E-mails In MS Outlook Do Not Get Sent: They Go to the Outbox (Outlook E-mail Stuck In Outbox)
Troubleshooting: E-mails In MS Outlook Do Not Get Sent (They Go to the Outbox) - Method One
It is irritating when e-mails in MS Outlook do not get sent; they go to the outbox instead. The Outlook e-mail, stuck in the Outbox, does not go no matter how many times you hit F9 (Send/Receive). If this is happening to you and the e-mail is stuck in your Outbox, double-click on the message to open it. In the “From” drop-down list, select another e-mail account for sending the message. If it goes through, the problem is solved for many.
However, it may not always be feasible to use another e-mail account for sending the message as the recipients may not recognize this other account. In such cases, I recommend that you remove (and not DELETE) the account through which e-mails in Microsoft Outlook are not being sent. Once you remove the account, create a new account with the same ID. This will fix the problem forever.
I recommend removing instead of deleting the account because when you delete the account, Outlook often keeps the related PST file. When you create a new account after deleting it, Outlook may again use the same PST file and its settings. When you remove an account and create a new account with same ID, Outlook will create a fresh PST file and create all elements again.
Troubleshooting: E-mails In MS Outlook Do Not Get Sent (They Go to the Outbox) - Method Two
If the e-mails in MS Outlook do not get sent and they go to the outbox, you can try opening the e-mail again to type in the recipient’s e-mail address instead of using the contact list. Sometimes the parentheses create a problem that causes Outlook e-mail to be stuck in the Outbox. Typing in the e-mail ID manually and hitting the Send button will send the message.
Again, the method of manually keying in the recipient’s address may be tiring. It is not always easy to remember the e-mail ID, and you may make mistakes while typing. A better workaround will be to overwrite the existing contacts. To do so, follow these steps:
- Select Export from the File menu. If you are using Outlook 2010, open Options from the File menu and click on Advanced. You can see the Export option there.
- In the Import Export Wizard, select Export to a File and click Next.
- Select Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next.
- Select Contacts and click Next. If Contacts is not visible, click on the triangle preceding Outlook in the Import Export Wizard.
- Use the Browse option to select a location for the contacts you are exporting. With this done, click on Finish.
You just exported all the contacts to a safe location using the above method. Now we have to overwrite the contacts folder in Outlook. To do so, open the Import Export wizard again (as explained in step 1 above).
- In the Import Export wizard, select Import from Another Program or File.
- Click Next.
- Select Outlook Data File (.pst) in the list that appears. Click Next.
- Use Browse option to select the file that you created in step 5 above.
- Select Replace Duplicated with Items Imported.
- Click Finish to close the Wizard.
This method overwrites all the contacts in your Outlook to solve the problem when e-mails in MS Outlook do not get sent and they go to the Outbox. These are just two methods. If you know any other method to fix the problem, please share it with others using the comment boxes below.
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Screenshots by author
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The author draws on his own experience with MS Outlook.
This post is part of the series: MS Outlook - Tips and Tricks
This series on MS Outlook assists you use the email software better by offering you different tips and tricks. It helps you create tasks, organize yourself, how to view images in HTML email, and more.
