Outlook won't update

Hi Viv Lynn

I understand how concerning it can be when your personal Outlook email suddenly stops updating. Thank you for explaining what changed on your side. Have you already tried the Q&A Assist suggestions? In addition, please create a new Outlook profile:

• Close Outlook completely.
• Open Control Panel > “Mail” > “Show Profiles”.
• Select “Add”, create a new profile, and add only your personal Outlook.com account.
• When prompted, choose Outlook.com / Microsoft account (not Microsoft 365 or Exchange).
• Set the new profile as “Always use this profile”, then open Outlook and check if mail updates.

If Outlook still doesn’t update after this, you can temporarily access your messages through Outlook on the web

Please feel free to let me know how it goes and thank you so much for your understanding.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".    

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Because support for Mail and Calendar on Windows 10 has ended and Outlook connectivity depends on a properly configured account, the personal Outlook account likely needs to be reconfigured after closing the business account.

Use these steps in classic Outlook for Windows:

1. Verify the correct account type
   • If the personal address is an Outlook.com/Hotmail/Live/MSN address, ensure it is added as an Outlook.com/Microsoft account type, not as Exchange or Microsoft 365. If it is added with the wrong type, remove the account and re-add it using the correct Outlook.com option so messages and folders sync correctly.
   • For IMAP/POP accounts from other providers, confirm the provider’s correct server settings and that the account is added with those settings.
2. Re-enter or update the password
   • If the password for the personal account was changed recently on the provider’s website, update it in Outlook:
     • In new Outlook: select the icon next to the email account name, choose Continue when prompted to sign in, and enter the current password.
     • For classic Outlook, remove and re-add the account using the current password so Outlook can authenticate and sync.
3. Check for app‑password requirements
   • If Outlook shows a message such as “Please create an app password for Outlook on your email provider's site,” sign in to the email provider’s site, generate an app password, and use that in Outlook instead of the normal password.
4. If still not syncing
   • Follow the general troubleshooting flow for classic Outlook described in the Outlook email setup and “I can’t send or receive messages in Outlook” guidance, starting with verifying account type and credentials, then recreating the profile if needed via Control Panel → Mail → Show Profiles.

If the personal account is being accessed via the old Mail/Calendar apps on Windows 10, those apps can no longer send or receive mail. In that case, switch to the new Outlook for Windows or use Outlook.com in a browser to continue receiving updates.

References:

• Troubleshoot Outlook email setup
• I can't send or receive messages in Outlook
• Your account settings are out-of-date in Mail or Calendar for Windows 10