If you’ve noticed Outlook crashing a lot lately, there could be a simple solution - you're opening the wrong kind of file.
Following multiple user complaints, Microsoft invetsigated the issue with its email service, finding that the cause is trying to open an email with a table built-in.
According to Microsoft, “when opening, replying, or forwarding some emails that include complex tables, Outlook stops responding.” One example of such an email is an Uber receipt, which has been causing the email client to crash.
Outlook fail
Microsoft says it is aware of the issue, which affects Microsoft 365 customers running Build 15330.20196 of Current Channel Version 2206, or higher. Beta and Current Channel Preview builds are also known to be affected.
For some users, the problem extends beyond Outlook, where Microsoft Word is also failing to respond when presented with similar, complex tables.
The company’s engineers have already created a solution to the Word issue, which is set to be released into the Beta channel following approval. Regular customers should expect a fix on August 9, 2022.
If you need access to those emails now, and cannot wait until the next Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has suggested downgrading to an earlier installation for now. This involves pasting two commands into the Command Prompt window as an Administrator.
- cd %programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun
- officec2rclient.exe /update user updatetoversion=16.0.15225.20288
This is tough news for the company, which has recently battled some bizarre inbox problems, which would see users getting an “unusual sign-in activity” notification.
A further bug, which caused failures to Outlook searches, had been affecting POP, IMAP, and offline Exchange accounts.
Despite this rocky period, the company continues to see growth with even more takeup of the latest Windows 11 operating system, and its Edge browser occupying around a tenth of the desktop market.
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