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Business IT Microsoft Office Productivity

How to fix Outlook 365 Performance Issues

Outlook 365 Windows desktop app is critical for many of us, so what do you do when it isn’t performing as it needs to? Continue reading to find out how to fix Outlook 365 performance issues.

Symptoms of Outlook 365 Performance Issues

  • Outlook CPU usage is high
  • Animated gif’s / images in emails stutter
  • Switching between emails is slow

Common Solutions

Solution 1: Disable Hardware graphics acceleration

A Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) are designed to handle graphics-based tasks efficiently. However, most computers don’t have a dedicated GPU and share system memory and processing resources. Hardware graphics accelertaion when using a dedicated GPU will improve performance, but when using a shared GPU, the performance can be degraded and cause high CPU load. As a result, disabling the hardware acceleration can improve the performance of Outlook.

To disable Hardware GPU acceleration, follow these steps:

  1. In Outlook, Click File
  2. Select Options
  3. Click Advanced
  4. Within the Display section uncheck Disable Hardware Graphics Accelleration.
  5. Click Ok
  6. Finally, close Outlook and reopen for the setting to take effect.

Solution 2: Disable Offline Cache in Outlook

To disable offline cache in MS Outlook 2016/365:

  1. Open Outlook.
  2. Select File > Info tab, Account settings > Account Settings.
  3. The “Email” tab is selected with focus on the active email exchange account.
  4. Double-click on your email address listed.
  5. Uncheck “Use Cached Exchange Mode”.
  6. Select the “Next” button, then “OK”, then “Finish”
  7. Finally, restart Outlook.

For more information on cached exchange mode check out:
MS Outlook Cached Exchange Mode [support.office.com]

Did this resolve your Outlook 365 performance issues?

I hope this helped in resolving your Outlook performance issues, please let me know if this helped via the contact page

Tell me what you think in the comments below or on X @timdixon82

By Tim Dixon

Tim Dixon has worked in IT for over 20 years, specifically within the Testing Inspection and Certification industry. Tim has Cone Dystrophy, a progressive sight loss condition that impacts his central vision, colour perception and makes him sensitive to light. He likes to share his experience of life and how he navigates the abyss of uncertainty.

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