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10 Proven Ways to Speed Up Outlook Performance (All Versions)

10 Proven Ways to Speed Up Outlook Performance (All Versions)

Techinmay OP 1104 09-Oct-2025

If you’ve been using Microsoft Outlook for many years, you have noticed that it slows down and or behaves badly sometimes. Therefore, this post will offer you 10 effective tips to speed up Outlook performance.

Microsoft Outlook is no doubt a popularly used email client among business users. As it stores a large amount of data and needs to be used regularly, this slows down its processing speed. However, it starts taking lots of time to start, navigate between the folders or while sending new emails. It becomes so irritating and frustrating to wait for such a long time. Therefore, speeding up Outlook 2019 / 2016 / 2013 / 2010 / 2007, one needs to remove the hurdles while processing & boost Outlook performance.

There are some users who have suffered many times with the poor performance of Outlook, like experiencing an endless wait or missing an important task due to slow Outlook, etc. Therefore, do not wait so long!

Use the 10 amazing tips to speed up Outlook performance, which are discussed below:

Most Popular Tips to Enhance/Boost MS Outlook Performance

  1. Update Microsoft Outlook & Windows 10
  2. Disable Unused Add-ins
  3. Turn Off RSS Feeds Feature
  4. Cut Down the Published & Shared Calendars
  5. Download IMAP Emails Completely
  6. Use Cached Exchange Mode
  7. Archive Old Outlook Emails
  8. Move Attachments to Local Storage
  9. Remove Duplicate Items
  10. Fix Outlook files

Now, let us describe each of these tips in detail.

Tip 1: Update Microsoft Outlook & Windows 10

It is a well-known fact that if your Microsoft Outlook & Windows 10 are not up-to-date, then you might have an effect on the performance of Outlook. Therefore, always keep Outlook & Windows updated to boost Outlook performance. To update Outlook 2019 / 2016, navigate to File >> Office Account >> Update Options >> Update Now option.

Tip 2: Disable Unused Add-ins

It might be possible that some other third-party tools are installed as add-ins in MS Outlook that you do not know. However, most of them are useless and degrade the Outlook performance. Therefore, it is always beneficial to disable the unused add-ins from Outlook to speed up Outlook performance. To do the same, navigate to File >> Options >> Add-ins >> Go option. After that, in the pop-up dialogue box, remove all except Microsoft add-ins.

Tip 3: Turn Off RSS Feeds Feature

Another important parameter is the RSS Feeds that affect the Outlook performance. If it is not important to you or has never been used by you, then it is recommended to disable it to start speeding up Outlook. To disable the RSS feeds, navigate to File >> Options >> Advanced option. After that, you can easily locate the RSS Feeds icon and disable the two options under it. This will surely boost Outlook performance.

Tip 4: Cut Down the Published & Shared Calendars

In Outlook, users easily share and publish calendars with each other. In addition, it works really well in Outlook 2019 / 2016 / 2013 / 2007. Therefore, it leads to so many published & shared calendars in Outlook and makes Outlook work slowly. To speed up Outlook performance, it is suggested to remove all published & shared calendars which are not important.

Tip 5: Download IMAP Emails Completely

It is always clear to the users that an IMAP account downloads only the email header part. As a user double-clicks on the email, it will download the complete email contents, which will absolutely degrade Outlook's working. Therefore, one should make it download complete emails when it's synchronised. To do this, choose the target account from the send/receive groups. After that, check the Download complete item, including the attachments option.

Tip 6: Use Cached Exchange Mode

If a user is using an Exchange account, Outlook will read data over the network also takes lots of time. Thus, to speed up Outlook performance, one is suggested to use the cache exchange mode. Using this, one can effectively take a data file from the Exchange Server and cache it to the system. For this, in Account Settings, choose the Exchange Account. Then, click on the Change button. Now, you can activate the cached Exchange Mode from the new window.

Tip 7: Archive Old Outlook Emails

Storing a large amount of data in a PST file is also one of the major factors that affect the performance. Therefore, you are advised to archive old data timely manner to boost Outlook performance. To do the same, you can use the Cleanup software and the Auto Archive option.

Tip 8: Move Attachments to Local Storage

Apart from archiving the PST file data, it is always recommended to store or move all attachments to the local machine and delete them from Outlook. This will help in reducing the size of the PST file suddenly. However, if the message body contains attachments, then first turn the message into edit mode, and then move attachment to local storage.

Tip 9: Remove Duplicate Items

Another possible thing that a user can try to speed up Outlook performance is to delete redundant items in large PST files. This will instantly speed up Outlook as it frees some of the space. Now, to do the same, you can useOutlook Duplicate Items Remover, which can effectively eliminate duplicates in the Outlook mailbox which resulting in a reduced PST file size.

Tip 10: Fix Outlook files

In the case of any error in the PST file of MS Outlook, it will directly affect the performance of Outlook. However, to fix the error in PST file, one can use an expert utility called Outlook Recovery Tool by SysTools that will repair Outlook PST file easily.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.1 Why is Outlook Running so Slowly?

Outlook may slow down due to large PST files, too many add-ins, outdated software, or overloaded calendars. Optimising these factors can improve speed.

Q.2 How Do I Fix Outlook Not Responding or Freezing?

These are some tips you could use to fix Outlook not responding issues.

  • Disable add-ins,
  • repair PST files using Scanpst.exe
  • Archive old emails, and
  • compact large PST files

Conclusion

In this article, many users are suffering from this speed error and need to enhance it. Therefore, considering the requirements of the users, we have discussed 10 effective tips for speeding up Outlook instantly. One can use them and speed up/ boost Outlook performance without any external help.
 


Updated 06-Nov-2025
Techinmay OP

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I am Techinmay, a passionate tech enthusiast with a keen interest in exploring the latest trends in technology. I enjoy learning about software, gadgets, and digital solutions that make life easier and more efficient. Always curious and driven, I strive to expand my knowledge and apply it to solve real-world problems.


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