Send/Receive errors

Send/Receive Errors buttonNothing is more annoying than not being able to get your email when you want it and be presented with a sometimes very cryptic or a seeming meaningless error code instead.

Although there are a multitude of error codes that you could be presented with, there are a couple of common solutions that work for many cases.

Aside from offering common solutions, this guide also contains a list of send/receive error codes which you may encounter and their meaning. For certain error codes, a more specific solution is mentioned.


Check your email account settings.

Account Settings buttonIf you just configured your mail account and are directly presented with a send/receive error, you should start with verifying if your account settings are correct. You can get this information from your ISP or email administrator. Settings for several large free email providers can be found here.

When you are trying to send a message from another network than the network where the mailbox is located (for instance, from a hotel or a Wi-Fi hotspot, then you need to enable authentication for the configured SMTP server as well.

When Outlook worked before and you’re suddenly presented with send/receive errors, it is still good practice to verify your account settings and make sure that they are current. For example, several ISPs have increased their email security settings which could require you to enable TLS/SSL or make port changes. Also, sometimes they have merged with other ISPs and decommission the old account settings over time requiring you to make changes.

Trying your account settings on another computer or creating an additional mail profile for testing could help you determining if it is an issue with your current account configuration settings.

Disable virus scanner integration.

Virus Scanners buttonVirus scanners which integrates themselves with Outlook are a known source of causing all sorts of send receive issues. For instance, the following time-out issues are often a result of this;

  • The operation timed out waiting for a response from the receiving (POP) server.
  • A time-out occurred while communicating with the server.

Other issues that are often caused by having a virus scanner integrated with Outlook are;

  • Outlook being very slow in collecting your email.
  • Messages ending up stuck in your Outbox (also see below).
  • Messages being sent but never received.
  • Sending or receiving blank messages.
  • General message corruption;
    • Font too big/small.
    • Message not displaying at all.
    • Meeting invitations being converted into regular emails.

Disabling your virus scanner’s integration with Outlook does not compromise your security as you’d still be sufficiently protected by the on-access scanner part of the virus scanner. For more details see; Disable virus scanner integration?

Check your firewall settings.

Firewall buttonFirewalls can block incoming and outgoing traffic so make sure that Outlook and/or the required ports for email are listed as an exception to go through.

If you are presented with send/receive errors after updating Outlook, you probably need to reconfigure your firewall to re-allow Outlook to pass-through again.

This is because several firewall solutions verify via a hash that it is indeed the correct outlook.exe that is trying to pass through the firewall and not some virus which named itself outlook.exe. As with most updates the outlook.exe gets updated as well, you’ll need to accept it as safe again. You can find more information about this in the manual of your firewall solution.

Issues with add-ins

Add-Ins buttonAside from virus scanners, there could be other add-ins installed which integrate itself with the send/receive process of Outlook. Loading Outlook in Safe Mode is a good first step to see if add-ins are indeed the cause of the issues.

To further troubleshoot add-ins, manually disable each of them and re-enable them one-by-one to find the culprit.

Check data store integrity

Data Store buttonIf there are issues with the delivery location (your Outlook mailbox), then this could result in send/receive issues as well.

Checking the integrity of your delivery location can be done with scanpst.exe. Also verify that the data store isn’t full or that it needs to be converted from ANSI to the Unicode format.

If you are using an Exchange account, then you could also try it with Cached Exchange Mode disabled and see if it works correctly now. If it does, rename the ost-file to .old and have Outlook rebuild the ost-file or verify that the configured location for the ost-file in your account settings is valid.

Stuck message or hidden read receipt

Stuck in Outbox buttonA stuck message is also often a source of having send/receive issues.

While it is easy enough to spot a message stuck in your Outbox, in some cases the stuck message can be a Read Receipt which are hidden messages and thus much harder to recognize as the issues and to delete.

Other send/receive issues

More Info buttonBelow is a short list of other common send/receive issues which you could encounter but which are not directly identified by a send/receive error.

  • Password prompts
    In some cases Outlook can not remember your password for your mail account which results in being prompted for it.
     
  • Receiving duplicates
    When you receive multiple copies of a message or receiving the same message(s) over and over again see this guide.
     
  • Rules not being processed automatically
    When you have rules configured but they are not executed automatically when you receive new emails, see this guide.
     
  • No automatic send/receive upon starting Outlook or cannot edit Send/Receive settings.
    In those cases, reset your srs-file by renaming it to .old.

Send/Receive error codes

Searching in the error list below probably goes best with the Find function of your browser. For most browsers the keyboard shortcut for the Find function is CTRL+F.
When typing in the error code, please note that the error code starts with the digit 0 and not with the letter O.

General Errors

Error CodeDescriptionError Type
0x800CCC00Authentication did not loadLOAD_SICILY_FAILED
0x800CCC01Invalid certificate contentINVALID_CERT_CN
0x800CCC02Invalid certificate date.INVALID_CERT_DATE
0x800CCC03User already connected.ALREADY_CONNECTED
0x800CCC04CONN
0x800CCC05Not connected to server.NOT_CONNECTED
0x800CCC06CONN_SEND
0x800CCC07WOULD_BLOCK
0x800CCC08INVALID_STATE
0x800CCC09CONN_RECV
0x800CCC0AMessage download incompleteINCOMPLETE
0x800CCC0BServer or maildrop is busy.BUSY
0x800CCC0CNOT_INIT
0x800CCC0DCannot locate server.CANT_FIND_HOST
0x800CCC0ECannot connect to server.FAILED_TO_CONNECT
0x800CCC0FConnection closed.CONNECTION_DROPPED
0x800CCC10Address not known on server.INVALID_ADDRESS
0x800CCC11Mailing list not known on serverINVALID_ADDRESS_LIST
0x800CCC12Unable to send Winsock request.SOCKET_READ_ERROR
0x800CCC13Unable to read Winsock replySOCKET_WRITE_ERROR
0x800CCC14Unable to initialize Winsock.SOCKET_INIT_ERROR
0x800CCC15Unable to open Windows SocketSOCKET_CONNECT_ERROR
0x800CCC16User account not recognized.INVALID_ACCOUNT
0x800CCC17User canceled operationUSER_CANCEL
0x800CCC18Logon attempt failed.SICILY_LOGON_FAILED
0x800CCC19A time-out occurred while communicating with the serverTIMEOUT
0x800CCC1AUnable to connect using SSL.SECURE_CONNECT_FAILED

Winsock Errors

Error CodeDescriptionError Type
0x800CCC40Network subsystem is unusable.WINSOCK_WSASYSNOTREADY
0x800CCC41Windows Sockets cannot support this application.WINSOCK_WSAVERNOTSUPPORTED
0x800CCC42WINSOCK_WSAEPROCLIM
0x800CCC43Bad address.WINSOCK_WSAEFAULT
0x800CCC44Unable to load Windows Sockets.WINSOCK_FAILED_WSASTARTUP
0x800CCC45Operation now in progress. This error appears if a Windows Sockets API is called while a blocking function is in progress.WINSOCK_WSAEINPROGRESS

SMTP Errors

Error CodeDescriptionError Type
0x800CCC60Invalid response.SMTP_RESPONSE_ERROR
0x800CCC61Unknown error code.SMTP_UNKNOWN_RESPONSE_CODE
0x800CCC62Syntax error returned.SMTP_500_SYNTAX_ERROR
0x800CCC63Parameter syntax incorrect.SMTP_501_PARAM_SYNTAX
0x800CCC64Command not implemented.SMTP_502_COMMAND_NOTIMPL
0x800CCC65Improper command sequence.SMTP_503_COMMAND_SEQ
0x800CCC66Command not implemented.MTP_504_COMMAND_PARAM_NOTIMPL
0x800CCC67Command not available.SMTP_421_NOT_AVAILABLE
0x800CCC68Mailbox is locked and busy.SMTP_450_MAILBOX_BUSY
0x800CCC69Mailbox not found.SMTP_550_MAILBOX_NOT_FOUND
0x800CCC6AError processing request.SMTP_451_ERROR_PROCESSING
0x800CCC6BUser mailbox is known but mailbox not on this server.SMTP_551_USER_NOT_LOCAL
0x800CCC6CNo space to store messages.SMTP_452_NO_SYSTEM_STORAGE
0x800CCC6DStorage limit exceeded.SMTP_552_STORAGE_OVERFLOW
0x800CCC6EInvalid mailbox name syntax.SMTP_553_MAILBOX_NAME_SYNTAX
0x800CCC6FTransaction failed.SMTP_554_TRANSACT_FAILED
0x800CCC78Unknown sender. This is caused by having the incorrect e-mail address in the Reply-To field.SMTP_REJECTED_SENDER
0x800CCC79Server rejected recipients.SMTP_REJECTED_RECIPIENTS
0x800CCC7ANo sender address specified.SMTP_NO_SENDER
0x800CCC7BNo recipients specified.SMTP_NO_RECIPIENTS

POP3 Errors

Error CodeDescriptionError Type
0x800420CBMail cannot be stored on server.POP3_NO_STORE
0x800CCC90Client response invalid.POP3_RESPONSE_ERROR
0x800CCC91Invalid user name or user not found.POP3_INVALID_USER_NAME
0x800CCC92Password not valid for account.POP3_INVALID_PASSWORD
0x800CCC93Unable to interpret response.POP3_PARSE_FAILURE
0x800CCC94STAT Command required.POP3_NEED_STAT
0x800CCC95No messages on server.POP3_NO_MESSAGES
0x800CCC96No messages marked for retrieval.POP3_NO_MARKED_MESSAGES
0x800CCC97Message ID out of range.POP3_POPID_OUT_OF_RANGE

IMAP Errors

Error CodeDescriptionError Type
0x800CCCD1Login failed.IMAP_LOGINFAILURE
0x800CCCD2Message tagged.IMAP_TAGGED_NO_RESPONSE
0x800CCCD3Invalid response to request.IMAP_BAD_RESPONSE
0x800CCCD4Syntax error.IMAP_SVR_SYNTAXERR
0x800CCCD5Not an IMAP server.IMAP_NOTIMAPSERVER
0x800CCCD6Buffer limit exceeded.IMAP_BUFFER_OVERFLOW
0x800CCCD7Recovery error.IMAP_RECVR_ERROR
0x800CCCD8Incomplete data.IMAP_INCOMPLETE_LINE
0x800CCCD9Connection not allowed.IMAP_CONNECTION_REFUSED
0x800CCCDAUnknown response.IMAP_UNRECOGNIZED_RESP
0x800CCCDBUser ID has changed.IMAP_CHANGEDUID
0x800CCCDCUser ID command failed.IMAP_UIDORDER
0x800CCCDDUnexpected disconnect.IMAP_UNSOLICITED_BYE
0x800CCCDEInvalid server state.IMAP_IMPROPER_SVRSTATE
0x800CCCDFUnable to authorize client.IMAP_AUTH_NOT_POSSIBLE
0x800CCCE0No more authorization types.IMAP_OUT_OF_AUTH_METHODS

NNTP (News Server) Errors

Error CodeDescriptionError Type
0x800CCCA0News server response error.NNTP_RESPONSE_ERROR
0x800CCCA1Newsgroup access failed.NNTP_NEWGROUPS_FAILED
0x800CCCA2LIST command to server failed.NNTP_LIST_FAILED
0x800CCCA3Unable to display list.NNTP_LISTGROUP_FAILED
0x800CCCA4Unable to open group.NNTP_GROUP_FAILED
0x800CCCA5Group not on server.NNTP_GROUP_NOTFOUND
0x800CCCA6Message not on server.NNTP_ARTICLE_FAILED
0x800CCCA7Message header not found.NNTP_HEAD_FAILED
0x800CCCA8Message body not found.NNTP_BODY_FAILED
0x800CCCA9Unable to post to server.NNTP_POST_FAILED
0x800CCCAAUnable to post to server.NNTP_NEXT_FAILED
0x800CCCABUnable to display date.NNTP_DATE_FAILED
0x800CCCACUnable to display headers.NNTP_HEADERS_FAILED
0x800CCCADUnable to display MIME headers.NNTP_XHDR_FAILED
0x800CCCAEInvalid user or password.NNTP_INVALID_USERPASS

RAS (Remote Access) Errors

Error CodeDescriptionError Type
0x800CCCC2RAS/DUN not installed.RAS_NOT_INSTALLED
0x800CCCC3RAS/DUN process not found.RAS_PROCS_NOT_FOUND
0x800CCCC4RAS/DUN error returned.RAS_ERROR
0x800CCCC5ConnectOID damaged or missing.RAS_INVALID_CONNECTOID
0x800CCCC6Error getting dial settings.RAS_GET_DIAL_PARAMS

Enhanced Mail System Status Codes

Aside from getting the reported errors, there usually also is another error code listed. These error codes consist of 3 digits which could be separated by a dot. For instance; 553 or 5.5.3
These errors could also be sent to you in an email (usually from System Administrator) with a Delivery Status Notification code in it.

The first number will tell you the general status of the message;

  • 2
    Success. The message has been delivered.
  • 4
    Persistent Transient Failure. This means that the message was valid and accepted by the server but there is a temporary problem which prevents it from being delivered. The mail server will usually try to send it again later until a time out is reached. Until you get the a message that the server is giving up (see “5” below), there is no direct need to resend the message.
  • 5
    Permanent. This is a fatal error and the message sent cannot be delivered. It’s unlikely that the message can be delivered by a simple resend. A change must be made either within the message (wrong address, too big, too many recipients, etc), within the account settings or at the mail server of the sender or receiver.

The second 2 numbers will give you more details about why the message is delayed or failed;

  • X.0.0   Other undefined Status
  • X.1.0 Other address status
  • X.1.1 Bad destination mailbox address
  • X.2.0 Bad destination system address
  • X.1.3 Bad destination mailbox address syntax
  • X.1.4 Destination mailbox address ambiguous
  • X.1.5 Destination mailbox address valid
  • X.1.6 Mailbox has moved
  • X.1.7 Bad sender’s mailbox address syntax
  • X.1.8 Bad sender’s system address
  • X.1.9 Message relayed to non-compliant mailer
  • X.2.0 Other or undefined mailbox status
  • X.2.1 Mailbox disabled, not accepting messages
  • X.2.2 Mailbox full
  • X.2.3 Message length exceeds administrative limit.
  • X.2.4 Mailing list expansion problem
  • X.3.0 Other or undefined mail system status
  • X.3.1 Mail system full
  • X.3.2 System not accepting network messages
  • X.3.3 System not capable of selected features
  • X.3.4 Message too big for system
  • X.3.5 System incorrectly configured
  • X.4.0 Other or undefined network or routing status
  • X.4.1 No answer from host
  • X.4.2 Bad connection
  • X.4.3 Routing server failure
  • X.4.4 Unable to route
  • X.4.5 Network congestion
  • X.4.6 Routing loop detected
  • X.4.7 Delivery time expired
  • X.5.0 Other or undefined protocol status
  • X.5.1 Invalid command
  • X.5.2 Syntax error
  • X.5.3 Too many recipients
  • X.5.4 Invalid command arguments
  • X.5.5 Wrong protocol version
  • X.5.6 Authentication Exchange line is too long
  • X.6.0 Other or undefined media error/bad content
  • X.6.1 Media not supported
  • X.6.2 Conversion required and prohibited/bad domain or alias
  • X.6.3 Conversion required but not supported
  • X.6.4 Conversion with loss performed
  • X.6.5 Conversion failed
  • X.6.6 Message content not available
  • X.7.0 Other or undefined security status/authentication failure/violating site policy
  • X.7.1 Delivery not authorized, message refused
  • X.7.2 Mailing list expansion prohibited
  • X.7.3 Security conversion required but not possible
  • X.7.4 Security features not supported
  • X.7.5 Cryptographic failure
  • X.7.6 Cryptographic algorithm not supported
  • X.7.7 Message integrity failure
  • X.7.8 Trust relationship required/Authentication credentials invalid
  • X.7.9 Authentication mechanism is too weak
  • X.7.10 Encryption Needed
  • X.7.11 Encryption required for requested authentication mechanism
  • X.7.12 A password transition is needed
  • X.7.13 User Account Disabled
  • X.7.14 Trust relationship required
  • X.7.15 Authentication credentials invalid
  • X.7.16 Future release per-user message quota exceeded
  • X.7.17 Future release system message quota exceeded

Common combinations are;

421 or 4.2.1Service not available, the connection will be closed (the server could be about to be restarted)
450 or 4.5.0Requested action failed: mailbox unavailable (for instance, the mailbox is busy or locked)
451 or 4.5.1Requested action aborted due to an error on the server (contact your ISP)
452 or 4.5.2Requested action not taken due to insufficient system storage on the server (contact your ISP)
453 or 4.5.3Requested action not taken due to policy settings (for instance, too many recipients specified)
500 or 5.0.0Syntax error, command unrecognized (This may include errors such as command line too long)
501 or 5.0.1Syntax error in parameters or arguments
502 or 5.0.2Command not implemented
503 or 5.0.3Bad sequence of commands
504 or 5.0.4Command parameter not implemented (for instance, Helo command rejected: need fully-qualified hostname)
550 or 5.5.0Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable (for instance, mailbox not found, no access due to policy reasons)
551 or 5.5.1User not local and an issue occurred when the server tried to forward the message.
552 or 5.5.2Requested mail action aborted: exceeded storage allocation
553 or 5.5.3Requested action not taken: mailbox name not allowed for instance, the mailbox name is invalid)
554 or 5.5.4Transaction failed

More details about the individual error codes can be found within the base RFC document and its listed updates at the top.

Other error codes

Aside from the above listed error codes, there are many more error codes which you could encounter during send/receive. These usually refer to internal errors from Outlook, are specific to a certain mail server or are actually coming from your virus scanner or another add-in that integrates with your send/receive or networking process.

Due to the nature and origins of these error codes, the list below will probably always remain incomplete. If you encounter a new send/receive error, have a better description or even a solution for it, please email it to me (preferably with a screenshot of the error attached) and I’ll update the list accordingly.

Error CodeDescriptionCause/Possible solution
0x0004b9  
0x000501  
0x80000003  
0x80004001Not implemented 
0x80004005The operation failedVirus scanner integration issue usually related to script blocking.
0x800300FDUnknown ErrorIndicates that there is insufficient space in the Temp folder
-Empty your Deleted Items folder
-Empty your Temp folder; C:\Windows\Temp
0x80040109The Operation cannot be performed because the message has been changedVirus scanner integration issue.
Some add-in may have altered the message upon sending.
0x8004010FMicrosoft Exchange offline address book.
Not downloading Offline address book files. A server (URL) could not be located.
Verify the publication address for the Offline Address Book (OAB) in Exchange.
0x80040115The connection to the Microsoft Exchange server is unavailable. Outlook must be online or connected to complete this action.The server is not reachable, check your connection and verify that Outlook is in on-line mode.
This issue could also occur with other mail servers, not just Exchange.
0x80040119An unknown error has occurred.
Messaging interface has caused an unknown error.
Virus scanner integration issue usually related to authentication.
This issue could also occur when there are errors in your pst-file.
0x8004011DTask “Microsoft Exchange Server” reported error (0×8004011D): “The server is not available. Contact your administrator if this condition persists.”The server is not reachable, check your connection and verify that Outlook is in on-line mode.
This issue could also occur with other mail servers, not just Exchange.
0x80040126The operation cannot be performed because the connection to the server is offline.This issue is an Outlook Connector issue. If there is no general issues with Hotmail itself, make sure you have the latest version installed. Removing and re-adding your Hotmail account might help.
0x80040305Your server administrator has limited the number of items you can open simultaneously.
Email too big (Google Apps Sync)
These limitations can be set on the mail server. Contact your mail admin to find out which limitations are in affect.
0x80040600An unknown error has occurred.Virus scanner integration issue usually related to authentication.
This issue could also occur when there are errors in your pst-file.
0x80040607An unknown error occurredVirus scanner integration issue.
Authentication not enabled for the configured SMTP server.
0x8004060CUnknown Error 
0x80040900  
0x80040FB3Error encountered. Check documentation.This issue is related to BlackBerry accounts. It appears that your account is not associated with a BES or Exchange account.
Other causes could be a corrupted item that is trying to be synched. Remove this item and try again.
0x80042108Outlook is unable to connect to your incoming (POP) e-mail server.
If you continue to receive this message, contact your server administrator or ISP.
 
0x80042109Outlook cannot connect to your outgoing (SMTP) e-mail server.
If you continue to receive this message, contact your server administrator or ISP.
 
0x8004210AThe operation timed out waiting for a response from the receiving (POP) server.
If you continue to receive this message, contact your server administrator or Internet service provider (ISP).
Virus scanner integration issue
0x8004210BThe operation timed out waiting for a response from the sending (SMTP) server.
If you continue to receive this message, contact your server administrator or Internet service provider (ISP).
An address in the distribution list might be malformed or corrupted.
Update/remove the address or recreate the distribution list.
0x80042112  
0x8004218  
0x80048002This task was cancelled before it was completed.Virus scanner integration issue.
Some add-in may have altered the message upon sending.
0x8004DF0B  
0x80070005You don’t have appropriate permissions to perform this operationRefers to issues with the delivery location;
-scan it for errors with scanpst.exe or scanost.exe
-verify that you have read/write permissions on the pst-/ost-file
-verify that the path to the pst-/ost-file is valid
-verify that the ost-file belongs to the correct user and mailbox
0x8007000E  
0x80070021  
0x80070057Could not complete operation. One or more parameter values are not valid.
Sending reported error parameters not correct.
Virus scanner integration issue.
This error could also occur with Google Apps Sync trying to sync your RSS folders to the server.
0x80072F17Synchronization could not be completed. Try again later.This issue is usually caused by issues with the SSL certificate.
0x8007007EUnknown error 
0x80090FB3  
0x800C0131Unknown error has occurred.data storage issue
0x800C0133 data storage issue
virus scanner integration issue
0x800C013B  
0x800CCC33Task ‘Hotmail: Folder:Inbox Synchronizing headers.’ reported error (0×800CCC33) : ‘Access to the account was denied. Verify that your username and password are correct. The server responded ‘Forbidden’.This error is encountered when you are trying to make a connection to a Live Hotmail account without the Outlook Connector installed.
0x800CCC7DUnknown ErrorThe outgoing SMTP server does not support secure connections.
Verify your account settings or contact your ISP.
0x800CCC80None of the authentication methods supported by this client are supported by your server. 
0x800CCCF7  
0x81FC0005 Close and reopen Outlook
0x834005  
0xC0000005  
0xD4904005