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How to Refresh Outlook Desktop and Web Based Account?

Here you will learn how to refresh Outlook using desktop app or web-based email account at outlook.com.

If you hate to wait for new emails to come in your inbox then keep reading as I have explained two ways of updating Outlook email inbox.

I am using Microsoft Outlook 2016 desktop app as it allows large size attachments in comparison to Gmail and other email services. However, a slow email refresh rate of Outlook mailbox was my biggest concern as it delays send/receive emails. The default email refresh rate of Outlook is 30 minutes whereas Gmail refreshes every 2 minutes which is pretty fast.

If you are facing the same problem while using the Outlook email service then here I have explained the process I have followed to improve the email refresh rate being an Outlook desktop client.

So, let’s check out how to refresh Outlook automatically and manually so that you can see the recently sent or received emails as quickly as possible.

How to Refresh Outlook Inbox (Automatically and Manually)

Outlook refreshes all folders every 30 minutes automatically by default. Simply by decreasing it to somewhere between 10 to 15 minutes will dramatically improve the refresh rate for mail messages, calendar appointments, and tasks in all Folders.

Check out below to learn how to refresh Outlook automatically and manually on windows desktop and Mac. 

Change Default Send/Receive Automatic Refresh Rate in Outlook

Below are the exact steps you need to follow to change the default refresh rate of Outlook –

  1. Open the Outlook desktop app on your PC or Laptop.
  2. Click on Send/Receive from the top navigation menu.
  3. Next, click on the Send/ Receive Groups option.
  4. Now, select Define Send/ Receive Groups.
  5. A Send/ Receive Groups settings box will open.
  6. Change the default automatic schedule value of 30 minutes to 10 or 15.
  7. Hit on the Close button.
How to Refresh Outlook Automatically
How to Refresh Outlook Automatically

Done, this setting will apply to all send/receive groups you created. In case, if you just want to update Outlook inbox automatically, then just select that specific group in the settings box and follow the above steps.

Note: Do not set the default refresh rate value below 5 minutes as it will create duplicate Outlook email entries and other issues which might irritate you even more.

Refresh Outlook Manually

If you are an Outlook desktop client and want to refresh outlook manually then below are the steps you need to follow –

  1. First, launch the Microsoft Outlook desktop app on your PC or Laptop.
  2. Click on Send/Receive from the top menu.
  3. Next, click on Send/Receive All Folders option or press F9 on your keyboard.
Refresh Outlook Manually
Refresh Outlook Manually

It will refresh all the Folders you created in your Outlook account so that you can view recent send/receive items.

How to Refresh Outlook.com?

The aforementioned steps are to refresh Outlook using the desktop app. But, what if you are using Outlook.com? Well, Outlook.com is a web-based email account that is used to be Hotmail. It has a completely different navigation structure than the desktop app. It doesn’t have any refresh option and thus the only way to refresh outlook.com is by reloading the page itself. To reload the page you can press F5 on your keyboard.

Alternatively, you can force a refresh by visiting another folder (Ex: Sent) and back to Inbox again. It will update the inbox and load the pending emails you are waiting for.

Usually, outlook.live.com works very well and shows all the incoming emails quickly and automatically.

But, sometimes it doesn’t work especially for Chrome users. If your inbox not refreshing automatically in outlook.com then try disabling Chrome extensions you are using or use another browser.

Wrapping it up…

Nobody likes to keep watching Outlook inbox more than 10 minutes for emails to come in. And thus it is very important to know the right way of refreshing Outlook in both desktop and web accounts.

So, above were some workarounds you can try to refresh Outlook or to update Outlook inbox automatically and manually.