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Outlook 2013 Absolute Beginner's Guide Diane Poremsky [Outlook MVP]


Tip 264: Email Won't Send

Having a problem making Outlook send email?

Causes we're aware of include:

  1. An add-in that marks items read if you view the Outbox. See After viewing the Outbox, messages won't send for more information. 
  2. Not authenticating properly with the mail server. Check your account settings.
  3. No default email account set. This is may happen when you use a preconfigured script provided by the mail server administrator.
  4. Using a program that access the pst or ost data, such as MSN Desktop Search. Reboot and disable the search before starting Outlook to make it work.

Published June 14, 2005. Last reviewed on December 21, 2012.

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10 Comments on "Tip 264: Email Won't Send"

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remie

Please help i can successfuly receive mail but error on sending and this is the ERROR MESSAGE "Task 'my email add - Sending' reported error (0x8004210B) : 'The operation timed out waiting for a response from the sending (SMTP) server. If you continue to receive this message, contact your server administrator or Internet service provider (ISP)."

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November 3, 2016 10:43 pm
Diane Poremsky

Did it ever work with the same settings? Verify your server name, port, and ssl settings are correct.

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November 4, 2016 11:50 pm
BARRY SMITH

EACH TIME I TRY TO SEND A MESSAGE , THIS KEEPS COMING UP AD SUBJECT WHAT DOES IT MEAN, AND WHAT DO I HAVE DO TO SEND MY MESSAGE . THANKS.

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September 12, 2016 1:53 pm
Diane Poremsky

What is the exact error message? Did you type a subject into the subject field?

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September 17, 2016 11:04 pm
JBCralle

At separate time both Apple's iCloud Outlook Add-In and AVG Anti-Virus have stopped my email. Telltale symptom: in Outbox the "Sent" date reads "None." I've uninstalled both and the problem is resolved.

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November 19, 2013 12:28 pm
Al

I've had success by starting Outlook in safe mode at which point I can delete the files that won't send.

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October 6, 2013 3:03 pm
Joe Phillips

I have 3 messages stuck in outbox (all less than 100kb). Send and receive goes through and reads complete. Items remain in outbox? Any ideas?

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July 20, 2011 2:33 pm
Diane Poremsky

Do you get any error messages when you try to delete them? Can you delete them if you set offline and wait 5 minutes?

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July 20, 2011 5:06 pm
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