Easy Outlook Workarounds

Outlook errors with Hotmail too many devices synching

After configuring Outlook to use a Hotmail account on multiple devices or an account with a large number of folders an error occurs when you try to synch:

There are too many devices syncing with this account. To synch using Outlook, try removing another device that is connected with this account such as a phone or another computer.

There is a limit placed on the total number of folders, including subfolders that can sync with Hotmail including use of multiple devices. The more devices you use to sync a large number of folders, the more likely you are to reach this limit.

Workaround: Sync only the folders you absolutely need.

Empty Deleted Items can cause full Exchange Mailbox deletion

When you try to empty your Deleted Items folder, the entire contents of your Exchange mailbox (all content and folders) can be deleted. This issue can occur for the following reasons:

1. Outlook 2010 is installed with an Exchange account in Online Mode, but with an .OST file associated with the profile that could be created after switching from Cached Mode at some point in the past. Or you installed Outlook 2013 (upgrade or side-by-side) and use the Online Mode profile.

• The Exchange account must be in Online Mode (not Cached Exchange Mode) and the Cached Exchange Mode Sync Settings administrative template policy setting is configured.

Workaround Download and install the MSI-based Setup update to Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 Preview to fix this issue.

Important This download is only for people who installed the MSI-based Setup version of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013. Anyone who installed using Office Click-to-Run automatically receives this update.

Search isn’t returning results

When you do a search in Outlook, no results are returned. Instead search returns the following message.

We couldn’t find what you're looking for.

Workaround Office Setup isn’t setting the registry keys correctly or not all keys are configured. You can do a repair to reconfigure the registry keys by doing the following:

2. Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features.
3. Click Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 > Change > Quick Repair.
4. Restart your computer.
5. Give some time to make sure indexing has time to work, and then test search.

Error when connecting to Exchange 2003

When you configure Outlook 2013 for an Exchange 2003 account, you can get the following error message:
The resource that you are trying to use is located on an unsupported version of Microsoft Exchange. Contact your e-mail administrator for assistance.
Workaround Outlook 2013 isn’t supported on Exchange 2003 and connectivity is blocked. Please connect Outlook 2013 to Exchange 2007, 2010, or 2013.
This is no different than Outlook 2000 being unable to connect to Exchange 2010. You have to upgrade.

Adding a new Hotmail account times out

When adding a new Hotmail account to Outlook the operation never completes or times out with an error "An encrypted connection to your mail server is not available
Workaround Manually add the Hotmail account by doing the following:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click File > Account Settings > Account Settings > New > E-Mail account.
3. Select Manual setup or additional server types, and click Next.
4. Select Exchange ActiveSync, and click Next.
5. In the Server Settings dialog box, enter your account information.
6. In the Mail Server field, enter m.hotmail.com and click Finish.

Vertical scrollbar is missing

The vertical scrollbar is missing.
Workaround Edit the registry and delete the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Word\Options\WordMail\VerticalScrollbar registry key, and then restart Outlook.
NOTE: This edits the registry, proceed with caution and always make a backup.