What to Do When Emails Get Stuck in Outbox?

Read time 10 minutes

Imagine a postman trying to pass through a door opening with his big bag of letters, and he gets stuck for some reason. He repeatedly attempts to get to the other side but fails continuously.

Similar is the situation for Outlook emails that get stuck in Outbox. You may sometimes notice that your emails are not displayed in Sent items or not delivered to the recipient even after sending them multiple times. This could leave a bitter impact on smooth email communication.

Emails getting stuck in Outbox have become a common issue faced by many users of all versions of Outlook. After multiple failed attempts, the message gets trapped in Outbox, andOutlook displays error messages. It is required to get rid of this error as soon as possible, and this blog will help you understand all about it and how to overcome it easily.

Why do Emails Get Stuck in Outbox?

There are many possible reasons for Outlook not being able to send emails and getting stuck in Outbox, and here are some of them-

• Emails get stuck due to large attachments i.e., the size of the attachment exceeds the size limit allowed, and that either halts or slows down the sending process.
• Weak internet connectivity or bandwidth.
• Due to email authentication settings.To screen forged emails i.e. verifying or checking that the email is from the actual sender only, the malicious or deceptive emails are blocked.
• Opening and viewing that very message or email in Outbox which is in process of sending.
• The email is marked as viewed in the Outbox due to an installed add-in.
• The Outlook account is not authenticated by the mail server.
• The mail server or Outlook becomes offline.
• The send/receive settings are incorrect, and the email sending gets halted.
• Outlook is in use with another program. This means the existence of any software on your system which has access to your Outlook data files.
• The password you typed is wrong or you have changed your email account password.
• Absence or non-existence of default email account.
• Antivirus or anti-spam on your system is scanning outgoing mail.

How to Send Emails that Got Stuck in Outlook Outbox?

After knowing all the possible causes of the problem, let’s understand how to resolve it easily.

Before you start with any of the given methods, ensure that the internet connectivity is good. Slow or poor connectivity may hinder sending emails, especially emails having large attachments.If you are experiencing any problem with your current network, immediately change into a strong and stable connection. Now, let us look into the methods one by one-

Method 1: Change the Outlook connection status:

Before moving to the resolution, check the state of the mail server. If the mail server is offline, your email messages will remain in the Outbox folder until the server state changes from offline to online status.

You can quickly check and change the state of the mail server within a few simple clicks which are as follows-

Step 1: Look in the right-hand corner of Outlook. You will see Connected or Connected to Microsoft Exchange. If it is “Connected,” then the problem is not related to the server status.

Step 2: Suppose the state is Working Offline, then go to Send/Receive tab and click on Work Offline to disable it. After doing this, you will have to send the email again.

Step 3: If the status is Disconnected, check the internet connection, and set it right.

Method 2: Try Resending the Email:

If the email is stuck in the Outbox folder, you must try sending it again. But this time, double-check your network, ensure you are connected to the server, and decrease the attachments with the mail. If it leaves the Outbox folder successfully, then your problem is solved.

Method 3: Check the email settings

You may even check the email setting whether you have set the mode of ‘send later’ or ‘delayed sending’. Such delayed sending setting will result in the showing of Outlook emails stuck in Outbox. Either remove this setting or wait till the time of sending is reached.

Method 4: Look for changes in the password

When the password of your email account and Outlook account do not match, then, Outlook emails are stuck in Outbox. Thus, if you change the password for your email account then you must change the password of your Outlook account as well. Changing of password for either Outlook or your internet email account or outlook data file follow the under given process to do this:

1. Open Outbox.
2. Click on File.
3. Click Account Settings.
4. Click on the account of which you wish to change the password.
5. Click Change.
6. Enter the new password.
7. Click Next.
8. Click Finish.

The process to be followed to change the password for the Outlook data file:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Right-click on your email account.
3. Click Data file properties.
4. Click Advanced.
5. Click Change password.
6. Enter your Old password.
7. Enter your new password.
8. Confirm your new password.
9. Click Ok.
10. Exit all windows.

Method 5: Run Outlook in Safe Mode

The option of Safe Mode allows the user to open any application in a diagnostic mode. This enables eradicating all the minor troubles and interference via add-ins and, later, safely opens the Outlook application. You can press the Windows and R keys together, type outlook/safe, and click on Ok to run the command.

Method 6: Try an OST Conversion Tool:

There are many other manual methods apart from the ones mentioned above, like reducing the size of attachments and inputting the password every time you change it. You can also try Inbox Repair Tool, as Outlook stores all the information in the OST file.

If none of the manual methods works well to resolve the problem, using the Kernel for OST to PST tool is highly recommended. The tool works proficiently to resolve corruption and damages in OST files. The OST to PST converter tool works effectively even on large-size OST files and splits them as per the requirement of the user.

Get an idea of the Kernel for OST to PST software working with these procedural steps.

1. Launch the installed Kernel for OST to PST tool on your system.
2. On the Welcome Screen, click Browse to add your OST file directly from the system folder location or use the Search option to find the file in the specific drive.



3. Once the OST file is successfully added, click Next.



4. All the mailboxes’ content within the OST file will get retrieved. Select any OST file folder item to view its complete content preview. After this, click the Save option from the top menu.



5. Select PST from the list and click Next.



6. Now, add desired filter options like metadata, item type, and date range to move only specific data to the PST file. Then click Next.



7. Use the Split option to split your converted PST file into multiple small-sized PST files with a specific size interval, attach a prefix to converted files if you want, and click Next.



8. Next, click on the Browse option to provide the saving location for the converted file, choose Saving Preferences and click Finish.



9. The conversion of the OST file to the PST file will start and be completed soon.

The process is easy to perform, and you can try it using the free trial version available to download on the software website.

Conclusion

When Outlook users try to send emails, sometimes they get stuck in Outbox without being delivered. This error may occur due to many reasons like incorrect Send/receive settings, offline mail server or Outlook, Outlook in use with another program, and so on. They may get error messages too. However, this can also be resolved with the right solutions which have been discussed in detail above. Users can try to resend emails, try to change the connection status of Outlook, or use any manual method that fixes their issue. If not, they can try OST to PST conversion tools to fix the issue.

Watch Video: To Fix MS Outlook Emails Get Stuck in Outbox