Using classic Outlook for Windows in business environments
I have been going back through some reports with the errors:
“The connection to the server was interrupted.”
“Your server unexpectedly terminated the connection. Possible causes include server problems, network problems, or a long period of inactivity.”
One cause I found is if TLS 1.3 got configured on the machine. I am working on a Known Issue to document it but sharing here in case it can help. I don't know yet what is setting this regkey.
- This issue will occur if your machine was updated to have TLS 1.3 configured. To workaround the issue do the following:
- Click Start, search for Regedit and open the application
- Navigate to this path in the registry: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocol
- Before you make any change, right click on the Protocols key and Export it for a backup just in case.
- If under Protocols you see TLS 1.3 delete that key and its sub keys.
This is how it should look from my Win11 computer:
Here are a couple other forum threads where they had the same issue for more context and other investigation steps:
Outlook 2016 connectivity to gmail lost suddenly and cannot figure out - Microsoft Community
Outlook Cannot Send Emails to Certain Accounts - Microsoft Community