How to turn off cached mode in Outlook desktop app

Turn Cached Exchange Mode on or off

This article pertains to all employees in Canada and the United States who use the Outlook desktop app.

You may be asked to change Outlook's mode of operation as it relates to caching emails locally vs. viewing your email live on the Internet. 

Cached mode enables you to disconnect from the Internet and still have access to your inbox, compose messages, edit your calendar, and read emails. However, you are not connected to the Internet so your changes are not synchronized until you reconnect to the Internet. This means you are caching your changes until you reconnect to the Internet. This is used most commonly for employees who travel and may find themselves without Internet access for long periods of time.

Normal operation is with cached mode turned OFF. If your cached mode is on, it may cause issues with multiple people working within a shared mailbox, such as duplicate or missing emails.

Instructions to turn off cached mode:

1. Click File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
   
   
   
2. Click the Exchange or Microsoft 365, and then click Change.
   
   
   
3. Under Offline Settings, uncheck Use Cached Exchange Mode to download email to an Outlook data file.
   
4. Click Next, then Done and restart Outlook.