How to Turn Off Work Offline in Outlook?

Mark Regan
Published: January 15th, 2026 • 4 Min Read

Microsoft Outlook is a globally used email client. It offers the work offline functionality, which is very useful in situations where there are network problems. But in case this function is accidentally switched on, users will not be able to send or receive emails. In this blog, we are discussing how to disable work offline in Outlook using quick solutions.

Microsoft Outlook offers a range of features for both paid and free users. Among the features offered by Microsoft Outlook is the Work Offline feature. This feature allows users to work when they are facing a network connection issue. When this feature is turned on, Outlook disconnects from the mailbox server. However, users are unable to receive any email in their inbox. Similarly, if the user sends emails while the Work Offline feature is enabled, the emails are not sent, it remains in their Outbox folder.

Now we are going to know the way to disable work offline in Outlook, which is described below.

How to Disable Work Offline in Outlook Manually

In this section, we are going to describe how to remove work offline in outlook version 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003 etc. The steps are below.

Steps to Turn Off Work Offline in Outlook

To turn on this feature, you need to follow the steps below carefully:

Step 1: Open Outlook

Open Microsoft Outlook on your computer PC.
Make sure the application is fully loaded.

Now, move to Step 2.

Step 2: Go to the Send/Receive Tab

Go to the menu at the top, click on the Send/Receive tab.
This tab contains options related to sending and receiving emails.

After that, open Step 2

Step 3: Check Work Offline Status

Go to the Work Offline button in the toolbar.
If the button is highlighted, Outlook is currently in offline mode.

Otherwise, proceed to step 4.

Step 4: Disable Work Offline

Click on the Work Offline button to put it in Offline.
If the button is not highlighted.
It means you turned on offline mode.
And your Outlook is disconnected from the mail server.
The Outlook will attempt to reconnect to the mail server.

Now, move to Step 5 to verify connectivity.

Step 5: Verify Connectivity

Now, wait for a few seconds to sync Outlook with your email server.
Then, check your Inbox and Outbox.
And, ensure emails are being sent and received.

After that, open Step 6 restart outlook.

Step 6: Restart Outlook (if needed)

Sometimes, Outlook needs to be restarted to fully reconnect.
Close Outlook and reopen it.
Then, check the Work Offline button.

Done! You successfully turn off work offline in Outlook.

Using the above method, you can easily disable work offline in Outlook.

Now, let’s move to our next section.

Remove Work Offline in Outlook

What if the work offline feature is already not work? If this happens, you cannot disable it.

In some cases, users rarely notice that the Work Offline option is already not working and cannot be changed. This usually happens when the profile faces sync issues.

To solve this problem, you can check our detailed guide on How to Fix the Error: Outlook Work Offline Greyed Out.

Check out the next section to find a quick answer to fix the error.

Convert OST to PST When Work Offline Cannot Be Disabled

Sometimes, after trying the steps, the Work Offline option in Outlook remains not working. Which leads to corruption and makes OST files inaccessible. If this problem arises, then you need to resolve it first. To resolve the issue, you need to use BitRecover OST to PST Converter. With this conversion application, you will be able to create a new PST file.

Final Thoughts

This blog covered how to disable offline work in Outlook and what happens when the offline work feature in Outlook is turned on. Further, we explained how to turn off the offline work in Outlook. In addition, we explained how to turn off Outlook’s offline work feature to make the feature grayed out offline work. To fix the problem, one needs to use the tool mentioned above.