Below are various troubleshooting methods and common errors you may see with Microsoft 365

Outlook Troubleshooting Tools

The following Microsoft tools are helpful in troubleshooting Outlook issues:

- Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA)

- Microsoft's recommendations on folder sizes.

- Calendar Checking Tool for Outlook - This program checks your Microsoft Outlook Calendar and items for problems or for potential problems.

I receive the error "Cannot display the folder. Microsoft Outlook cannot access the specified folder location'

If you receive the "Cannot display the folder.  Microsoft Outlook cannot access the specified folder location" error, you typically need to rename or delete your .ost file.  

Delete the Outlook .ost file

  1. Close Outlook and Skype for Business.
  2. From the Start menu, choose Run.
  3. In the Run window, type this path (or use copy/paste) in the Open box  "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Outlook\"
  4. Click OK
  5. Find the .ost file associated with your email address and delete it (you may need to Show Hidden Files and Show Extensions to see the file)
  6. Restart the computer
  7. Restart Outlook

A new .ost file will get created when you restart Outlook.

 

Search feature in Outlook is not working

Outlook for Windows

If your search function isn't finding any of your messages or only recent messages in the last two weeks, you may need to rebuild the search index.  You may also receive a message "Instant search encountered a problem while trying to display search results.   Modifying your query may resolve this problem" or "Outlook cannot perform your search."

  1. Choose File | Options | Search
  2. In the "Change the Outlook stores indexed by Windows Search", click Indexing Options
  3. Select Advanced.
  4. In the Troubleshooting section, select Rebuild.
  5. Select Close when finished. 
  6. Click OK to close out of options. 

This Microsoft support article has more detailed information on search issues and troubleshooting tips - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2769651/outlook-search-returns-no-matches-found

Outlook for Mac

In Microsoft Outlook 2016 for Mac, you receive a "No Results" message when you try to search for an email message or apply a filter to a folder, and task items are not displayed in the Tasks folder. Additionally, when you search for mail items by using the Mac OS native Spotlight Search, your search is unsuccessful. 

This Microsoft support article has more detailed information Outlook for Mac search returns "No Results," and task items are not displayed  

I am not receiving email notifications when someone schedules me in a meeting - Why?

Any one of the following will prevent email notifications from being sent:

  1. You have added a Delegate and selected 'Send meeting requests and responses only to my delegates, not to me'.
  2. You have your calendar set to auto-accept meeting requests.
  3. You set 'Author' permissions on your calendar. This allows a person to open your calendar by choosing 'Open a Shared Calendar' and schedule a meeting directly on your calendar. Therefore, no email notification is sent.

Email Delivery Errors

Email Delivery Errors -- When there's a problem delivering an email message that you sent, Microsoft 365 sends an email to let you know. The email you receive is a delivery status notification, also known as a bounce message. The most common type is called a non-delivery report (NDR) and they tell you that a message wasn't delivered. See Email non-delivery reports in Exchange Online for more information.  

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