No Ticket Needed

Appearance

5 min fix 5 min read Recently reviewedBeginner

By , IT support technician

Quick Answer

Open the Outlook mobile app, tap your profile picture at the top left, tap the Settings (gear icon), select your email account, and tap Reset Account to force a fresh sync.

How to Fix Outlook Not Syncing on Your Phone ​

Estimated Time to Fix: 5 minutes

Applies to: Outlook for iOS (iPhone, iPad), Outlook for Android
Article Type: Troubleshooting
Last Updated: 2026-07-16

Summary ​

Fix Outlook email, calendar, or contacts not syncing on your iPhone or Android phone. This guide covers connection checks, app restarts, sync settings, account resets, and re-adding your account.

Symptoms ​

  • New emails don't appear on your phone, but they show up on your computer or in Outlook on the web.
  • Calendar events are missing or show the wrong time.
  • Contacts added on your computer don't appear on your phone.
  • Outlook shows "Syncing..." indefinitely or displays a sync error banner.
  • Sent emails from your phone don't appear in Sent Items on other devices.

Prerequisites ​

  • The Outlook mobile app (iOS or Android).
  • Your Microsoft 365 work email account.
  • An active internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile data).

Instructions ​

1. Check Your Internet Connection ​

Outlook needs an active internet connection to sync.

  1. Open your phone's web browser and load any website to confirm you have internet.
  2. If you're on Wi-Fi and it's not working, switch to mobile data (or vice versa) to test.
  3. If you have no internet at all, fix your connection first and return to this guide.

2. Force Close and Reopen Outlook ​

A quick restart of the app often resolves temporary sync issues.

  1. iPhone: Swipe up from the bottom (or double-press the Home button) to open the app switcher. Swipe the Outlook card up to close it.
  2. Android: Tap the Recent Apps button (square icon), find Outlook, and swipe it away.
  3. Wait 5 seconds, then reopen the Outlook app.
  4. Check if your emails and calendar have updated.

3. Check Outlook Sync Settings ​

Make sure Outlook is set to sync all your data.

  1. Open the Outlook app and tap your profile picture (or the account icon) in the top-left corner.
  2. Tap the gear icon (⚙️) to open Settings.
  3. Tap your email account under Mail Accounts.
  4. Verify that Sync Calendar and Sync Contacts are both turned On.
  5. Check that sync email range is set to Last 1 Month or All (shorter ranges may hide recent messages).

4. Reset the Account ​

Refresh the account connection without deleting it.

  1. Open Outlook, go to Settings, and tap your email account.
  2. Scroll down and tap Reset Account.
  3. Confirm the reset.

Outlook re-syncs all your data from the server. This can take a few minutes depending on your mailbox size.

TIP

An account reset is the fastest fix for most sync problems. It forces Outlook to re-establish the connection to the server without losing your settings or drafts.

5. Remove and Re-Add the Account ​

If resetting doesn't work, remove the account and add it back fresh.

  1. Open Outlook, go to Settings, and tap your email account.
  2. Scroll down and tap Delete Account.
  3. Confirm the deletion.
  4. Tap Add Account and sign in with your work email and password.
  5. Complete MFA verification if prompted.
  6. Wait for the initial sync to complete.

All your emails, calendar, and contacts re-download from the server — nothing is lost.

WARNING

After removing and re-adding the account, any draft emails stored only on your phone will be lost. Check your Drafts folder before deleting the account.

6. Verify the Fix ​

Confirm everything is syncing correctly.

  1. Check your inbox for recent emails.
  2. Open the Calendar and verify upcoming meetings appear.
  3. Send yourself a test email from another device and confirm it arrives on your phone within 1–2 minutes.

Troubleshooting ​

WARNING

If Outlook keeps losing sync after every fix, your organization may have a mobile device management (MDM) policy that's interfering. Check if Company Portal or Microsoft Intune shows any compliance issues on your device.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
"Account setup failed" when re-addingMFA or conditional access blockMake sure you're completing the MFA prompt. If using a personal device, you may need to install Company Portal or Microsoft Authenticator first.
Calendar syncs but email doesn'tEmail sync period too shortGo to Settings > your account and change the sync range to Last 1 Month or All.
Emails arrive on phone but not computerEmails stuck in phone's outboxCheck the Outbox folder in Outlook mobile for unsent emails. Resend them.
Sync works on Wi-Fi but not on mobile dataBackground data restricted for OutlookGo to your phone's Settings > Apps > Outlook > Mobile data and enable Allow background data usage.
Notifications stopped along with syncBattery optimization killing OutlookGo to your phone's Settings > Battery > Outlook and select Unrestricted (or disable battery optimization for Outlook).
"Your IT admin has restricted access"Device compliance issueOpen Company Portal and check for compliance warnings. See How to Fix "Device Not Compliant" Errors.