How To Fix Microsoft Office Offline Issue

The Outlook is undoubtedly the most used suite used by various organizations and businesses for professional purposes. Generally, it is connected to the internet for its normal functionality. However, it can create problems if Microsoft Office gets Offline. 

How to Check when the Microsoft Office is Offline? 

The current connection status is displayed in the taskbar at the bottom of the software window. Therefore, you can open Outlook and see if you see either of the two messages below. 

• Working Offline 
• Disconnected 

While Microsoft Office is Offline, users will not be able to send or receive any messages. As a result, it can hamper the workflow of the organization or company. For the most part, it can be caused when the ‘Cached Exchange Mode’ is turned off. However, this option is only available for Exchange accounts. 

Exchange vs Non-Exchange Account

An exchange account is mostly used by organizations for work purposes. Home and basic users have a non-exchange account. 

You can easily check it by reading the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Thus, open your Outlook software and see the bottom text. If you can see ‘Connected to Microsoft Exchange’, then you have an exchange account. 

Causes Which Lead to Microsoft Office Offline Issue:

Microsoft Office could be offline due to various reasons. Incidentally, it could be caused due to a simple internet connectivity issue. Some other causes for this could be one of the following. 

• Problems with the Email server 
• Outdated Microsoft Office 
• Problems with Account Settings 

How to Repair Microsoft Office Offline? 

Here, we have discussed different types of solutions that will help to fix Microsoft Office from being offline. Before heading to the solutions, make sure that you have a working internet connection. Also, you can do a quick restart of your system to check if it resolves the problem. 

Solution 1 – Reset Online Status  

You can toggle your Microsoft Office’s connection status from the software itself. Just follow the steps below to reset the connection. 

1. Open Outlook on your computer and head over to the Send/Receive tab. 
2. Here, you will see the option to ‘Work Offline’. It will be shaded if it’s not connected. Else, it is successfully connected.
3. Simply, click on it to turn it off and on. Hence, this will reset the connection status of Microsoft Office. 

Solution 2 – Turn on Cached Exchange Mode 

Microsoft Outlook offers a ‘Cached Exchange Mode’ where it allows users to work normally without an active internet connection. Therefore, users can work with Outlook even if the internet is slow or not connected. 

However, this feature is accessible only for Exchange accounts. Furthermore, users may still not be able to send or receive any emails. Some reasons why you may not see this option is because – 

• Your administrator has disabled this function 
• There’s no exchange account 
• Microsoft terminal services is installed in the system 

You can activate or deactivate this option by following the steps given below. 

1. Open Outlook and head over to the File menu. Here, click on Account Settings. 
2. Again, click on the Account Settings option that is displayed in the new window. 
3. Here, you have to select your Exchange account and click on Change beside it. 
4. Subsequently, you have to check the option for ‘Use cached exchange mode’ which is present under Offline settings. 
5. Finally, close the program and restart the application. 

Solution 3 – Update Microsoft Office 

Outdated software could be the reason behind your Microsoft Office on Chromebook offline issue. Thus, you need to update it by following these instructions below. 

1. Open any software from the Microsoft Office essentials. Head over to the File menu and click on Account. 
2. Here, you can find the ’Update Options’ under the ‘Product information’ 
3. Promptly, click on ‘Update Now’ and wait for it to get updated. 
4. Close the window after the update and restart your system. 

Additionally, there is a separate method to update Microsoft Office. The following steps apply to those users who have downloaded it from the Microsoft Store. 

1. Press the Windows button to pull up the Start menu. Type ‘store’ and head over to the Microsoft Store. 
2. Make sure that all the applications of Microsoft Office are closed. Now, click on your account. 
3. Click the three dots below and go to Downloads and Updates. Finally, click on Get Updates and wait for it to finish. 

In addition, you may not see any option for updating Microsoft Office if you do not have the necessary license. In this case, you may want to buy a fresh license that allows it to get updated. 

Solution 4 – Repair Microsoft Office 

Another way to fix Microsoft Office offline issue is by simply repairing it. Follow the below steps to do this. 

1. Press the Windows logo button and the letter ‘R’ at the same time. Type ‘appwiz.cpl’ and press enter. 
2. Find Microsoft Office and choose the Change option. 
3. Here, choose Quick Repair and let the software try to fix the issues. 
4. If this doesn’t resolve the issue, you can repeat the above steps. Next, choose Online Repair instead. 
5. Finally, restart your system and check if Microsoft Office is successfully connecting. 

Solution 5 – Create a New Profile

Incidentally, one of the causes of this issue is a misconfigured account setting. However, it is not possible to pinpoint the exact settings. Therefore, you can try to fix this by creating a new profile instead. 

The following steps will help you through the process. 

1. Open Outlook and go to File. Here, click on Account Settings and head over to Manage profiles. 
2. Next, select the ‘Show Profiles’ and then select ‘Add’. Give this profile a name and then click on Ok. 
3. Subsequently, remove the old profile by right-clicking on the account. Finally, click on ‘Remove’ and your issue should be resolved. 

Solution 6 – Reinstall Microsoft Office 

You should go with this solution as a last resort. Make sure that you have the 25 character product key with you. Thereafter, follow the steps below. 

1. Press the Windows logo button and the letter ‘R’ at the same time. Next, type ‘appwiz.cpl’ and click on Ok.
2. Find and remove Microsoft Office by following the uninstall procedure.
3. Next, insert the installation media disc or download the latest version of Microsoft Office from their store. 
4. Follow the instructions as displayed and install it in your system. 
5. Finally, restart your computer. 

Final Note 

To summarize, these solutions should help you fix Microsoft Office offline issue. Usually, reinstalling Microsoft Office can fix any Office related issues.