Outlook 2016 with a February 2016 update installed is downloading multiple messages. The recommendation is to revert to the previous build. See Outlook 2016 POP Account Problems for more information and instructions. (This is fixed in the March 2016 update.
Outlook users complain when Outlook downloads duplicate messages when they re-use Outlook data files. This is expected behavior when you use an old pst and leave mail on the server.
I moved my pst files to a new computer and set up Outlook to use the old pst files. When I try the first send/receive, Outlook downloads all of the emails off of the server even though I already have copies in the inbox. How do I get it to stop downloading the copies of the email? If I can't, how do I sort the email for the newly downloaded identical copies and delete them?
Duplicate remover utilities are available at Duplicate Remover Tools
You can't avoid Outlook downloading duplicates when you leave mail on the server. The "Mailbox Manager" file Outlook uses to keep track of messages that were downloaded is associated with the account that created it and downloaded the mail. When you create a new account, Outlook has to re-download all of the mail again.
There are ways to deal with this issue though:
1: Because POP3 only downloads mail that is in the Inbox, you can move the mail from the Inbox to another folder in your account online (log in using webmail) before taking Outlook online.
2: Let Outlook download the mail then add the Modified date field to the view, sort by it and delete all of the mail you just downloaded (that was previously downloaded.)
To delete the mail after it is downloaded, add the Modified date field to the view and delete the duplicate messages. (If you are leaving mail on the server intentionally, you may want to change the option to delete mail from the server when it's deleted from Outlook. Look in Account Settings, More Settings, Advanced tab.)
- Close the Reading pane
- Right click on the row of field names and choose Field Chooser
- Select Date/Time fields from the drop down
- Drag Modified to the row of field names and drop it between two fields.
- Click on Modified to sort.
- Select the first message you downloaded in the session
- Scroll to the last (or last non-duplicate), hold Shift as you select the message
- Press Delete.
If you have an ongoing issue with duplicate mail, you can use a rule to move older mail to another folder or delete it as it arrives. This method is usually better if you are creating a new profile or needed to remove the account and add it back to Outlook, but you need to set it up before you begin downloading mail.
- Set Outlook to Work Offline (Send/Receive tab)
- If you want to leave the old mail on the server, change the option to delete mail from the server when it's deleted from Outlook. Go to File, Account Settings, double click on the email account, click More Settings, Advanced tab.
- Open Rules, Manage Rules & Alerts dialog.
- Create a New Rule
- Choose Apply rule on messages I receive then click Next.
- Choose received in a specific date span
- Click the underlined words and tick Before: [date]. Choose yesterday's date if you haven't downloaded mail yet today. Click Ok then Next.
- On the actions page, select either move to the specified folder then select the folder or permanently delete it. Click Next.
- Create any exceptions and click Next then Finish the rule.
- On the Send/Receive tab, click the Work Offline button to go back online and let Outlook download mail.
- If you moved mail to a folder, review it then permanently delete it before changing Outlook's settings for handling deleted mail in File, Account Settings, double click on the email account, click More Settings, Advanced tab.
3: Turn off any rules you use and move the contents of the Inbox to a temporary folder. Download mail and delete the old mail from the Inbox. If you use Outlook 2007 and up, you don't need to move your mail out of the Inbox; you can choose a different folder as the delivery location in Account Settings, select account > Change folder then create a new folder and set it as the default delivery location.
4: You could use "Duplicate Remover Tools" to remove the duplicated messages. But honestly, that's not necessary in most cases.
Victor Delta says
I have used Outlook 2003, in POP3/SMTP mode, to access 5 email accounts for many years. All are working fine but my main Gmail account started behaving oddly a week ago. It started repeatedly downloading the same incoming emails and also stopping after about 14 emails with error message 0x800CCC0F ‘The connection to the server was interrupted’. None of the other accounts were affected (inc. some other Gmail ones).
I tried deleting the account in Outlook and then recreating it from scratch but that didn’t change anything. I checked that the account did not have the ‘leave a copy on the server’ box ticked. Then, suspecting a corrupt 'Mailbox Manager' file somewhere, I removed all the emails from the Gmail inbox using the web access and went to send/receive – hoping that with nothing to download everything would get back to normal. To my surprise, Outlook started downloading 245 emails from the main account but, as before, got as far as about number 14 (10 - 15 seconds) and then stopped and put up the same error message as before.
This is driving me mad – do you have any suggestions as to what I can do to fix this please.
PS As a temporary workaround I am using the forwarding facility on my main account to send new emails to another Gmail account which then come in to Outlook 2003.
Victor Delta says
Pleased to report that problem is solved.
I scanned the pst file with scanpst but this did not solve anything (although some errors were found and repaired). Once again, main Gmail account still got to about 15 out of now 300 emails and stopped with error message 0x800CCC0F.
Had another think and decided to temporarily disable all the shields on my AV software (Avast) and, hurray, backlog of emails all downloaded and now cleared so I am back to working normally. Shields restarted. Phew!
Interesting that it turned out not to be an Outlook 2003 problem after all!
The Shredder says
I run SCANPST.EXE.
Go to the server and delete all e-mail on the server previous to a date you choose.
Nothing else works.
A GIANT pain...
[] says
I have seen your article this is very amazing and after reading your blog we found some interesting facts, so thanks
leo says
You forgot the "key rule" just stating "Create any exceptions and click Next then Finish the rule." that would not delete the duplicates, will delete everything.
Diane Poremsky says
You want to delete all mail that arrived on the server before yesterday (or some date in the past)... There is no rule that will only check for and delete duplicates - you need to delete (or move) all messages in the (server) mailbox before a specific date as those are the ones that should have been already downloaded.
if the mail is already downloaded, you'll need to use a utility or sort by last modified date and delete the ones with the same last modified date.
Leslie says
I have outlook 2010 on my 4 computers, networked using outlook connect to MDaemon on my work server.to manage the mail. Suddenly I have thousands of messages because a download is happening every minute, all duplicates. This started a few days ago.I uninstalled outlook and reinstalled, just to see if it was a corrupt version on one of the computers, but it still continues. I turned off MDaemon on my server. I removed all the mail in my cloud server (telus webmail) but as soon as I turn on MDaemon again, lots of messages download (4000 at a time) to my computer outlook, even though they are no longer on the Telus server...so I'm guessing MDaemon is causing the new issue.
Any ideas?
Diane Poremsky says
What type of account is configured in Outlook - pop or imap? It sounds like the messages are stored in MDaemon - MDaemon collects the mail from tellus and stores it locally then outlook connects to MDaemon to get mail. Something is messed up in MDaemon or in the connection between it and outlook.
Assuming Pop3: If you have outlook set to check mail every minute, raise it to at least 15 min now (30 or even higher will be better) - this will give outlook time to download everything and reset the last message id. After the duplicates stop, then you can lower the check every time to 5 to 8 minutes- don't go lower than 5. If all outlook's are configured for pop, set each one to a different time - 5,6,7,8 min. This will prevent them from overlapping mail checks.
Of course, the other option is to delete mail from MDaemon.
Venkatesan says
Dear Am getting redownloading of imap data file once it configured, Please advise me to sort out the issue.
Diane Poremsky says
Everything stored on the imap server is synced when you first set up the account. If anything happens to the data file, it will be resynced to a new data file. Outlook 2013 and up have a 'sync slider' so you can limit the sync to the newest messages.
Hamid Agah says
Hello, I have two pop3 accounts in outlook 2007, Gmail and sbcglobal.net. Both accounts configured to leave the messages on the servers so I can get them on my phone too. Outlook never downloads duplicate messages from the Gmail account. However, it does it repeatedly from the sbcglobal.net irrespective of a number of messages on the server. Is there any way to address this? Thank you. Hamid
Diane Poremsky says
that generally means the 'mailbox manager' file that stores the last downloaded message id was corrupted - either because the connection was dropped before it completed or for other reasons.
How frequently are you downloading messages? Use no less than every 5 minutes.
Are you using the same pst file with different profiles? If so, that cause cause problems. Use a different one in each profile.
if the sbc account supports IMAP, that would be a better option as it syncs with the server - things deleted on either device will sync to all devices, read state also syncs.
You can create a rule to move or delete mail that was received before today - you'll also need to turn off the option to delete from the server when deleted from outlook & change the check every nn setting to a higher # - then just let it download everything. (I'll add those instructions to this page.)
Darren says
Diane, I have a bellsouth.net email address and recently got a new computer. I set up Outlook and allowed all emails to download to the new machine. Everything worked fine for a few weeks, but suddenly emails didn't seem to be downloading to Outlook. I had been told by an ATT customer service rep a few months back that when I cancelled my last ATT product (Uverse cable TV service) that I would no longer be able to download my emails to an email client although I would be able to use webmail, so I figured ATT had finally cut me off. However, I decided to try to setup my email account again to make sure nothing was corrupted with my initial account....this seems to have worked as I am now downloading all my emails again but to the new account. However, my issue is this....i have many years worth of emails, so it takes a long time (days) to download them all. Is there a shortcut to allow the newly created email account to recognize already downloaded emails from my initial account?
Diane Poremsky says
No, sorry, you can't tell outlook not to download it - you can use rules to delete older mail as it downloads, to avoid duplicates.
did you try repairing the account in outlook? (using the Repair button in Settings)
David Rowley says
I had this same problem back at the beginning of 2016,, but it seemed to be resolved.
However, today I got all of my January, 2017 e-mails downloaded as duplicates again.
Did another update just occur that fouled up Outlook 2016? How to stop this. It's really time consuming to correct and annoying.
I did try Apple, they have other issues that are worse, so I'm hoping to continue to use Outlook rather than go to Linux and Thunderbird.
Diane Poremsky says
Did you create a new data file? The 'mailbox manager' file that records the index # of the last downloaded message is stored in the data file - creating a new data file will download everything on the server.
lucy candlin says
I have the POP3 duplication problem but only when I change timezones. Today I went from London to Doha and all the emails left on the web server are downloading again.
My Outlook is part of Office 2010.
Any suggestions?
Diane Poremsky says
Not sure why it is happening - as long as the pst did not change, the index # on the server should not have changed it.
M Krs says
i am not getting mail from webmail to outlook 2013 client it download some 2-3 mails with attachment i get send and receive error thereafter i will not able to send nor receive mails. what could be wrong. need help
Mike Brown says
Thanks so much for the suggestions of using the modified field to sort and delete downloaded duplicates. Worked like a charm and saved me 30 bucks on a duplicate removal tool.
Alan Smith says
You can stop this behaviour. I did it recently with Outlook 2007.
On the new PC set up Outlook without an email account.
Close Outlook.
Replace the .pst it created with your .pst from the old machine.
On the old machine export the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles\Outlook
On the new machine delete that key (and all subkeys)
Then merge the .reg file you exported into the registry of the new PC.
Start Outlook and your old account(s) will be created.
Outlook tracks the email it has downloaded against the account that downloaded it. If you created a new account that info would be lost. Doing this creates your old accounts exactly as they were on the old machine and Outlooks then knows what emails it has already downloaded so only downloads new email.
I understand that the latest version of Outlook doesn't have this problem. This fix definitely works even though all the answers I've seen on the 'net say it can't be done. It can.
Usual warnings about backing up registry first, I didn't bother though, do the steps above you'll be fine.
Diane Poremsky says
The problem with moving the registry key to another machine is 1) the pst path in the registry can be wrong if the user names are not identical on both computers. Errors can also occur if the computer name is different (as is common for new computers but not when you reformat) or you are using a newer OS (where the username path changed). This can break the address book - nothing shows when you click To. 2) it can cause errors if you don't have the same addins installed on both systems.
Alan Smith says
The new computer name was different, user name was identical, different addins. All I can say is it worked for me, email, address book, everything fine. It was a quick, easy fix. If it hadn't worked it was no big deal to delete the Outlook profile in the registry, restart Outlook, create a new profile when prompted then set up my accounts manually.
Then deal with the duplicates in a more time consuming way.
Florida Fencer says
I downloaded the latest update - 16.0.6741.2021 - yesterday and the problem of downloading duplicate e-mails remains. This was not a problem one or two updates ago, e.g. earlier this year - and definitely affects my POP3 e-mail accounts (which all of my e-mail accounts are). Supposedly the last version was the one with the bug but this version does not seem to fix the problem even after a shutdown and a restart. Any insights?
Diane Poremsky says
The bug was in a the early March build, 16.0.6568.2025 and is fixed in 16.0.6568.2036 (and newer). Did you let everything download again? It needs to complete the download to set the mailbox manager file.
https://www.slipstick.com/outlook/updates/outlook-2016pop-problems-update/
Florida Fencer says
Ah - I did not let everything download again. I will try this and report back. Thank you!
Florida Fencer says
Brilliant - it worked! Allowing the full download after the Office udpate fixed the problem! Thank you Diane! This is the only site I found with any qualified, helpful knowledge on the subject.
Christine Sutherland says
This problem has been solved with the latest update. After installing the update, Outlook may download duplicates one more time, but after that will behave.
Diane Poremsky says
That would apply only to outlook 2016 users - https://www.slipstick.com/outlook/updates/outlook-2016pop-problems-update/ - anyone using an older version of outlook will have a different cause and solution.
Jacki says
I have just done an update today to version 16.0.6741.2017 and still receiving at least 4 of each email! this is absolutely ridiculous! any suggestions please???
Diane Poremsky says
Did you reboot? Did all of the messages download once after installing the update? You need to let it do that so it can rebuild the mailbox manager file. The other options are to switch to imap or log into web access and move the email out of the inbox (or delete it).
Dani says
This is just crazy. Outlook used to work just fine and only downloaded each message once.
Diane Poremsky says
Are you using Outlook 2016? There is a bug. You need to check for updates https://www.slipstick.com/outlook/updates/outlook-2016pop-problems-update/ - it may still download duplicates on last time.
sathiya says
Hai,
In one of my customer installed ms2007 and currently they are installed 2016 licened.also they are upgraded 2007 to 2016 oultook also removed 2007..but in 2016 outlook users receiving repeated emails copies..so kindly share any idea of this..
I want to know how to resolve this problem???/
Diane Poremsky says
It's a bug. See https://www.slipstick.com/outlook/updates/outlook-2016pop-problems-update/ - make sure you check for updates.
Marc Thornton says
Hello Diane, We have found in the new update that when downloading it is deleting from server. I have muliple users that check a shared pop account. the accounts are set to remove from server after 5 days. however, when i send/receive it downloads to my box, deletes from server and no one else can see. this just started happening. Any suggestions ?
Diane Poremsky says
This is with Outlook 2016? Did you check for updates? There was a bad update - see https://www.slipstick.com/outlook/updates/outlook-2016pop-problems-update/ for details. It should be fixed in the updates released late last week.
dgall says
My outlook express did this and every email that sent receipt automatically had that sent back to the sender yesterday I had customers get over 40 sent receipts
Diane Poremsky says
Outlook Express or Outlook 2016? (This is one reason why I always have Outlook set to ask if i want to return receipts.)
jusfrus says
Wish I had read this earlier - spent 2 hours on MS support and I now have a new profile and still getting duplicates :-( so annoying but some good tips here so thank you!
Diane Poremsky says
Did they delete the old profile? If not, you can switch back to it (to keep customizations that are saved in the profile).
djmayes says
I hear your frustration - this used to work fine until 3 days ago when some outlook update screwed up POP3 clients!! So frustrating and after 3 hours of MS help, the support person admitted it!!! Easy solution is to ad the Folder Cleanup button to your Home menu in Outlook - right next to the Send/Receive button. Click Send/Recieve then Folder Clean - a smaller frustration!!
Diane Poremsky says
Folder cleanup is to remove the supplicates that were downloaded?
Paul Gross says
thanks. Why oh why, I have not moved to Apple? Microsoft has been doing this kind of thing for years. Just finished deleting 1000 copies of emails going back a month
Florin says
Hi, thank you for the solution presented, I have the same problem started today when I was presented with the "new features" of Office 365 (like black theme, etc). However, I see that the solution presented is very laborious, when somebody buys a product doesn't buy it in order to create more work for him, but to help him to sort the main work he has to carry on. Wouldn't be more elegant that Microsoft takes care to not create extra problems when introducing features? Or al least sorts those problems without bothering the customers?
Diane Poremsky says
Unfortunately, sometimes problems slip thru, especially with a feature that doesn't get a lot of use. (Many users switched from POP3 to IMAP so they could sync with phones). Microsoft will be fixing it, but the update will take about a month.
The recommended solution (revert to older version) is actually quite easy and shouldn't take too long.
Florin says
Diane, I don't agree at all with your opinion that Microsoft should neglect POP3 because many users switched to IMAP. POP3 is still widely used, and, in fact, the moment I bought Office 365, I bought Outlook supporting POP3. And yes, I am using POP3 over multiple devices.
I sorted the problem by reverting my notebook to the older version, and today, after a few days, the desktop (Windows 10, 24GB Ram, all bells and whistles) started to act the same. I noticed that the multiple downloaded e-mails are the ones that have attachments, which makes the things worse, by using a lot of bandwidth and bloating my used storage.
I'll sort the things the same way, but that's a shame.
Many thanks,
Florin
Diane Poremsky says
I'm not saying they should neglect pop3 and they aren't. But because it's falling from favor (and there are many different configurations), they missed this bug. They are working on a fix but it takes time. Under most conditions, it seems to take 4-6 months to fix bugs but I'm told they are working on this to get it out ASAP. But ASAP won't be this week or next, however it will be faster than usual. I (and the other Outlook MVPs) had a talk with the product group about fast updates, this and other recent bugs, and automatically reverting to the last known good version. They definitely need to do a better job, make reverting easier (it's not hard, but it should be more automated when an update is bad) and maybe they need to slow down the updates.
Midas says
Thanks so much for clarifying this. I had previously spent hours on the phone with MS support who did not recognize the problem and were no help whatsoever.
Diane Poremsky says
I forget what day I posted that - but they exceeded my expectations and released an update Friday evening that is supposed to address this (I'm pretty sure they are within 'this week or next' :)). I haven't tested it yet so I can't say for sure that it does... you can use the Update now button in File, Account if you want to try it.
Terry Brown says
What is the procedure to revert to an older version?
Diane Poremsky says
follow the instructions here https://www.slipstick.com/outlook/updates/outlook-2016pop-problems-update/
Cliff says
I now have ms outlook 2016 and after setting up my account, every email on my server is downloading over the past six years...How do I only retrieve a date range of emails from lets say only the last two years?
Diane Poremsky says
When you set up a pop account in a new profile, it will download everything in the inbox. You have two choices: move the old mail into a folder on the server (easier said then done) or use a rule to move or delete older mail (received in a specific date span condition). If you use the rule, make sure you turn off the option to delete from the server when deleted from outlook. After you empty the deleted items folder, then you can turn that option back on.
If you have older mail already downloaded and need to get rid of the duplicates, sort by the modified date and delete old mail downloaded today.
Jim says
It is more of Outlook 2016 issue...it just keeps downloading the messages over and over again! No other settings were changed. It started happening right after the latest automatic upgrade!
Diane Poremsky says
Bug in the latest update. I'm recommending reverting to the previous version. Instructions are at https://www.outlook-tips.net/tips/outlook-2016-pop-account-problems/
Jim says
"C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ClickToRun\officec2rclient.exe" /update user updatetoversion=16.0.6366.2068 does not work. There is no file "officec2rclient.exe" in the folder. The file that is there "officeC2RClient.exe" does not run when clicked.
Diane Poremsky says
You can't run it by clicking, you need to run it from Command Prompt (Admin), using the switch.
Pratul says
my outlook is downloading 2 mails at a time. I have checked that therez only 1 account still 2 mails are getting download.
outlook configured in pop3. please suggest
Diane Poremsky says
Do you have rules set up? If you have rules moving mail and don't use the stop processing rules action, you can get duplicates.
mohan says
i have an issue whenever i start the outlook all mail of inbox is getting downloading in outlook. outlook configured in pop..please suggest ....
Diane Poremsky says
What version of Outlook? Did it work correctly before and now isn't?
When this happens, it means Outlook isn't properly talking to the server and marking the messages that it downloaded or deleting from the server (if you aren't leaving mail on the server). This can be caused by a bad internet connection or temporary problems on the server, or the pst has some corruption and outlook can't properly save the file that keeps track of the messages it already downloaded.
Jo says
I have a PC & later purchased Apple iPad I have same email address on both plus a second on iPad but I never get the email on th iPad that I get on PC. Why?j
Diane Poremsky says
Is the account set up as pop3? If outlook downloads and deletes from the server, it won't be available on the ipad or other devices. You can set outlook to leave on server or remove the pop account and add it back as imap.
CarolineG says
I have the exact same senario as WendyG but it is happening when I take my laptop home and connect to a different wifi the download of 2000 messages on the server starts all over again. I have changed my settings to delete from the server after one month. Should I go in and completely clean off the server? I still think its related to the change in internet connection.
Diane Poremsky says
Are you using a different profile or windows login at home? Outlook shouldn't redownload the message just because you changed connections but it will if you changed profiles.
WendyG says
I recently switched from Outlook 2007 on a PC where I used POP email and left a copy on the server and NEVER had any problems with duplicate email downloads. Just got a Mac with Outlook 2011, moved my PST file from my PC over and loaded it. Set up my same POP Yahoo email and hit send/receive and it downloaded 20,000 emails from the server. I understood why it downloaded all my old emails into the newly set up computer. What I don't understand is why it keeps downloading those same 20,000 emails again and again each time I send/receive?? How can I get this to stop? I want to leave a copy on the server so I can access from my phone or web mail - this was never a problem before moving to Mac. Also, I read above to limit how often it auto send/receives but I can't figure out where to change this setting on Outlook 2011 for Mac? Please help. I called Microsoft but they want $99 to help with this issue.
Diane Poremsky says
When a mail client keeps downloading mail over and over, it means its not properly tracking the last message downloaded. This is not uncommon when downloading a large number of messages. The mac will need to download all of the messages once - then it should only get newly arrived messages.
One option is to move the messages into a new folder online - POP3 only sees what is in the inbox. I don't know how easy that will be to do in yahoo. The other option is to set up the account as IMAP and move the old mail to a new folder - the changes will sync back up to the server.
Shrikrushna says
I am using Outlook 2007 Configured with POP3 Account but Certainly Some Mails getting Downloading Repeat, Please Give Any Technically article it can Solve My issue...
Diane Poremsky says
That usually happens when the internet connection is spotty or you are using an antivirus or antispam scanner to check mail as it's sent or received. Outlook and the server can't communicate properly and outlook doesn't know which message was the last one downloaded and downloads old messages too.
Riviana says
I have not reinstalled Outlook , still it is downloading all the emails again from the server. How do i stop that ? I am using Outlook 2007
Diane Poremsky says
Did you create a new account or new profile in Outlook? Did you run scanpst or another pst repair tool? How frequently are you checking for email? Set it to at least 5 min, 10 is better.
Jaap Kuiper says
I was having problems syncing my .pst from dropbox. Every pop3 account with the settings 'leave messages' on the server for x days would give me duplicates every day. The problem was I created each account on each computer MANUALLY. When I deleted all my accounts and imported them using the .ops file from the other computer my problem went away. I guess Microsoft uses a specific number that links to each account which tells the master file if a message has been downloaded or not. When you import the .ops file you get the same number for your accounts, when you create them manually on each computer they will have different numbers ad therefore will always be out of sync.
Hope this helps somebody.
Diane Poremsky says
Note, sync pst files using cloud services is not recommended. It can result in a corrupt pst file and data loss.
(The ops file is an Office Profile Wizard file, used by corporations to preconfigure office for their users.)
Jaap Kuiper says
I actually mean the .ops file you can generate with the office tool "backup my settings" (is it the same?). It saves all the pop3 information with the exception of your passwords. I've read that the .pst can get corrupted but still it is a nice solution when using 2 or more computers, each computer has it's own .pst stored locally in the dropbox folder. Although I regularly move (backup) email to other (non-dropbox) local .pst files you could always recover from a corrupted dropbox .pst file when you encouter one, simply go to the 2nd computer, disable any network before you power on your computer and backup the file in your dropbox folder before it gets overwritten with a corrupt version.
This situation is great for me for working in two geographic locations with 20+ pop3 accounts. No need to carry a laptop on my bike anymore.
Diane Poremsky says
It's built on the same technology - but it was removed from Office a few versions ago.
Duggie says
I can't believe this is still going on - this problem has been around for several years, and there is only ONE source to blame - Microsoft. I have a number of laptops and a couple of different mail servers, and I also have a yahoo.co.uk email account, all of which I created accounts for on my ipad, iphone 4, Windows 7 Ultimate laptop, and Macbook Pro. As far as the Windows 7 machine is concerned it runs Outlook 2010 and I have no problems on it whatsoever. I also have no problems on the ipad. However, on the iphone and the Macbook running Office 2011, I have a mega email download around every 12 months.
All the excuses made earlier in this thread are simply trying to divert the attention away from Microsoft. I paid good money to BUY this Office 2011 product - which is licenced by Microsoft. So WHY is someone trying to take the blame away from them when they are charging everyone to use the software which is obviously not fit for purpose?
Does everyone have the time to start messing around writing scripts or creating rules etc just to give themselves a 'fix' for a problem caused by Microsoft? Well, I don't!! It's ridiculous to even suggest that the paying customer should have to 'fix' or work around problems caused by Microsoft.
Also, to suggest that people should have to move to IMAP instead of POP3 is ridiculous. Why on earth should someone have to change the way THEY decide to work just because Microsoft refuses to spend some of the trillions of dollars profit on making their software work? I'll find a work around - and it won't involve using Microsoft products.
There are many different email clients around, and as my Macbook has just started to download several thousand emails again then I can assure everyone reading this that Outlook 2011 will NOT be remaining on my Macbook for much longer.
My days of paying for inadequate Microsoft software are over. As a software engineer myself, I do understand the need for software to be properly licenced, but I draw the line at being ripped off by having to pay for software that simply does not do what it's supposed to do.
For all those who are 100% Microsoft through and through, fine - you choose to be loyal and you believe what you want to believe. But I believe they have wasted far more of my time and money than any other organisation I have ever encountered, so I refuse to financially support them any further.
bonvie27 says
Reply to Duggie:
Suddenly a couple months ago started getting duplicate emails on my POP acct in Outlook. I then tried several other email applications (airmail, postbox, etc.) but they are all giving duplicates. Reason for my reply is what the heck to do? You said you will not use Microsoft, and I agree, but all my alternatives so far have not solved the issue. I do not want to learn to be a computer programmer. Those guys are supposed to have tested this, since it seems to be an ongoing issue.
Diane Poremsky says
Are you leaving mail on the server? Duplicates usually means the client isn't deleting mail from the server and isn't properly tracking the last message downloaded. it could also mean the server is doing something like changing the message id so the client sees it as new.
Himesh Shah says
@ Ms. Diane Poremsky : Thanks a million for this post. I cannot explain in words how much this post of yours helped me in solving my problem.
God Bless You!
David says
Diane,
I have a less complex version of the same problem. My wife and I have a POP3 account that we both access from our unique profiles in Windows. I created a single PST so that we could both categorize and sort read messages. We both use our smartphones to access the shared account as well, so the option to leave messages on the server is a must. The intent was to recreate the "Organizational Mailbox" environment that an Exchange user would have, whereby it's easy to see what messages have already been acted on. Problem is if I check the account for a few days, sure enough, as soon as she goes to check the mail, she gets a "fresh" copy of everything I've already worked on. Frustrating to say the least.
I've read through this entire thread and, I don't see the silver bullet solution--unless I were to purchase an expensive and unnecessary email platform for home use. Your proposed solution is great for me because I work in IT but, lousy for my wife, who'll want to know why she's seeing double. In this setting, I'd like to think of my wife as the end user who doesn't want to be bogged-down with Band-Aid fixes that she has to apply every time she logs on. She (like most end users) wants an appliance that functions without having to "jiggle the cable."
What can you offer in the realm of user-friendly?
Diane Poremsky says
Honestly, if IMAP is supported, i would use it instead of POP. Changes will sync to the server and to the phones. Sent items will (in most cases) sync to the server and be accessible to each other. Categories won't sync, but if you move mail to other folders, it will be moved for both.
David says
Diane, this was a life-saver! I can't believe that I sat back and ignored the IMAP option all this time. Funny thing is, it started working so perfectly that I changed it on all of our devices and platforms (including yahoo) and forgot to get back on here and thank you for offering simple yet wonderful solution. Thanks again.
Steevo says
It says the contacts associated with this address list may have been moved or deleted. When I click on contacts, they are there. When I click on OE contacts, which is where they came from, nothing. Odd.
Diane Poremsky says
This half sounds like the addresses weren't properly resolved - that would account for not being able to use them to send mail, but it doesn't explain the moved or deleted message. Unless it's an address in a contact list. To fix, you need to move the address out of the address field then move it back in and save. A macro can take care of this.
What are you doing when you get the moved or deleted error?
Steevo says
Well, I am about to give up and try to eviscerate this installation completely.
One other problem I noticed was the address book, though it's large and has many addresses, came from OE, though I can click on it and see it, none can be used to send mail. Which seems odd. Something is just not right. Nothing I have done has fixed this at all.
Steevo says
I still have some duplicate emails. Only on restart of outlook. It's pretty interesting, I get obvious duplicates dates on one date, then a day or two later, some more. I just got 20 duplicates of emails that came in today.
Only on a couple of accounts, the rest are fine.
I wish I could make anything out of the data from MFCMAPI, but I don't see the bad account name to look to see what the problem is. As I said, I created a new folder, exported and then imported the entire mailbox into the new folder. That didn't change anything at all.
Diane Poremsky says
It definitely doesn't make sense and it's not how download duplicates normally work - it's usually all or nothing, not pick and choose what will be downloaded again.
Harry Mercer says
I have anew laptop with Wndows 8.1! My e mail is now on M/S Outlook. I keep getting old e mails no matter how often I delete them. These are mainly from 2010 which I am sure were deleted from my Outlook express. I heartily agree with the comments about replacing Outlook Express. can you tell me why 2010 seems to be the culprit year.
Diane Poremsky says
New mail is arriving ok? I'm surprised it's only getting that mail - it should be non-discriminatory and get all mail over and over when its not working correctly. It's possible that the older messages are corrupt in some way and that is confusing outlook.
Steevo says
I ran scanpst on the pst file, and it found and fixed some errors, but the problem still exists, on a restart of outlook I get the same 80 emails, including a few new ones in the last couple days.
MFCMAPI still shows several quite cryptic errors when I click open other mailbox.
Steevo says
With MFCMAPI, MDB/open other mailboxes returns errors. One, two or three.
Error:
Code: MAPI_E_NOT_FOUND == 0x8004010F
Function HrGetOneProp(pGlobalProfSect, PR_PROFILE_HOME_SERVER, &lpServerName)
File MAPIStoreFunctions.cpp
Line 337
Error:
Code: MAPI_E_NOT_FOUND == 0x8004010F
Function GetServerName(lpMAPISession, &szServerName)
File MAPIStoreFunctions.cpp
Line 655
Error:
Code: MAPI_E_NOT_FOUND == 0x8004010F
Function OpenOtherUsersMailboxFromGal( lpMAPISession, lpAddrBook, &lpMailboxMDB)
File MainDlg.cpp
Line 728
Diane Poremsky says
These errors relate to an exchange mailbox. Not sure why you're getting them, especially the last one.
Steevo says
Well, I was wrong.
MFCMAPI does indeed find and work with the Outlook PST file.
I just restarted and I have duplicate messages through today, so I thought they were timing off but they are not. This is just one folder which constitutes one att.com account being checked. One other account has a couple of duplicates being downloaded but that account does not receive much mail.
Steevo says
Yes, there is a range of dates that are exhibiting the problem and it's getting smaller as the older ones are removed from the server.
I have 10 separate mail accounts on outlook on various servers, and this problem was on all of them when I first started, but following the tech note and reinstalling outlook seems to have resolved the problem for all but one or two pop accounts. All were set to leave mail on server 10 days.
Steevo says
No, the number is diminishing as time goes on and the messages fall off the server as their time runs out. So this will likely resolve itself after all messages that are 10 days old are removed as asked.
That said, I do like to solve problems as time allows.
Diane Poremsky says
So it's only a set of older messages that keep downloading? If I'd send you a message today, that will only download once?
Steevo says
Well, I tried MFCMAPI, but it seems to only be able to see my OE profile. It can't see that I have an Outlook profile- nor does it seem to be able to be told to import a pst I point it at. As I mentioned I transferred this all with the files and settings transfer, and then I imported into Outlook. The old system was only OE.
I looked at scanpst but the PST I have is 4 GB. It's been around a while. So that is past the limit for that tool according to what I read.
So I exported the bad folder, reimported it to a new folder, and I have the same 75 duplicates being downloaded to the new folder. So I just dunno. None of this is working for me.
Diane Poremsky says
That's odd. It shouldn't even work with OE.
Does it always download 75 or does the number increase as new mail hits the mailbox?
Steevo says
I have been leaving messages on server for literally years, and I download them on 4 or 5 different computers, this way I have a complete set of my emails at every computer I use. It's my backup system.
This is a part of the normal email system and on a couple of computers I use a very old version of eudora which handles this all properly. It's not a server thing, it's a mail client thing.
I think your assessment of the problem with Outlook 2003 is wrong. There is a tech note on it.
https://support.microsoft.com/kb/885870
I installed office 2003 on a new computer, migrated with the files and settings transfer wizard, and all that worked, except for the upgrade to Outlook 2003, that is.
I followed the procedure on the tech note and the problem was partially but not completely resolved, I uninstalled and reinstalled Office, it got better but I still have one mailbox that keeps getting the same messages but only every time I restart Outlook 2003.
Clearly the database that Outlook 2003 is using to keep track of what messages have been previously downloaded is not working properly, and that is what needs to be fixed. Do you have any suggestions to repair that database, or recreate it?
Diane Poremsky says
Correct, its the client, because that is where the last downloaded id is saved. There are several things that will cause messages to redownload - because it keeps returning when you restart outlook tells me the message manager file is being corrupted and the last message count isn't saved when Outlook is closed. When it fails between send and receives, outlook isn't properly updating the message manager file - that is what the hotfix addresses.
You could try using scanpst on the data file (or export to a new pst) or removing the account from outlook and adding it back. If you like digging on the technical side, you could use MFCMAPI to look at the stuff hidden in the data file and delete the mailbox manager file for the affected account. you may have several message manager files from previous profiles and removing them could fix it.
Any of the potential fixes may cause outlook to redownload everything again, hopefully for the last time.
Mark Warner says
All 5 of my mail accounts are going to the same PST file. 3 pops and 2 imaps. The duplicates that are coming in are the exact same email going to the same account. I've checked the email pop server before hitting the send/receive and the email isn't in the pop server more than once, so I'm thinking it must be something within Outlook 2013.
Diane Poremsky says
It could be outlook or something with your configuration. Are the accounts on the same email sever or different servers?
The imap accounts should have their own data file. If you are using rules to move the imap messages to a pst, disable the rules and see if they are duplicated.
Mark Warner says
I'm using Outlook 2013 with Microsoft Security Essentials. I'm getting 3 copies of each email that is downloaded from the pop servers. I have multiple accounts all going to the same PST file, and all accounts are doing the same duplication. How can I prevent/fix this?
Diane Poremsky says
MSE is not involved. It may be happening because you are using one pst for all accounts and the mailbox manager file is corrupted. It's not unusual when you leave mail on the server. However, its usually more random and only affects secondary accounts, not the default, which leads me to think its a rule causing the duplication. Or its a catchall mailbox. Are any of the accounts in a catchall mailbox? Like maybe 3 accounts? Outlook downloads everything in a mailbox, it doesn't skip ones sent to another address, like some clients do.
Candai says
Ours is quite different where our branches use POP3. Now when the branch sends to another staff at H/Office who is using normal Outlook 2007 client in cached mode, the client receives almost 10+ copies of the same email. This happens to at least 1 or 2 POP3 users at the branch when sending to multiple recipients at HO. Please help!
Diane Poremsky says
Is the branch using an antivirus scanner on the desktops? Duplicate messages can result when sent mail is scanned by antivirus. Has the administrator checked the Exchange server logs to see if the server is receiving the copies? That will tell you if they are originating on the senders computer.
Jim says
I agree with Leo. This is programming ineptness. Why a sophisticated piece of software can't determine you already have the message and not download it again, and update its record of same is just beyond belief. I have been struggling with this on an account that has 65535+ messages on the Yahoo server since last Weds .. and just when I think I have it working, it wants to download them ALL again. Good grief.
Diane Poremsky says
The sophisticated software needs to track the messages that were downloaded and there are a number of conditions that cause the tracking file to be corrupt. Outlook stores the file in the pst file - it is linked to the account that created it. If you make a new account, outlook makes a new file.
Are you using IMAP or POP3? You can use IMAP to move the really old messages into a folder online to archive them. POP3 will only download what is in the Inbox, IMAP only gets subscribed folders. Obviously, you can't move mail to a folder if its not subscribed, but if you can most of the mail out of the inbox, it will be easier.
leo says
The best email platform was Outlook express. Who ever decided to stop this platform instead of refining it further has committed a crime to the IT world. Instead we have to put up with an inept platform called Microsoft outlook a product that has complicated everything. Why it does not have an easy option to ask it to down load all emails in one folder. So one chases emails in several folders without any logic as to why it places them there. It must have been designed by IT people who don't have any understanding of customer service or any idea on simplification or human thinking.
Disgusting really. Microsoft outlook is in immediate needs for workability and functionality through simplicity. AS for the matter of down loading two identical emails of each email its just ineptness to the extreme particularly as there is not an obvious simple option to fix it. An outcome of monopoly.
Diane Poremsky says
If Outlook is more email/information manager than you need, Windows Essentials Mail is a lighter, more OE-like client that may meet your needs better.
I'm not sure I understand the issue around downloading mail in one folder. Outlook will download all mail in your Inbox (when you use POP3) and they are only moved if you use Rules. There is an 'unread mail search folder' you can use to see all new mail in one folder.
Other than these generic answers, I can't offer other suggestions without knowing more about your setup - what type of email account and how many accounts are in your profile.
Chris says
I have no problems with this setup on any of my 2003 or 2007 Outlooks. Every one of my 2010 Outlooks is receiving duplicates or not downloading the messages from the pop server at all. 2007 was definitely a much better product.
C Brown says
This response suggests that we constantly do manually what outlook 2003 handled with ease!
Removing email from the server each time we download means we can only access our email from one device. Once I've downloaded email at home, I can't access it from work, for example.
This should feel shameful to Microsoft.
The only thing that could make Apple's Big Brother approach look good is Microsoft's FU approach.
Everything on Windows 8 takes twice as many clicks.
Diane Poremsky says
I'm bot sure I understand - Outlook 2003 had problems with dupes too. It's made worse in Outlook 2010 if you deliver all mail to one pst file, but its not a unique problem to newer versions.
prince says
I am really sorry, but you are blaming a Software Giant, for not having a tool to remove duplicate Emails. I understand your frustration, but let me tell you when you add or import the PST file there always an option if you pay little attention while importing the PST file (that says do not import duplicate) you will be at ease. the other thing is that, there are limitation with POP accounts, use an IMAP or EAS instead of a POP account and you will have all your device synced with each other, and will not at all have such problems, POP is an old concept and we can eliminate it as many of our customers are using an Old Email which only support POP, again the concept of POP was introduce because initially Email service provide hardly gave space to email holders and it was like 40 MB 70 MB and so on. and this is the reason Outlook was introduced so that it allows you to hold up your data on the PC and even when it reaches or exceeds more than the provide size.
Diane Poremsky says
Sometimes the duplicates really are Outlook's fault - like when you leave mail on a pop server and create a new account. The do not import duplicates won't help in that situation. :(