Part of:Troubleshooting Microsoft productivity apps in Android
How to fix Outlook when it's not syncing on Android
When using Outlook on an Android phone or tablet, syncing issues are a frustrating possibility. IT must know how to direct users when emails, calendars or contacts aren't syncing.
Outlook syncing issues can appear in a few different ways on Android devices, but users can often solve these problems with some simple troubleshooting steps.
Microsoft Outlook enables workers to access their enterprise emails, calendars and contacts from anywhere, as long as they have a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. Still, users often encounter syncing issues that can disrupt their access to Outlook services.
In some cases, IT administrators can provide users with directions for addressing the problem themselves. Other times, admins might need to work directly with Android devices, depending on how they're managed and who owns them.
Not all problems are on the device side, however. They might stem from the systems or services that support the email services, such as an Exchange Server or network router misconfiguration. Problems can occur at any level of the service delivery stack. Syncing issues might stem from the following areas:
Device. An older device might not be able to support the latest version of Outlook. For example, the device might not have the right hardware to run a version of Android that Outlook requires.
Android OS. A device might be running an older, unsupported version of the Android OS, or an OS setting might affect Outlook's syncing capabilities.
Outlook mobile app. The mobile app itself might be misconfigured or outdated, or its cache might be overly full.
Outlook account. The account connecting to the email server might be misconfigured, or a change, such as a password reset, might have occurred recently.
Other software. If the Android device is running other software, including other email clients, it might interfere with Outlook's operations in some way.
Network.Network issues, such as a disruption in the cellular network, can affect Outlook's syncing operations.
Server. Syncing issues might result from problems in the IT systems, such as a misconfigured user account, an interruption in Exchange services or an incorrect MDM setting.
Users might also encounter syncing issues if they're running Outlook and other email clients, such as Gmail, at the same time. The app settings might conflict with each other, or an app update might introduce a bug that affects Outlook's syncing capabilities. Multiple email apps might also vie for the same device resources or network resources.
In Outlook for Android, it's possible to use either the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) or Post Office Protocol (POP) to connect to different types of email accounts, including Outlook on the web and Microsoft 365. These protocols typically support email systems that still rely on older technologies, whereas Microsoft systems tend to use more modern protocols. In addition, IT can only use IMAP and POP to sync emails, not calendars or contacts.
Troubleshooting Outlook not syncing on Android
Outlook syncing issues can appear on Android in a few different ways. The three most common issues are emails not syncing, calendars not syncing and contacts not syncing.
Outlook emails not syncing
Users might sometimes find that their Outlook app is not showing recent emails or is otherwise out of sync. When email syncing problems occur, IT should instruct users to try the following steps:
Make sure the device has network connectivity, whether it's connecting through a Wi-Fi or cellular network.
Check that they've set up their Outlook account correctly. They should confirm that they've been using the right username and password for each account and that the account's server settings are properly configured. The user can go to their service provider or an IT admin to find this information.
Make sure the device is running the latest version of Outlook. Users can download the most recent version from the Google Play Store.
Review Outlook's filter, sort, junk email and sync settings. A misconfiguration could prevent the user from viewing their email messages.
Verify that the device has the memory and storage resources necessary to support Outlook and other apps.
Reset the Outlook account. In Outlook, click on the profile icon in the top-left corner of the screen, followed by the Settings icon. Go to Accounts > [account name] > Reset Account. Follow the prompts.
Quit Outlook and then relaunch it. It might also help to restart the Android device before relaunching the app.
Clear the Outlook app cache. Open the phone's Settings and go to Apps. Then, go to Outlook > Storage & cache > Clear cache.
Remove and re-add the Outlook account. In Outlook, go to Settings > Accounts > [account name] > Remove Account. Follow the prompts. After the account has been removed, navigate to the Accounts tab again and select Add account. Follow the prompts.
Uninstall Outlook on the Android device and then reinstall it from the Google Play Store. Add the user's account.
Sign in to Outlook on the web or on a desktop and verify that the user can connect to their account. If not, notify the appropriate support team in case the problem is on the server side. Even if the user can connect to their account, there still might be a server-side issue, which IT will need to address.
Reset the device's network settings. In the phone's Settings, go to System > Advanced > Reset options. Then, tap Reset network settings.
The steps to find certain settings might vary slightly between Android models, so users should refer to their carrier's documentation to find the most accurate instructions for their device. If none of these steps work, escalate the issue to the appropriate support team so they can troubleshoot it. Several factors can cause server-side syncing issues. For example, an email server might be down, or there might be a disruption in a cloud service. In some situations, an issue can be resolved quickly or without help from IT, as in the case of cloud services. At other times, admins must take more aggressive steps to get to the root of the problem.
The key detail to figure out is whether the problem is unique to the Android device itself or it occurs no matter how a user accesses Outlook.
The exact troubleshooting steps depend on the circumstances. For instance, a user might experience connectivity issues because a proxy autoconfiguration file is not set up properly or an ActiveSync quarantine rule is blocking their mobile device. Likewise, Outlook email attachments might not render correctly because other Office mobile apps are not installed on the device.
The key detail to figure out is whether the problem is unique to the Android device itself or it occurs no matter how a user accesses Outlook. Resolving the issue also depends on how the email is being delivered and the amount of control the IT team has over the email platform. If users run into syncing issues with their Gmail accounts, for example, IT teams can do little about Google's server operations.
Outlook calendar not syncing
Much like email syncing issues, calendar syncing issues are often on the client side. In addition to the troubleshooting measures from the previous section, users can try the following steps:
Verify that the user's calendars are enabled. In Outlook, go to the Calendar tab. Open Settings and ensure that the correct calendars are selected.
Check their calendar's permissions. In the device's Settings, go to Apps and notifications > Outlook > Permissions > Calendar. Make sure the Allow option is enabled.
Check whether the email account is using IMAP and POP rather than a protocol that fully supports Outlook's calendar features. The user might need to delete the account and then re-add it using the correct protocol.
If none of these steps work, admins need to dig deeper on the server side. As with email syncing issues, the first step is to confirm that the servers or services are working as expected. For example, an online service might experience unexpected downtime during maintenance.
Admins might also need to check for misconfigured accounts and services, whether on-premises or in the cloud. In addition, they should look for calendar-specific misconfigurations in their management platforms, such as an MDM setting that inadvertently disables calendar syncing.
Be aware of the potential security risks that can come from users syncing their Outlook calendars with the native Calendar app available on Android devices. Users might inadvertently expose sensitive data or grant users or apps overly broad access to calendar events, for example. Depending on the scenario, calendar syncing could also increase the data attack surface.
Outlook contacts not syncing
Contact-related syncing issues require the same troubleshooting process as when emails are not syncing. Additionally, users should try the following steps:
Check their contact permissions. In the device's Settings, go to Apps and notifications > Outlook > Permissions > Contacts. Make sure the Allow option is enabled.
Check whether the account is using the right email protocol. If not, delete the account and then re-add it using the correct protocol.
If users cannot resolve their contact syncing issues with these steps, admins must troubleshoot the issue on the server side. After checking for service disruptions, they should look into account and service configurations, as determined by their email and management platforms. For example, contact synchronization might not work on users' devices because it was inadvertently disabled in an Intune app protection policy.
Robert Sheldon is a freelance technology writer. He has written numerous books, articles and training materials on a wide range of topics, including big data, generative AI, 5D memory crystals, the dark web and the 11th dimension.
