How to fix “Outlook Work Offline Greyed Out” issue?

Adarsh Manjhi

Updated On - July 30, 2024

The “Work Offline “mode allows you to switch between online and offline modes, which is essential for effectively managing emails. This mode can be activated/deactivated from the Send/Receive tab in Outlook.

In online mode, disturbance can occur due to notifications, screens, pings, or a weak internet connection, which can frustrate the user. So, to work without disturbance, users may shift their work from online to offline.

The Outlook greyed out can occur due to following:

• Outlook indexing is not included in the free trial. It requires a premium version.
• The current version of Outlook is not compatible with CDS.
• Outlook needs a password after opening CDS.

One thing that needs to be remembered is that if Outlook’s offline mode is activated, Outlook will not automatically update the mailbox folders.
Note: Users can update these folders manually by clicking on the ‘Update folder ‘option.

The below picture shows how “Outlook Work Offline greyed out” issue looks like:

In this blog we will cover reasons, solutions and the best professional tool to get rid of this issue.

Causes for Outlook work offline greyed out error

Below are the causes discussed to get away from the Outlook work offline greyed out error.

1. Corrupted /outdated Outlook application.
2. Faulty add-ins.
3. Damaged Outlook profile.
4. Oversized OST/PST file.
5. Weak network connection.
6. Outlook copy is not enabled.
7. Connection/configuration problems of mail server.

Let’s move to some quick and easily accessible solution to eliminate this error:

If your network connectivity is weak, you must fix it as soon as possible because it will prevent you from returning from offline to online mode.
Follow the guidance below to resolve this issue:

1. Make sure your computer is online.
2. Firewall or antivirus software shouldn’t interrupt/configured with Outlook functions.
3. Try to reset the password.
4. If your account is deleted, contact your admin for help.
5. Open your email account in web browser and check account accessibility. Ask admin for help if your page doesn’t load.

Outdated Outlook can cause issues, such as ‘Working Offline is greyed’. So, it is necessary to update Outlook.
Follow the steps mentioned below to update the Outlook:

• Open Outlook and go to File.
• Click on Office Account.
• Click on theUpdate Options.
• Check and update Outlook to the latest available version.
• Restart the system.

Outlook users may encounter this Offline work mode greying issue due to expiration or out-of-service of Outlook.
Follow the guidelines below to activate Outlook:

• First and foremost, it’s crucial to confirm whether your Outlook is active or not. If it’s not, you should activate it. If it’s already activated, consider updating your Outlook application or simply restarting it.
• If your subscription has expired, you should renew it by ensuring the email used in the Microsoft Outlook account and the account from which the subscription must be purchased are the same. After a successful purchase/subscription, you can access Outlook’s features, including work offline mode.

Sometimes, the issue exists with faulty or incompatible add-ins. It can be fixed by running Outlook in safe mode. Follow the steps below:

1. Press Windows + R.
2. Enter the command Outlook.exe /safe.
3. Hit the Enter key.
4. Now, Outlook is open in safe mode.
5. Go to File menu > Options > Add-Ins.
6. Click on the Go tab in a new window of managed COM Add-Ins.
7. Uncheck every connected add-in.
8. Press OK.
9. Now, start Outlook in normal mode to find the problem.
10. If Outlook works appropriately, it indicates the problem is with add-ins.
11. You can enable each add-in individually if you’ve previously downloaded them. You can use it to figure out which add-in is the cause of the issue.

Corrupted MS Office can create a problem with Outlook working offline greyed-out. Follow the steps below to repair MS Office:

• Press the Windows + R button.
• Enter command %localappdata\Microsoft\Outlook.
• Back up your OST file.
• From the Control Panel, tap on Program and Features.



• click on Uninstall a program.
• Now, chooseMicrosoft Office and click on the Change tab.
• From the options, select Repair and follow the repair wizard to fix MS Office.
• Restart the system and then open Outlook after the repair is done.
• Check Outlook if the Work Offline is still greyed out.

If the repair doesn’t work, reinstall Outlook.

The work offline greyed-out issue can also occur from a corrupt/damaged profile. You can create a new profile by removing the older profile. But you must back up the current OST file from the default location. The steps are as follows:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Find and click on Mail.



3. Click on email accounts.



4. Click on email, then tap on the new option.



5. Enter requirements in the Add Account section.



6. Click Next.
7. Set up your new profile with the email account.
8. Choose the new profile as default after the setup.
9. Restart Outlook.

If an issue exists in lower-level OST files, you can recreate it. Here are the steps to follow.

1. Close Outlook.
2. Press Windows+R button.
3. Enter command %LocalAppData%/Microsoft/Outlook.



4. Click OK. It opens the location where OST files are stored.
5. Also, back up the OST Outlook data file and then delete the OST file from the default location.
6. Restart Outlook. A new OST file will be automatically created.

Note: After recreating OST files, there is a higher chance that your old important files or items will go missing even after synchronization with Outlook. Also, all manual methods have some limitations. If you want to try it, go ahead. However, the best professional way to deal with these issues is described in the following method.

Recoveryfix for OST to PST converter is the best professional utility tool for dealing with OST files. It is used to convert an OST file to a PST file. You can even import your OST-converted PST file into your new profile using the Outlook export/import wizard, as it is beneficial for restoring all missing mail items.

This innovative tool takes care of all your folder items. It accesses your data safely, and it can decrease the overall size of Outlook data files, convert inaccessible mail items into accessible PST format, and store attachments separately.

Final words

We have discussed fixing the “greying out of work offline in Outlook “issue and its solutions. We are confident that using Recoveryfix for OST to PST converter tool will solve all your problems regarding OST files.

To further help with storage space management, large OST files can be divided into smaller, more manageable PST files with attachments. You can even take a trial, which is free of cost and recover 25 items per folder from it.