Why is email so slow

We can't be the only ones. What got broken? I started having the slow issue on my desktop for a couple months. It literally makes it impossible to work through emails. My Surface Pro 3 however same email accounts as on desktop was having no problems. However, starting the past couple days my SP3 is starting to behave poorly just like my Desktop. It will be impossible to keep up on email if this persists.

Clearly there is an issue with Microsoft and it needs to be fixed quickly. Since my original post I can say that all of a sudden the problem went away completely but then about a week later seemingly returned for several days and now my machines seem to be mostly fine again.

However, yesterday I was seeing the same issues again on my Surface as bad as ever and they continue Choose where you want to search below Search Search the Community. Search the community and support articles Windows Windows 10 Search Community member. I have reset the app and checked the settings to allow access but to no avail. Has anyone got a quick fix. I am using windows This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. I have the same question Report abuse.

Details required :. Cancel Submit. Hi Mark. What often works is to go to Windows 10 Mail Settings gear icon at bottom of Inbox then Manage Accounts, then choose the problem account s , then Delete the Account.

Does it take longer because it goes overseas? Generally email is close to instantaneous if everything is working. As the article outlines, though, there are other reasons email can be delayed. Surprisingly distance is rarely one of them.

I want to win a contest! My email needs to be the first to arrive. It will have a small attachment kb. I use Safari and have a gmail extension. I use a few messaging apps and they are all instantaneous. They are even called instant messaging. Unless the email is business or work related, I use a messaging app. And I use Whatsapp for some work-related messages. Comments violating those rules will be removed. Comments that don't add value will be removed, including off-topic or content-free comments, or comments that look even a little bit like spam.

All comments containing links and certain keywords will be moderated before publication. I want comments to be valuable for everyone, including those who come later and take the time to read. Search Ask Leo! Image: canva. Counting on email being almost instant is probably a bad idea. Email is designed to tolerate many delays, and delays do happen. Sometimes it takes hours. It is time-stamped hours before I actually get the message.

Could it be because my inbox is too full? Why does email take so long? Do this: Subscribe to Confident Computing! I'll see you there! Podcast audio. Related Video. You may also like: 8 Steps to a Secure Router - Your router is your first line of defense against malicious attacks from the internet.

But do you have a secure router? I'll review the important settings. Knowledge is Power - You have a problem. You want an answer. But what you need may be something more Deleting one account won't delete the other. What If I Need It? If you don't have it, you could be severely out of luck. I'll review alternatives. When a message sent to a mailing list isn't posted immediately, it's usually because it was sent from an email address that doesn't have direct posting privileges so it was rejected or is languishing in a moderation queue.

There are many reasons why the message might never have reached the mailing list mailbox or may have been successfully posted but for some reason it has been missed by the reporter. Interestingly enough, in the relatively small percentage of cases when email actually IS slow, it's generally because the mail server is processing a high volume of email. The delayed message itself is the most likely culprit, or there may be a high-volume message ahead of it in the mail queue.

It almost never means that the mail server is down. A copy of the message or at minimum: the date it was sent, the time, timezone and subject line. Did a particular individual report not receiving the message? If so, what is the email address where the message was expected?

Gather any other potentially pertinent information provided by the reporter such as whether the message was posted to a mailing list or alias, why the reporter thinks the message should have been delivered but wasn't, etc. If the email really is slow, this is the most common cause.

A spike or intermittent high load level on the graph indicates email is working properly but the mail server is processing a high volume load. If you know the message had a large attachment or was sent to a large recipient list, then you can provide this information to the querant.

Resolution: The server is processing a high volume of messages. If you'd like to confirm whether this message has been received and is in the mail queue awaiting delivery, go to Step 2. You are welcome to copy and paste the following message into your response. You may want to edit it to include the results of any other research you've done, such as confirming the message was received.

The unusually high volume is due to a message that had a large attachment, was sent to a large number of recipients, or both. Go to Step 2. Enter the sender's email address in the 'Search' text box and be sure to set the 'Search Time' parameter to 'Today' unless you need to search back farther for some reason, since mail log searches can be quite time consuming , then click the Search button.

If you aren't sure how to read the mail log entries, click the Help icon on the Mail Log tool page for instructions. Go to Step 3. The troubleshooting document 'Where Is this Message?

Please contact support. Since the mail logs indicate the message was received by the website mail server, you can use the IDs assigned by qmail to follow the message through the different stages of delivery.

If the message entered the system and the logs indicate drops are occurring but are not yet complete, everything is normal, the answer is 'yes'.

If the message entered the system but the logs indicate a time lag of more than an hour between drops, the answer is 'no'. If all drops have been performed, the delivery process is complete. The answer is 'yes'. However, if a particular individual indicates they still haven't received the message, see the flowchart for Why didn't Bob get this message? Resolution: Everything is working normally. If you like, you can copy and paste the following information into your response.

Our research indicates email is working normally but your message is still in the delivery process. The message has been received by the Web site mail server and is in the process of being delivered to the addresses on the recipients list. If you do not receive this message within an hour, please contact system support for assistance. Go to Step 4. Our research indicates email is working normally and the delivery process is complete.

Are you trying to verify message delivery by looking in the archives? Since many archives are only updated periodically, this isn't a reliable way to verify delivery. Perhaps the message was delivered to but you didn't immediately recognize it by subject line or because your mail client unexpectedly filtered the message into the wrong mailbox or folder?

Double check to see if you have it. If you have more than one email address, are you looking for the message in the correct email account? Is your address entered correctly in the database?

You can double check by logging into the My Account page. If none of these common situations apply, please contact support with the following information:. Support has verified that message delivery was complete, but I don't have the message. I have logged into the My Account page and verified that my email address is correct and that I'm checking for the message in the right account. I have thoroughly checked my mail client and to the best of my knowledge, I do not have this message.

If this message was rejected by a mailing list, see Composing Email to Send to a List. A copy of the message, including the full headers or at minimum: the date, time, timezone and subject. Is there a particular individual who reports not receiving the message?

If so, at what email address was the message expected? Please forward the email you received from the person reporting the issue, along with any other potentially pertinent information you have.

Problem Statements that Fit this Document:. I sent an email a while ago but it hasn't been posted yet. I just got an email that was sent a long time ago. The Usual Suspects. The message was never sent and is sitting in someone's outbox.

Troubleshooting Instructions for List Users.