Troubleshooting Outlook on your computer or device

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Overview
Initial troubleshooting steps
Issues with using Outlook on Windows PC
Issues with using Outlook on Mac
Issues with using Outlook on iPad/iPhone

Overview

If you're unable to sign into Outlook (whether on your individual @usc.edu account or on a shared org account), or Outlook inbox has suddenly stopped working, you can try to resolve or narrow down the problem by following our steps below.

Initial troubleshooting steps

Ruling out other issues

Before you try the steps in this guide, you should first try to rule out these common issues:

Are you able to connect to the Internet on other websites/applications?
Are you typing in the correct account/username and passphrase?
Does the issue still occur after you restart Outlook and/or your device?

Outlook device setup issues vs Outlook account issues

Sign into Outlook 365/OWA in your browser (Firefox, Safari, or Chrome) at https://usc.edu/office365 and check whether the same issue occurs:

If Outlook functions correctly in your browser
The issue is with your device's Outlook application setup, and you may be able to fix it by following the troubleshooting steps below. You can also contact our Help Desk directly for assistance.

If Outlook has the same issues in your browser
The issue is with your Outlook account regardless of the device you use to access it, and we recommend contacting our Help Desk directly for assistance. You can submit a ticket to our Help Desk or start a chat with us (red droplet-shaped icon FSchat icon in the bottom right corner of this page).

Issues with using Outlook on Windows PC

Outlook not receiving new emails

Quick fix: Make sure Outlook isn't in offline mode

In the top tool bar, click on Send/Receive. Then, if Work Offline is selected, click on it to deselect it.

Quick fix: Manually refresh Outlook

In the top tool bar, click on Send/Receive. Then, click on Send/Receive All Folders.

Longer solution: Re-create your Outlook Mail profile

If the quick fixes above don't work, it may be that the Mail profile containing your Outlook account and any shared org accounts may have become corrupt. You can create a new Mail profile to see if this resolves the issue:

Removing and re-adding an Outlook account on your computer (see the instructions under "Outlook for Windows PC")

Outlook or Microsoft not recognizing your license

Solution: Sign out of and back in to Microsoft

Your computer may have tried to sign you in with an @dts.usc.edu address instead of your @usc.edu address. To correct this, you will need to switch to a different Microsoft application and sign out, then back in:

Signing out of and back into Microsoft

"Something went wrong" error message when setting up Outlook on a new computer

This error may look like one of the following two screens:

Solution 1: Sign out of and back in to Microsoft

Signing out of and back into Microsoft

Solution 2: Create a new Outlook Mail profile

If Solution 1 does not resolve the error, then the issue may be with the initial creation of the Mail profile. To create a new Outlook Mail profile:

Removing and re-adding an Outlook account on your computer (see the instructions under "Outlook for Windows PC")

"File is in use and cannot be accessed" error message when opening Outlook

Quick fix: Restart your computer and re-open Outlook

In many cases this can be fixed with a simple restart. Quit Outlook, restart your computer, and open Outlook again.

Longer solution: Re-create your Outlook Mail profile

If the quick fix above doesn't work and you still are getting this error message when you open Outlook after restarting your computer, it may be that the Mail profile containing your Outlook account and any shared org accounts may have become corrupt. You can create a new Mail profile to see if this resolves the issue:

Removing and re-adding an Outlook account on your computer (see the instructions under "Outlook for Windows PC")

Changing the default "from" address to another Outlook account

Typically, your USC email address is the default sender when you compose an email, but you may want to change the sender from your own account—for instance, maybe you're sending out a mass email and want the sender to display as the shared org account your department uses.

Make sure that you were granted delegate access to the account before you follow the guides linked below:

Changing the "From" address on a single email
Changing the default "From" address for all emails (useful for mail merges)

Unable to send from shared org account

Solution 1: Manually add the account to your Outlook

Make sure that you were granted delegate access to the account. If you were able to successfully access the account in the past, you can try to manually re-add the account:

Adding a shared org account (Click on "Add the org account to your inbox in Outlook for PC" to view the steps)

Solution 2: Access the account using a different Mail profile

If you don't mind logging out of your own @usc.edu account and into the shared org account separately (rather than having the shared org account mailbox open automatically when you sign into your @usc.edu account), you can create a separate Mail profile that only contains the shared org account's information:

Create a Mail profile for the shared org account (follow the steps under "Change the 'from' address on a Windows PC")

Other issue not addressed above

We recommend submitting a ticket to the DTS Help Desk so one of our technicians can investigate the issue. For instance, we can run Microsoft repairs and updates or even re-install Office.

Issues with using Outlook on Mac

Outlook not receiving new emails

Quick fix: Make sure Outlook isn't in offline mode

In the top menu bar, click on Outlook to open a dropdown menu. If there is a checkmark to the left of "Work offline," click on Work offline to turn it off.

Quick fix: Manually refresh Outlook

In the Outlook toolbar, click on Send & Receive.

Longer solution: Update your Outlook login credentials

If you recently updated your USC NetID passphrase, you may need to manually enter your new passphrase in Outlook/Exchange before new emails will start syncing to your device again.

One way to do this is to remove and then re-add your Outlook account:

If you use Keychain, you can also delete any saved Outlook/Office credentials there:

Removing old passwords in Keychain Access (you'll want to remove any passwords with "Outlook" or "Office" in their name)

Changing the default "from" address to another Outlook account

Make sure that you were granted delegate access to the account before you follow the guides linked below:

Changing the "From" address on a single email
Changing the default "From" address for all emails (useful for mail merges)

Unable to send from shared org account

Solution: Remove and re-add the account to your Outlook

Make sure that you were granted delegate access to the account. If you were able to successfully access the account in the past, you can try to remove and re-add the account:

Other issue not addressed above

We recommend submitting a ticket to the DTS Help Desk so one of our technicians can investigate the issue. For instance, we can install system updates (often the issue is related to an out-of-date operating system) or even re-install Office.

Issues with using Outlook on iPad/iPhone

I cannot see new emails in Outlook

Solution: Update your Outlook login credentials

If you recently updated your USC NetID passphrase, you may need to manually re-enter your new passphrase in Outlook/Exchange before new emails will start syncing to your device again. The easiest way to do this is to remove and then re-add your Outlook account:

I am constantly being asked for my Exchange password

If you are using Apple's native Mail app to view your Outlook inbox or sync your Outlook calendar to your iOS device, you may get this message after updating your USC NetID passphrase:

Solution 1: Re-enter your passphrase

To manually re-enter your passphrase, open your Settings. Go to Mail > Accounts and select the account name. Then, tap on Re-enter password:

Solution 2: Remove and re-add your account

If re-entering your passphrase does not resolve the issue, a longer but more complete fix is to remove and re-add your account to Apple's Mail app:

Adding and removing an Outlook account in the Mail app (make sure you follow the steps to remove the Outlook account before you re-add it)

None of the above solutions fix my Outlook issue

We recommend submitting a ticket to the DTS Help Desk so one of our technicians can investigate the issue.