Suddenly can't assign categories in Legacy Outlook Mac -- only lets me edit categories

Amy Uhrbach 115 Reputation points
2025-11-13T01:11:39.25+00:00

Until this morning I've been happily using categories: created my own, assign and change them regularly. Suddenly under Categorize I can't assign categories. The only option is to edit categories (which works) but can't assign to email nor calendar entries. Help please. When I do go to Edit Categories, it shows my account as IMAP -- but it is NOT, it is POP.

Screenshot 2025-11-12 at 8.13.42 PM

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Outlook | MacOS | Legacy Outlook for Mac | For home

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Answer accepted by question author
David White 110 Reputation points
2025-11-20T14:14:42.39+00:00

The rollback workaround as posted above from Amy U works! (Thank you).

  1. Unclick autoupdates
  2. Close Outlook
  3. Delete Microsoft Outlook.app from applications
  4. Install previous version for their link

For MacBook users be sure to delete Outlook.app (step 3) or the fix won't work. Here's the link for previous updates: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-office-for-mac

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  1. Amy Uhrbach 115 Reputation points
    2025-11-15T17:54:19.9766667+00:00

    I just got off chat w/Microsoft Support. They said they ARE working on a fix to this issue. They will update me when fixed, but no ETA.

    They also sent me a link to install the previous version. It worked. All my previous emails kept their categories too. The ONLY steps I needed to do:

    1. Unclick autoupdates
    2. Close Outlook
    3. Delete Microsoft Outlook.app from applications
    4. Install previous version for their link

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    7 people found this answer helpful.
  2. Family B 30 Reputation points
    2025-11-15T09:27:22.0533333+00:00

    After reading this post and having a lengthy online chat with Microsoft, I've been told

    "I would like to inform you that the previous information that you provided me about the update of your Mac OS. You’re correct about that categories are no longer available for Gmail accounts in Outlook for Mac after the recent update. Previously, Outlook for Mac allowed local-only categories for IMAP accounts, but the latest update (combined with macOS Tahoe 26.1) removed that workaround. That’s why the “Categorize” button disappeared."

    Not happy Jan!

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    3 people found this answer helpful.
  3. Dennis Dean 40 Reputation points
    2025-11-26T01:16:37.8266667+00:00

    I just installed Outlook 16.103.2 on my Mac running Sequoia 15.7.2 and it appears that the ability to select Categories is back. I haven't tried all the Categories related actions, but the basic one to assign a Category to an email works. Thank heavens! And I really have to compliment Microsoft in what I view as a pretty rapid fix.

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  4. Randy Baroja 20,780 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-11-14T00:04:02.73+00:00

    Hi,

    You can try this: reset Outlook’s feature database, since updates can occasionally scramble the internal settings that control things like categories. To do that, close Outlook fully, open the Microsoft AutoUpdate app (you can find it quickly by searching for it in Spotlight), then go to Advanced > Reset Microsoft 365 Apps and follow the prompts. This won’t remove your emails or accounts, it simply rebuilds Outlook’s internal configuration so any glitches introduced during the upgrade can clear themselves out. Once it finishes, reopen Outlook and check whether the Categorize option works again.

    Kind regards,

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    1 person found this answer helpful.