Microsoft is currently developing and testing a much-anticipated update to Outlook that will mean that you can open or restart the new Outlook for Windows without an internet connection.
Given it’s been over a year since Microsoft launched its newest version of the email app, it’s somewhat surprising that this still hasn’t yet been implemented, especially since offline support is afforded to Outlook on the web, the old Outlook for Windows, and the soon-to-be-axed Windows Mail app. As one Reddit user added, “You’d think that would be the core starting point for the app, not something to develop as a “feature” later on.” A Microsoft Community contributor agreed, saying, “Working offline mode is an essential feature for enabling focused work.”
Currently, offline access is only supported when Outlook is already open and then goes offline (providing you have enabled offline access through Settings > General > Offline). In this scenario, you can read, draft, organize, and send emails to your outbox, view calendar events and contacts, and rename folders. If you try to do something that’s not available offline, you’ll get a handy error message to let you know. However, if you close Outlook and try to reopen it again without an internet connection, it simply won’t work.
This update means that you’ll be able to perform all of the above actions, even if you close and reopen the app on your laptop in the middle of the desert.
Unfortunately for those of you who work on the go, this update is still only in its “in development” stage, meaning it still has to get through the “rolling out” phase before it’s available to all—and there’s no word from Microsoft as to how long this will take. With Microsoft only adding this update to its roadmap on September 3, our guess is that it’ll still be a while before its fully implemented.
Source: Microsoft Roadmap, Microsoft
