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.

Outlook email 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, and Outlook starts displaying error messages. It is necessary to get rid of Outlook emails stuck in Outbox 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 Outbox not sending emails and getting stuck, 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 same email in Outbox, which is in the process of sending.
• The email is marked as viewed in the Outbox due to an installed add-in.
• The mail server does not authenticate the Outlook account.
• 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 any software on your system that 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.
• The antivirus or anti-spam on your system scans outgoing mail and prevents it from sending messages.

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

Before starting with any methods, ensure you have stable internet connectivity. Slow or poor connectivity may hinder sending emails, especially with large attachments.If you are experiencing problems with your current network, immediately change to a stronger connection. Now, let us look into the methods to fix Outlook emails stuck in Outbox issue one by one-

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,” the problem is unrelated to the server status.

Step 2: Suppose the state is Working Offline, then go to the 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.

If the emails stuck in outbox Outlook issue still persists, 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.

You may even check the email setting whether you have set the mode of ‘send later’ or ‘delayed sending’. Such a 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.

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, you must also change the password for your Outlook account. Changing 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.

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. Press the Windows and R keys together, type outlook/safe, and click Ok to run the command.

Updating the office apps is one of the universal solutions to fix most of the Outlook problems & Emails Stuck in Outbox Outlook issue is no exception. You just need to follow the steps given below carefully.

• Access Outlook & tap on the File tab. Go to Office Accounts.
• Click on Update Option and tap on Update Now.
• The new Office updates will take some time to be downloaded and all your ongoing issues with Outlook will be resolved.

There are many other manual methods besides those mentioned above, like reducing the size of attachments and inputting the password every time you change it. You can also try the 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 user’s requirement.

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 users experience Outlook Outbox not sending their emails, they sometimes 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 solutions discussed above. Users can try resending emails, changing Outlook’s connection status, or using manual methods to fix their issue. If not, they can try OST to PST conversion tools to fix the issue.