How often does outlook 365 check for mail
Outlook 365, like other email clients, periodically checks for new emails in the background to keep your inbox up-to-date. The frequency of these checks depends on several factors, including:
- Account settings: You can adjust the account settings to control how often Outlook checks for new emails. To do this:
- Go to File > Options > Advanced.
- Under "Send and receive", you'll see the "Every [X] minutes" option. You can adjust this value to change the frequency of checks.
- Sync frequency: Outlook 365 uses a feature called "Sync" to periodically check for new emails, contacts, and calendar events. The sync frequency depends on your account type and settings:
- For personal accounts (e.g., @outlook.com, @hotmail.com), the default sync frequency is every 15 minutes.
- For work or school accounts (e.g., @company.com), the sync frequency may be set by your organization's IT administrator.
- Background refresh: Outlook 365 also uses a feature called "Background refresh" to periodically refresh your inbox and other folders. This process runs in the background and can be configured to run at specific intervals:
- By default, Background refresh runs every 30 minutes.
- You can adjust this setting by going to File > Options > Advanced > Send and receive > Background refresh.
- Network connectivity: Outlook 365 checks for new emails only when it's connected to the internet. If your device is not connected to the internet, Outlook will not check for new emails.
- Device and system settings: The frequency of Outlook's checks can also be influenced by your device's and system's settings, such as:
- Power-saving features: Some devices may have power-saving features that limit background activity, including email checks.
- System updates: System updates can sometimes affect the frequency of Outlook's checks.
In summary, the frequency of Outlook 365's checks for new emails depends on a combination of account settings, sync frequency, background refresh, network connectivity, and device/system settings.