Microsoft Office 365 Issues and Solutions- All in One Guide

It doesn’t matter if the application is used at a minor or global level. In today’s digital age, Office 365 is one of the most powerful suites available on the market. It’s transforming the way businesses run. But amid its success, users often face challenges that limit their productivity. In this guide, we’re going to learn about those Office 365 issues and solutions to help you navigate through challenges.

Every platform experiences downtime at some point in time, and Microsoft isn’t any different. But we can’t deny that when Microsoft goes down, it affects millions of people all over the world because so many of them use it.

According to Azure’s status page, services were affected in the US, Europe, APAC (Asia Pacific region), MENA (Middle East and North Africa), and Africa. Azure’s status page showed services were impacted in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Yes, you’re seeing right! This is the extent to which common issues affect Office 365. Microsoft always reports these issues to users.

This will highly affect daily users and many users show their anger at the service disruption on Twitter – 

Every cloud service has outage issues, so, must have a plan B for when things go bad.

The Best Way to Keep Office 365 Data Safe

Around the globe, organizations embraced O365 for its flexibility, accessibility, predictable costs, and other benefits. However, the switch from on-premise Microsoft applications to the cloud service leaves IT teams with less control but still liable.

Therefore, it is good to have a backup of your critical components on the local machine. So, whenever a firm faces O365 issues (Known or Unknown), they will not have to worry about data loss. Also, a good backup copy always protects you from a catastrophic disaster such as an employee termination from the company and to take revenge he/she permanently deletes the emails from O365 account. In such instances, if the organization has a backup copy of the data, then it is easy to restore the mails back into the account.

Now, the next question that comes to mind is – Does Office 365 backup data?

To keep yourself and your data safe from any kind of ransomware threats or application outrage, you need to keep a backup of the data. For this use SysTools Office 365 Backup & Restore Tool. This will smoothly protect your data from external threats and store your Office 365 emails, calendars, and contacts in the Offline environment.

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Now let’s discuss what Are the Common Office 365 Problems and How Can a Business Or User Solve Them? Here are the common Office 365 problems that businesses and users face.

Back to the topic, here we are going to illustrate some common Office 365 issues and solutions associated with it.

So, let’s begin!!

Now, Let’s have a big picture of each issue in detail.

Office 365 Issues With Safari

People are having problems while working with O365 in the Safari web browser. Microsoft Teams creates a glitch to open in Safari.

People are having problems while working with O365 in the Safari web browser. Microsoft Teams creates a glitch to open in Safari.

Solution – This technical problem occurs due to the presence of Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) in the Safari browser. Due to this, Office 365 creates a problem with accessing it, although, login.microsoftonline.com does not fall under the tracking domain. To use Microsoft Teams with Safari, go through the following steps.

1. Navigate to Preferences >> Privacy.
2. Afterward, deselect Prevent cross-site tracking setting
3. Move to ‘teams.microsoft.com’ in Safari.

Once you have done with the Microsoft Teams, then again follow the above process and check the Prevent cross-site tracking option as it may affect other websites during surfing.

Office 365 Sharepoint and OneDrive Issues

Office 365 access rights make it easy for your team members to work together. The error OSE201 might affect your teamwork. The error OSE201 specifies that external sharing is disabled within SharePoint & OneDrive.

When you encounter this error, it usually means that you don’t have the necessary privileges to open and modify the file.

This problem starts blocking the collaboration and sharing of content with anyone outside your organization.

Solution: First of all, change the external sharing setting for your organizations. Go through the below steps to do this.

1. Go to the SharePoint admin center.
2. Sign in to the account that has admin permissions.
3. Now, opt for Anyone or New and Existing guests for both SharePoint & OneDrive.

One Shot Solution- No need to hassle here and there. With the help of SysTools Cloud Migration Tool, you can simply migrate SharePoint or OneDrive data to any cloud platform.

Office 365 Installation Problem

Sometimes while setting up the Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus application, users face many problems regarding office 365 activation issues & installation. This issue restricts users from working with Office apps. To use Office 365 applications, you must first activate your Office 365. If you do not, you will see the following error message:

Solution: Whenever you face this installation problem, first, check the product information. Afterward, check and upgrade Microsoft 365 subscription if you have set up the subscription version of ProPlus. If not, you will have to uninstall Office 365, and again install the Office 365 ProPlus from Office 365 portal.

However, many users face the Office 365 ProPlus Activation Issue. For this, it is a must that at least once in 30 days the Office 365 ProPlus connects to the internet to remain activated. In case, if the application is not activated, then it undergoes reduced functionality mode.

And user will see the message “Product Deactivated” when they try to open O365 ProPlus. To troubleshoot this message, select Sign in to reactivate the application.

Problems Caused by Add-ons

Office 365 is Microsoft’s cloud-based suite of productivity tools, and it’s easy to see why. It’s got everything you need to run your business smoothly, from Word to Excel, PowerPoint to Outlook, and everything in between.

But sometimes, Office 365’s efficiency isn’t matched by its productivity problems. One of the most common Office 365 productivity issues is add-in issues. Add-ins are programs or features created by third parties to improve the functionality of existing Office applications. One best example of this is Microsoft Teams.

Add-ins can add a lot of useful features, but they can also lead to a variety of issues if they’re not developed, managed, or integrated properly. This problem results in low performance and program clashing.

Solution- Ensure that add-ins are compatible with the most recent Office 365 versions by regularly updating them.

• Remove or disable add-ins that are not necessary.
• Reduce performance and security risks by disabling or disabling add-ins.
• Make sure add-ins are monitored and logged so that you can troubleshoot quickly and effectively.
• Train and support users on the best practices for managing add-in issues and troubles.
• Use a safe mode to troubleshoot Office 365 issues.

To disable add-ins and run an Office 365 application without them, press CTRL and click on the shortcut to start the Microsoft Office app once. In this case, you will be asked to use the safe mode.

Office 365 Configurations Issues

Sign-in problems can occur when a user misplaces their password or the server that administers and manages the accounts is offline.

Cause of this Office 365 Issue

The username or password you have entered is incorrect. Please double-check your password and make sure that the CAPS Locking is not enabled. Your password is case-sensitive. Do not copy it from a text file, Skype application, or any other application. Please enter your password manually.

According to the best practices, passwords should not be stored in text files or messaging applications. Your Office 365 administrator may have changed your password or disabled your account.

Contact your system admin to request credentials for you.

Solution- This can be avoided by ensuring that your password matches the one you entered when you created your account. You can save your password in a password manager so you don’t forget it.

If you still can’t access your account, click on the “Can’t Access Your Account” option, and you’ll be taken to a website to reset your password and verify your identity.

Updation Errors of Office 365

It’s important to keep your Microsoft software up-to-date and secure. Microsoft recommends that you update your Windows operating system, Microsoft Office 365, and other Microsoft software regularly.

These updates act as a protective layer around your software, protecting it from known vulnerabilities and fixing known bugs. Office 365 updates are especially important because they often fix known issues.

Don’t worry there could be a few reasons behind it. Let us discuss them

Solution- First, verify that your system is compatible with the most recent version of Office 365. Old Windows 7 and Windows 8 do not support Office 365. The latest Windows 10 and Windows 11 support this version.

Also, verify that you are connected to the internet or that a firewall isn’t preventing you from accessing your network.

If you are confident that there are no connectivity problems but your Office 365 isn’t detecting any new updates (and you’re not seeing the “You are up to date” message). Then, you can check the update channel. 

Office 365 has several update channels. Some let you get updates before the main release, while others let you get updates at a later time. The update channel that Office 365 uses depends on how you have an update subscription and your configuration.

How to check your update channel?

1. Open an Office 365 application.
2. Go to the File > Office Account menu.
3. Click on About Outlook.
4. Check your update channel.

Check your Office 365 update channels below.

• Beta Channel: These are available for all Office 365 plans. Updates move freely 4 – 6 weeks ahead of the main release.
• Current Channel (Preview): Gives you a glimpse into the future with updates arriving 2 – 4 weeks ahead.
• Current Channel: Your go-to for always on-time updates.
• Monthly Enterprise Channel: Catered for Business and Enterprise plans with updates arriving fashionably late one month after the major release.
• Semi-Annual Enterprise channel (Preview): If you’re one of those people who like to wait and see, updates arrive with a 2 – 6 month delay. The semi-annual enterprise channel is the epitome of patience as updates arrive 6 – 24 months later.

Issues with Office 365 Outlook

If you are using Outlook as your primary email client in Microsoft Office 365 and you are unable to send and receive emails, check your Outlook connection settings first.

Solution- Desktop-to-mobile device sync problem is another Office 365 known issues. In some cases, emails may arrive in your inbox folder at a slow pace or even not at all. This could be due to a poor internet connection.

What you can do in these conditions, is simply enable POP and SMTP settings. This action will result in connecting Microsoft Servers. If you use iMAP then sync IMAP to Outlook.

Deletion & Retrieval Issues

The deletion of unnecessary files would be the primary task of every user. If you have a disorganized folder or retain too many files, it’s easy to delete it and send it to the recycle bin.

Deleted Microsoft Teams and SharePoint files stay in the recycle bin until they are completely deleted. All you have to do is go to your SharePoint site, go to your recycle bin, and look at all the files you want to restore.

Storage Spacing Problems of Office 365

This is again the most Common Office 365 issues. When this error occurs “Office 365 storage exceeds” while saving or uploading a file, it typically indicates that your Office 365 storage limit has been exceeded.

Solution- The best way to resolve this issue is to backup the data or update Office 365 subscription plans. All you have to do is increase Office 365 Mailbox Size Limit of the add-on and ready. The team should clean out their recycle bin on a regular basis, as deleting files can eat up some of your available storage space.

Synchronization Issues

Sync issues within Office 365 are a common issue across Office Mobile, and can also affect desktop applications like OneDrive and Outlook.

To resolve OneDrive synchronization issues, there are a few things you need to do:

• Make sure your OneDrive client is installed on your device
• You must make sure your internet connection is stable
• Ensure that files meet OneDrive’s requirements, such as maximum file size, proper file naming conventions, and folder object limits

In the case of Outlook, synchronization issues may occur after installing updates such as KB2837518 and KB283764. Signs of Outlook synchronization issues may include application crashes on startup or error messages while using IMAP for your email accounts. These errors may include:

• You do not have enough permissions for the operation
• Not being able to move items inside folders
• You cannot see your automatic reply settings because your server is not available. Please try again later.

Solution- To fix IMAP synchronization issues within Outlook 365, uninstall KB2837618, and KB283743.

1. Navigate to the Start menu.
2. Access the Control Panel.
3. Open Programs and Features.
4. Locate KB2837618 and select “Remove.”
5. Repeat the process for KB2837643.
6. Restart your Windows system.

Launch Microsoft Office Outlook 365 and verify if the problems persist.

Conclusion

In this article, we have covered all common Office 365 issues and solutions. No doubt, users worldwide prominently use Office 365, considering it the gem of Microsoft due to its popularity

But, like every software, Office 365 also has some common problems. Office 365 troubleshooting is essential for building Microsoft has provided every solution from their end. But Office 365 known issues which we have discussed in this blog might affect your daily business work. You may encounter issues that might cause you to data loss.

To avoid this the best approach is to opt for the most recommended software that can resolve your all problems related to Office 365. We have tried you to suggest the best approach after each problem plus the automated solution as well. Therefore, choose wisely to avoid any kind of data loss.

SysTools provides the best data protection solution that not only encourages the users to take healthy steps towards cloud data precautions while data migration but also, provides software that protects virtual, physical, and cloud environments.

Frequently Asked Questions of Office 365 Users

Q. How to deal with Office 365 domain verification problems

To verify a domain in Office 365, perform the steps which are mentioned below:

• Log into your domain registrar and make sure you have access to change DNS records.
• Add the TXT or MX entries provided by Office 365 into your domain’s DNS settings.
• DNS changes will take approximately 72 hours to fully propagate.
• After DNS propagation, try domain verification again in the Office 365 administration center. If problems persist, contact Office 365 support.

Q. What are Office 365 activation issues?

Office 365 activation problems can come from a variety of sources, including incorrect login credentials, network issues, or activation server issues. You may receive error messages or lose access to Office applications. Office 365 activation problems are usually resolved by verifying login credentials, making sure your internet connection is stable, and using Microsoft’s activation troubleshooting tool.

Q. What are Office 365 one-drive problems?

Office 365 OneDrive problems users may face include sync errors, file upload failures, or difficulty accessing files offline. These issues can result from storage limits, network disruptions, or corrupted files. You can resolve these common Office 365 issues by checking storage quotas, repairing sync connections, or reinstalling the OneDrive application. Additionally, it ensures file names meet the restrictions of Office 365 compatibility.

Q. How to resolve the Office 365 license problem?

There are a few steps you can take to resolve Office 365 license issues. First, make sure you have an active subscription and payment history. If problems persist, you can refresh Office applications or log back into your Microsoft account to re-authenticate your license. If you’re having a hard time resolving complex licensing issues, you can try running the Office License troubleshooter (OLT) or reaching out to Microsoft support for help.