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82 Responses to Delete a Message Stuck in Outlook’s Outbox

1. paulhk on May 17, 2011 at 6:05 am

   Many of the solutions are complex. Here is a simple one.
   Open Outlook, open File menu, select Work Offline (Item should now be checked). This method only succeeds if you now DISCONNECT PHYSICALLY from your wifi or Ethernet network. Go to the Outbox and select the file that’s stuck. Press the Delete key or select Delete. The file will be removed. Reconnect to your network and click again on Work Offline, which should now be displayed as unchecked. You should now be able to use Outlook normally again.
2. outlooktips on May 17, 2011 at 6:30 am

   That’s actually our first recommendation – and disconnecting from the internet is not necessary but Outlook does need a few minutes to release the stuck message. If you wait about 5 minutes, it should delete without issue.
3. David on May 25, 2011 at 6:40 pm

   Tried everything to delete outgoing messages that are hung up including creating a new default database, working off line, working in safe mode, disconnecting from my modum and loading the mfcmapi executable and trying to manually delete. No luck and shuts down mail every time.

   Office 2007. Help!
4. David on May 25, 2011 at 6:43 pm

   Office 2007. Tried all the suggestions to delete two hung messages in outbox (originally from “report junk mail” utility – which I’ve removed). Tried working off line, ditto safe mode and deleting (message already sending), changed data base and loaded mfcmapi executable and followed directions to delete. No luck and shuts down outlook everytime I try to send.
   HELP!
5. news on May 30, 2011 at 12:00 am

   its working now in my system as well thanks for help
6. Wayne on June 5, 2011 at 2:00 pm

   First of all the “Work Offline” is not in the File menu, but the Send/Receive menu. Click on it and restart outlook. You will then be able to delete the file. Click Work Offline again in the Send/Receive tab and restart just to make sure everything is happy.
7. outlooktips on June 5, 2011 at 2:10 pm

   Where you find the Work Offline command depends on your version of Outlook. In Outlook 2007 and older, it is on the File menu (as shown in the screenshots in this article).

   In Outlook 2010, its on the Send/Receive ribbon as seen in the screenshot at http://www.outlook-tips.net/2011/2796/delete-a-message-stuck-in-the-outbox-outlook-2007-2010/
8. Dorrignton on June 8, 2011 at 11:58 am

   This was such a great help. It worked.
9. AZ on June 15, 2011 at 7:44 am

   thanks for the “work offline” option – this really worked!!!
10. Tej on June 16, 2011 at 11:40 am

    Thanks it Worked for me. Saved Lot of time. It was very slow due to the stuck message.
11. CAROL on June 23, 2011 at 11:54 am

    OH THANK YOU!!!!
    I LOVE YOU!
12. neil bautista on July 5, 2011 at 11:58 pm

    WOw! That was very easy. Thanks so much! I dont why others made it so complicated.
13. Karin on July 11, 2011 at 3:48 pm

    Wow what a wonderful site you made me feel like genius thanks for the tip to delete an email stuck in my mail box :)
14. John Tyson on July 18, 2011 at 5:46 pm

    explanation perfect!
15. KeyBridge on July 21, 2011 at 7:59 am

    Thanks PaulHK for your simple solution… and that relates to both the communication and method of accomplishing the objective!
16. hank on July 22, 2011 at 1:11 pm

    thank you, this is the best solution and very easy to do,
    this works
17. Sam on July 31, 2011 at 6:42 am

    worked 1st time! thanks for the advice!!
18. Sarah on August 8, 2011 at 9:14 am

    I can’t believe I looked through three other blog explanations on how to delete a stuck message and ‘open the message and remove the attachment that is too large’ turned out to be the best and most direct answer. Having a forehead slap moment.

    Thank you for having common sense.
19. Bob on August 8, 2011 at 2:10 pm

    Worked great thanks, I was getting tired of problem
20. Isaac on August 11, 2011 at 11:36 pm

    This helped!I wonder what I was asking our IT guys..didnt help!This did!
21. Martin on August 14, 2011 at 3:15 am

    Have tried all of the suggestions, working offline, physically disconnect from router but still no luck. Cannot send or receive emails at all. Have tried to open message and delete attachment but cannot. HELP!!!
22. Diane Poremsky on August 14, 2011 at 6:35 am

    What happened when you tried deleting the attachment?
    How long did you wait? Depending on the message size, you may need to wait longer than 5 min for outlook to release the message.
23. Martin on August 14, 2011 at 6:53 am

    When I try and delete (even when working offline after waiting 30 minutes) by pressing shift and delete i get a dialog box message “Some items cannot be deleted. They were either moved or already deleted, or access was denied”. If I try to open the message the dialog box says “The file c:\…..pst has reached its maximum size”.
24. Diane Poremsky on August 14, 2011 at 10:17 am

    ““The file c:…..pst has reached its maximum size”.”
    Tells me its a different problem. Try deleting the message using Shift+Delete. If that doesn’t help, see Repair a 2GB Personal Folders File for other solutions.
25. Vinod Kumar on August 24, 2011 at 4:18 am

    Solution worked fine, thanks for the solution.
26. Sarah on August 28, 2011 at 1:15 am

    Had massive email with attachment stuck in my outbox. Found your suggested solution. It worked. Thank you!
27. Dan Edwards on August 31, 2011 at 8:39 am

    Thanks for the suggestion, it was so easy to remove the file as you suggested
28. chantal on September 6, 2011 at 6:20 am

    Thanks lots…damn my boss got me to do that and i had no idea but you saved my cute ass :* :* :*
29. Shannon Cox on September 8, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    Hi, I was able to get clean out the outbox after resorting to creating a new pst file but have now lost all of our email folders?? I was able to get some back from the favourite folders section but lost all the others?? Outlook 2003 – Any ideas?
30. Diane Poremsky on September 8, 2011 at 9:58 pm

    You used the instructions to create a new, default pst? After you delete the stuck mail, set the old pst back as default.
31. Roger on September 9, 2011 at 10:11 pm

    I’ve also tried all of the above. I can’t open it to delete attachment as good old Microsoft thinks that it has ‘already started sending’ the bloody message. Shift delete doesn’t work as good old Microsoft insists I don’t have the right privileges and I should skitz out and talk to myself (I am the bl%^Dy administrator)…. offline mode…no good…I have had this email stuck since december. This is driving me NUTS
    :( <—(that's me weeping in frustration lol)
32. Diane Poremsky on September 9, 2011 at 10:15 pm

    How large is the message? Did you set Outlook offline and wait at least 5 min, more if the file is huge? The average large message (under 30 MB) will stop sending within 5 minutes or so but really, really large ones need more time. (I needed to wait about 15 minutes for a 100+ MB message to stop sending.)
33. Roger on September 9, 2011 at 10:31 pm

    Thanks for the reply…I’m off to walk my kids in the park..all is set to offline and I’m disconnected from the net and my modem is off….I’ll see what happens when I get home. The attachment size is 148MB…so maybe I just haven’t waited long enough. I’ll let you know how I go.

    Cheers
    :)
34. Christine on September 10, 2011 at 3:44 pm

    Hi, In my folder it says that there is a message in my outbox which can’t be sent. But if I open the outbox, there is no message, so I’m not able to select and delete it. Nevertheless the outbox is trying to send a message !! Can anyone help me with this ?
    Thanks,
35. alex on September 12, 2011 at 2:23 am

    Guys, i tried everything -diconnecting for 30 min, making new folders etc. -nothing worked, I still had error messages (Outlook 2002)
    Finally I found in this tread solution, very simple. In offline mode I used Shift+delete instead of usual right click menu to delete messages. It immediately worked for file with large atatchment. Amusingly- notmal delete procedure still did not worked for other 5 messages in out box, For each ofthem I had to use shift+delete and only this helped to delete all of them one by one. Hope it will help to others like me
36. Diane Poremsky on September 12, 2011 at 9:50 am

    This may because your data file was “full” – when you delete the message goes into the deleted items folder. Shift delete bypasses the deleted folder and deletes it permanently. If you don’t want to edit and resend the message, Shift+Delete is better.
37. Brad James on September 12, 2011 at 12:08 pm

    I have the same problem as Christine. There is no message in my Outlook 2011 for Mac. Initially, I tried sending a message from Outlook, via Gmail, that was too large because of size restrictions. There error message was the following: 5.2.3 our size guidelines. n27sm14783408yhe.18 .

    I tried to go into gmail… no file is in the outbox or drafts there. I was able to actually delete the message from the outbox, but it still tries to send a message every time.

    Any other thoughts… I’ve tried all of the above methods and still have to deal with constant error messages emerging.

    Thanks.
38. Diane Poremsky on September 13, 2011 at 8:44 am

    When a message is not in Outlook but something tries to send it, its usually antivirus that is configured to scan email at fault. Which antivirus do you use?
39. Christine on September 14, 2011 at 5:48 am

    Hi,
    I’m using Outlook for Mac. There is a message in the outbox, but you don’t see it. So even when I go offline, I don’t see the message and therefore can’t open it and even delete it.
    Any tips for me ?
40. Christine on September 14, 2011 at 5:50 am

    I don’t think I even have an antivirus running……
41. bill on September 23, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    Here is an an easier way. Click on the windows icon on the bottom left tool bar. Type outbox in the search programmes and files and you should see the email and it’s attachments. Delete away!
42. Diane Poremsky on September 23, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    This will only work if outlook isn’t open and still trying to send it… and you need to use Windows Desktop Search (optional in Windows XP).
43. mike on September 26, 2011 at 1:56 pm

    EXCELLENT!! I’ve had an oversized e-mail in my outbox for 11 months and was finally able to delete using Bill’s recommendation above (Outlook 2003).

    As Diane states below, it’s best to close Outlook then use the Windows icon (bottom left too bar) and type “outbox” as Bill stated above.

    This will likely bring up a number of files but if you look closely the items stuck in your outbox will be there also. Before doing this I took Outlook offline but I’m not sure if this is necessary if you’ve closed Outlook.

    Thank you all for your assistance.
44. Diane Poremsky on September 26, 2011 at 4:08 pm

    if you type store:mapi outbox it will limit it to outlook items and may reduce the number of items shown.
45. TinaF on September 29, 2011 at 3:13 pm

    Finally a solution to the problem that’s been plagueing my outbox for a year! Thank you!!!
46. Hans on September 30, 2011 at 9:29 am

    Fantastic !!! I struggled for days and then Googled the problem and came to your site. How simple if you know how !!
    Thanks, I wish all tech-help would be as easy and well described !!!
    JHK
47. Peter D on October 9, 2011 at 7:12 am

    Brilliant, this solved it. Thanks guys, good simple advice.
48. Shah on October 10, 2011 at 1:13 am

    Thank you Bill.

    It worked like a charm. Start the computer – do not open outlook – do per Bill’s message up – search for the email attachment you want to delete – sorting them by size would help – delete the email file – shut down – restart – bingo the stuck email would be gone and may show up in deleted folder – empty it
49. Oscar on October 10, 2011 at 9:19 am

    Thanx, it was a very fast fix, thanks a lot.
50. Teri McCarthy on October 27, 2011 at 8:42 am

    Bill’s method saved me! It worked and I was up and running in five minutes–the too large file had be out of commission for four hours! So amazed by Bill’s help. Thanks!
51. Elizabeth Swoope on October 27, 2011 at 10:25 am

    Bill’s method is a lifesaver! The cancel button no a freebie Word macro to e-mail with attachments didn’t cancel and things went progressively downhill from there. Fortunately, the hundreds of duplicate messages went to MY inbox, but several thousand more were clogging up my outbox. Canceling all operations within Outlook did not work, deleting all the messages from the outbox within Outlook did not work. My computer is deleting over 6000 items in my outbox folder as I’m typing this. Thank you SO MUCH!
52. Roxane on October 27, 2011 at 12:25 pm

    Bill’s method worked!!!! Yahoo!!
53. Richard Rees on November 6, 2011 at 9:24 am

    Thanks for the solution.
    BUT
    every time I send a new e-mail (however small) it keeps getting stuck in the Outbox and doesn’t get delivered. I can receive mails OK but can’t send any! Any ideas?
    Richard
54. Diane Poremsky on November 7, 2011 at 7:50 am

    It is getting marked as read? If you don’t look in the outbox, does it send? Does it send if you use Safe mode? (Close Outlook, hold CTRL and click the Outlook icon to open it. A dialog will come up asking if you want to use Safe mode.)
55. Margaret on November 10, 2011 at 9:13 am

    This worked great! Deleted the whole file.
56. Asheville websites on November 15, 2011 at 7:48 am

    Sooooooooo helpful. Thank you! Going offline and deleting it worked.
57. Laura on November 19, 2011 at 4:55 pm

    Thanks for your help! Bill’s method worked like magic! Finally a clean outbox! Eureka!!!
58. Simon on November 23, 2011 at 12:06 pm

    Thanks for this great post. I had a number of emails with large attachments stuck in the outbox and use the “outbox” method under Win 7 to great effect.

    Simon
59. Wayne on November 28, 2011 at 6:55 am

    Thanks, worked like a charm. Just went to file, work offline. Went into outbox and tagged file and hit delete. Gone in less than 30 seconds.
60. jo on November 30, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    Thanks SO much :)
61. Farhan on November 30, 2011 at 11:16 pm

    Thank you very much for this GREAT! information.

    It help me alot.

    BEST REGARDS,

    Farhan
62. Rick on December 1, 2011 at 3:42 pm

    Thank you paulhk!!! Your solution Worked instantly! And so easy!!! Why does MS not bother to fix such a pesky nuisance??? Talk about user un-friendly.
63. ellie on December 2, 2011 at 7:57 pm

    I’ve been trying to get rid of the email in the outbox for 2 days. Thank you.
64. peter on December 16, 2011 at 9:07 am

    the explanation of how to delete an unsent message from outlook gave the crucial factor that you need to wait after setting your inbox to work offline.

    “Brilliant” as I am the proverbial idiot when it comes to matters like this but now …………….move over Bill Gates.
65. bjmartens on December 17, 2011 at 8:40 pm

    I’ve tried to do everything Paul suggested and I waited for a couple of hours but the stuck email is still there. It was a reply to a fairly small email without any attachments I went to File/Work Offline/Outbox and clicked Delete and nothing happened, then I tried Shift/Delete and got the “are you sure” message. I clicked Yes then I got this message: this item could not be deleted. It was either moved or already deleted or access was denied. I waited over an hour then tried the same thing again with exactly the same results. This is my business email client and I’m sure I’m losing business emails. Please help!!!
66. Diane Poremsky on December 18, 2011 at 9:32 am

    What tye of account is configured in Outlook – ie, POP3, IMAP, or Exchange?

    If Exchange, right click on the folder and choose properties then click the button to clear offline items. You can also log into OWA and see if the message is stuck in your outbox.
67. Praveena on December 20, 2011 at 1:43 am

    Thanks a lot. The problem was instantly rectified. Thanks a lot.
68. Lorraine on December 20, 2011 at 1:41 pm

    Wish I had looked this article up before I wasted valuable time trying to delete the stuck file. My problem was that as soon as I opened Outlook it immediately started sending the stuck file. I didn’t think to work offline to stop the send function. I’ve learned my lesson and there won’t be a next time.
69. Susan on December 21, 2011 at 3:35 pm

    I’m so glad I came across this article. Your “work offline” method worked well and quickly. My headache is now disappearing. Thank you!!
70. alaa on December 27, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    THX ALOT GUYS IT WORKED
71. Srinivas Naveen on January 5, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    Thanks…paulhk

    you are too smart…

    it was working :)
72. Dieter Freezer Disco on January 9, 2012 at 10:19 am

    Thanks for advice on how to delete stuck message in Outlook. I openend Outlook offline, waited a bit and then deleted a movie that got stuck in my outlook for a couple of days.
73. Ed on January 13, 2012 at 1:12 pm

    I too had stuck Outlook2003 messages in the Outbox. I tried all of the above to no avail but a shutdown/reboot/restart always seemed to work. I have finally worked out the real solution:

    Archive off as much as possible in order to reduce the size of the PST file
    File | Archive
    - Then scroll to the top of the Archive window select “Personal Folders” and turn it blue by selecting it.
    - Choose a date. I chose anything older than 1/1/2011.
    - Name your archive file. I called mine outlook2010.pst
    - check the box for Include items….
    - OK

    If, in the future, you need to retrieve anything that might be in that archive, File | Open | Outlook Data File | then pick that file. It will open as another “Personal Folders” at the bottom of your All Mail Folders window. You should close it when done.

    I suppose that Outlook 2003 has sensitivity to very large .pst files.
74. Maurita on January 14, 2012 at 7:18 pm

    I LOVE YOU – whoever wrote this – I love you. fix number one (search Outbox in the start menu) worked like a charm!!!
75. Diane Poremsky on January 16, 2012 at 12:55 pm

    This indicates the pst file may be near its maximum size. ANSI pst have a limit of 1.87 GB and between 14,000 and 65,000 messages per folder. With Outlook 2003 you should be using a Unicode format pst which has virtually unlimited file and folder sizes.
76. Diane Poremsky on January 16, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    Bill gets the credit for that nifty trick. :)
77. Ephraim Joel Willmarth on January 31, 2012 at 2:06 pm

    Bill’s method worked for Outlook 2007 running on Windows Vista Business. Thank you very much for helping to resolve a frustrating problem!
78. Bertram Pender on February 1, 2012 at 3:36 pm

    Used the offline method. Changed outlook to ‘work offline’ in the file menu, closed outlook and reopened it. Then located the email, and deleted it; 1 shot, worked like a charm.
79. Wilfredo Sy on February 1, 2012 at 5:05 pm

    It work ! Using Bill’s Method.
    Thank you very much!
80. Karen on February 2, 2012 at 4:23 am

    My outbox shows (1) to the side of it like there is an outgoing email, but when I open the outlook box there is nothing there to delete. I tried right clicking to “delete all” “clean up folder” etc and nothing happens. It does show 1 Item , 1 Unread at the bottom left but there is not an email showing to delete. Any suggestions?
81. Diane Poremsky on February 2, 2012 at 5:31 am

    What type of email account? The outbox folder looks like the last outbox folder in this screenshot?
    

    Did you try using MFCMapi to see if there is a message stuck in some hidden state? The steps are here: delete message that keeps resending

    If the sent item doesn’t properly move to the sent folder and you have ‘show total count’ enabled instead of ‘show unread count’, you’ll see a number in green brackets. Blue parenthesis means unsent mail is in outbox. If you use a server-based account and have “invisible” messages in outlook (either blue or green numbers), you might see the message in the online copy of the outbox.
82. Karen on February 2, 2012 at 6:41 am

    It’s the third one with the (1) in Blue. I did not try using MFCMapi as of yet – it looked complicated to me! I went to the online email through explorer (we have microsoft exchange server) I did not find an “outbox” there. When I send an email going through here … the email goes immediately.