Windows Live mail is stuck in 'working offline'

Anonymous
2013-04-02T10:57:39+00:00

Windows Live mail is stuck in 'working offline' and will not allow me to send or receive emails. 

No matter how many times I try to change it to working online, although I AM online and everything else works fine, I cannot receive or send emails.  The Globe at the bottom of the screen changes to online whne I click on it, but the option 'work offline' under 'File' in top left will not switch to online.  I am going mad as I cannot retrieve my emails or send any.

Windows for home | Other | Email and communications

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2013-04-04T00:09:08+00:00

Have a look at IE Tools | Work offline --- is it ticked? untick it, and WLM will be able to go online again.

For some idiot reason MS link IE and WLM Work on/offline settings.

This happened to me after upgrading to IE10 ... hours of frustration later (and I did not select to work offline in IE BTW!).

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Anonymous
2013-07-16T02:51:45+00:00

Hi everyone,

I know that you guys are having issues on:

Unable to send or receive emails, Windows Live Mail is stuck in ‘working offline’

We recommend that you follow the steps below as one of these steps may resolve your issue.

  1. Make sure that the default browser is IE. (Please see the link below)

Make Internet Explorer your default browser:

Internet Explorer 10

Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7

Internet Explorer 9

Internet Explorer 8

  1. You may try to reconfigure the account in Windows Live Mail:

How do I add an account to Windows Live Mail?

  1. Check your computer’s Internet Connection. Verify if Internet Explorer is offline.

a)    Open Internet Explorer browser.

b)    From the menu bar, click File. (If menu is not shown, press “Alt” + F button on your keyboard)

c)     Uncheck “Work offline” by clicking on it.

d)    From Windows Live Mail, click Send/Receive button. If you are being asked to go online, click Yes.

If you encounter the same issue even after following the steps in this thread, we recommend to create a new post under Windows Live Mail forum.

NOTE: I have locked this thread now since it's too long to manage. You may also find some workaround provided by the community on this thread.

Thank you.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-07-03T20:47:36+00:00

    I intend to leave the settings until Microsoft answer the problem in a manner I understand.

    I think you'll wait a long time, then. So far as I'm aware, this weirdness with Windows Live Mail is the only problem of its kind. Since this program is to all intents and purposes moribund, with development having stopped three years ago, it's not likely that anyone at MS is looking for a reason or a cure. If you want to know why it happens (so you can upgrade to Internet Explorer 10 for security reasons, if nothing else), then you'll have to rely on the efforts of volunteers to track down the bug and squash it. I'm not prepared to pollute this workhorse machine of mine with invasive software like Google Chrome, so I'm not in a position to test my hypothesis myself.

    You've no doubt heard of the zoologist who proved that grasshoppers hear through their hind legs. When he sounded a tuning fork near a test grasshopper, it jumped a foot in the air. He then cut off the grasshopper's hind legs and repeated the experiment. The grasshopper didn't jump when he sounded the tuning fork.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-07-03T19:13:39+00:00

    Hello jFiredog

    My computer has never run IE10 and has IE9 installed along with Chrome which is the main browser and has had  no problem with "offline" locking and it resets in WLM/File.

    My wifes computer (a Sony Netbook )  running W7HP SP1 (as installed when computer purchased)  was running with IE10 and Chrome  installed due to having automatic updates.  This installation of IE10 took place in April 13 and the locking problem then occurred. We found it particularly annoying when using a mobile dongle on holiday which automatically switched to "offline" when removing the dongle and would not go "online" using WLM/File/uncheck "offline"

    Have since removed IE10 and reinstalled IE9 and there is no problem and any restting of "offline" can be executed in WLM/File/offline check box.

    The updating has also been set for manual updates to prevent IE10 being reinstalled.

    I intend to leave the settings until Microsoft answer the problem in a manner I understand.

    Over to you for further comment

    Kind regards

    Robin

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-07-03T17:20:38+00:00

    IE10 is the problem.

    That can't be the case, because the problem would then affect all IE10 users including me, and it doesn't.

    My theory is that a non-MS browser like Google Chrome interferes with some of the basic Windows Internet settings. When IE10 is installed (or upgraded with a CSU) after Chrome, it replaces the basic Internet connection libraries but doesn't reset settings changed by Chrome, with unpredictable consequences like this inexplicable interference with the GlobalUserOffline registry setting.

    I would test this theory by installing IE10 after Chrome, then uninstall Chrome and re-install it. If that made no difference, then uninstall Chrome first, then install IE10 and then Chrome again. The same may apply to other browsers, but everyone I've asked who has faced this problem has had Chrome installed.

    Perhaps you'd like to try?

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