site is down for everyone, somebody has probably already tweeted about it. Pay attention to the post timestamps to ensure that they're not discussing an earlier time that Outlook was not working.

If problems are being reported, you'll likely need to wait until Microsoft fixes the problem. If no one else is reporting a problem with Outlook across these services, though, the problem is almost certainly on your side.

How to Fix Outlook.com Issues

If the Outlook.com status is up and running but you can't sign in, the problem may be with your computer, network, or service provider.

To troubleshoot Outlook.com if you see a green checkmark on the service status page but you're having problems with your mail service, try these fixes in the order presented:

1. Close and reopen your web browser. There could be a memory issue or some other temporary problem that get's cleared away upon restart of the program.

2. Clear the browser cache. If you only want to clear the cache for the page you're on, press and hold the Ctrl key, then press F5. This clears the cache and reloads the Outlook.com page.

3. Restart your computer. This clears temporary files and other cached files that prevent the Outlook problems to resolve even though the service is back up.

4. Flush the DNS cache. Press the Start button, enter cmd, and select the command prompt app. Then, type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.

   DNS servers identify the IP address of domains that you connect to with a browser. When IP addresses change, cached DNS settings cause your browser to continue to access the old, incorrect IP address.

   

5. Restart your router. Unplug your home router, wait 30 seconds, and then plug it back in. The router reconnects to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and re-establishes your internet connection. Connect to Outlook.com to see if the issue is now resolved.

If Outlook.com is still down after you perform these steps, your internet service provider is likely denying access to the website. Call your ISP to check if other subscribers are having similar issues.