macOS Catalina has been a problem for some users who have experienced Mail issues after the upgrade. Some users who use Microsoft Outlook as their Mail client have seen that their outlook app simply freezes or is very slow to respond on macOS Catalina.
This issue is more likely related to a particular property of Outlook as opposed to macOS Catalina. We have seen this issue happen in prior macOS instances such as High Sierra.
When Outlook is trying to preview folders with encrypted emails, this issue pops up and causes your Outlook to freeze and not respond.
Most of the times, Microsoft Office folks release updates that can handle this problem and other Outlook issues.
Before you attempt at troubleshooting this issue, you may first want to update the latest Outlook install on your Mac running Catalina.
On the Top menu of Outlook, Click on Help > Check for Updates. Update to the latest software from here.
Fix Outlook Freezing issue on macOS Catalina
Once you have applied the latest Outlook updates to your Mac, you can fix any Outlook freezing issues on macOS Catalina with the help of these steps below:
Open the Terminal App on your Mac ( App is available in the Utilities Folder and can also be located via the LaunchPad on your dock)
Launch Terminal app on your MacBook
Type in ‘defaults write com.microsoft.Outlook DisablePreviewForSMIME 1’ without the quotes and press enter
Press Enter after typing the above command
Next, type in ‘kill all cfprefsd’ without the quotes and press Enter
Press Enter
Exit out of Outlook
Restart your MacBook
Open Outlook and check if the freezing issues have been resolved
Microsoft Outlook also offers an Outlook Reset Preferences tool that you can utilities to reset your outlook.
Other Microsoft Office related issues on macOS Catalina
If you are noticing other performance issues with Microsoft products such as Word, please make sure that you are using the 64 bit version of Word. Check if the version of Word is 16.29 and above.Version 16.30 was made available by Microsoft on Oct 10 (last week) to address some Catalina related issues. This should help with any Outlook crashing issues on your MacBook.
Check and make sure that you have updated to the latest by launching Autoupdate.
That will confirm that you are on the 64 bit version of Office. According to Microsoft, Mac OS Catalina is compatible with Microsoft Office version 16.16.14.
After updating to the 64 bit version, some users realize that they can open and read Microsoft word documents but are unable to edit it. This annoyance along with other Office related problems can be usually fixed by running a Disk Repair on your MacBook.
Please feel to reach out to Microsoft support if you are encountering other serious issues such as missing files and folders after the update and they should be able to help you with the issues.
Obsessed with tech since the early arrival of A/UX on Apple, Sudz (SK) is responsible for the original editorial direction of AppleToolBox. He is based out of Los Angeles, CA.
Sudz specializes in covering all things macOS, having reviewed dozens of OS X and macOS developments over the years.
In a former life, Sudz worked helping Fortune 100 companies with their technology and business transformation aspirations.
I have experiences MS Outlook freezing on my iPad iOS 14.1 so downloaded Apples Mail app and it works a treat with the 4 accounts used. Have deleted the MS app now. Just remember to add accounts go to Settings then scroll to Mail launch mail then add account. A really good app, thanks Apple.
This actually worked! Thanks…I am thrilled that this happened; the last time, I had to reestablish all settings to default when a problem occurred. Thabks again!
I have just updated my Mac to Catalina and cannot receive emails from some Gmail addresses in Outlook in the Browser- others come through just fine.
It could be a coincidence but the Gmail emails sent from Europe don’t come through- nor do they bounce back to senders- but I have received Gmail emails from Australia and NZ in my Outlook with no problem.
First, check your Junk folder to make sure those emails aren’t getting sent directly there.
If you use Outlook 365, check if Work Offline in preferences is turned in the Send/Receive settings. You might also see Working Offline (or disconnected or trying to connect) in the corner.
Do you run any kind of anti-virus or malware on your Mac? If so, temporarily disable it and see if you now receive your email from Gmail correctly.
Next, check if you have any rules set-up in your Outlook account. To do this, you need to log into Outlook’s online site via a browser. Look under Rules and Alerts and see if you have anything listed. If so (even if they are not directly related to Gmail) try turning them off and see if that solves your issues.
Hopefully, something here helps. If not, let us know
Hello
Have office 2019 and I want to update my MacBook Pro OS Catalina.
I have two email identities that I use to manage with Outlook Profile Manager !
The problem is that it seems that this Profile Manager does not work with Catalina because stills running on 32bit !
Is it true or I can update and still working normally ?
This is my only doubt before do the upgrade !
I would appreciate your help !!!
Thanks Rui
macOS Catalina does not work with any 32-bit apps, that is correct. So that would include any 32-bit profile manager.
It appears that some folks are using office 2019 with different identities on macOS Catalina with version 16.30.
So if you are not yet on that version, update that first before you attempt to update to macOS Catalina. Make sure your version of Outlook is 64-bit–that should include a profile manager that works with macOS Catalina.
To check,
Choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then click the System Report button.
Select Legacy Software in the sidebar. All legacy software is 32-bit.
If you don’t see Legacy Software in the sidebar, select Applications in the sidebar, then check the list of apps on the right.
The column labeled ”64-Bit (Intel)” shows ”No” for apps that are 32-bit.
Then the goal is to update to 64-but architecture before you update to macOS Catalina.
If you continue to see the profile manager as 32-bit, contact Microsoft support.
Kamel, Thanks for taking time to put this on a video. We have seen other reports of MS-Office apps crashing. We will explore this and see if we can locate anything that can help fix the issue. What version of MS-Office/Word are you using currently?
Using Word and Mac OS Catalina. When I select parts of texts (e.g. for copy paste purposes in tables), Word freezes for about 20 seconds. Pretty annoying and not workable. Alternatively, I’m using Google Docs until the problem is fixed. Have the latest Word version 16.30 ….
I have experiences MS Outlook freezing on my iPad iOS 14.1 so downloaded Apples Mail app and it works a treat with the 4 accounts used. Have deleted the MS app now. Just remember to add accounts go to Settings then scroll to Mail launch mail then add account. A really good app, thanks Apple.
This actually worked! Thanks…I am thrilled that this happened; the last time, I had to reestablish all settings to default when a problem occurred. Thabks again!
Right command its killall no kill all.
Thanks.
NG.
I have just updated my Mac to Catalina and cannot receive emails from some Gmail addresses in Outlook in the Browser- others come through just fine.
It could be a coincidence but the Gmail emails sent from Europe don’t come through- nor do they bounce back to senders- but I have received Gmail emails from Australia and NZ in my Outlook with no problem.
Any ideas?!
Very hard to actually contact Outlook support!
Hi Rachel,
Oh my, that is a problem indeed!
First, check your Junk folder to make sure those emails aren’t getting sent directly there.
If you use Outlook 365, check if Work Offline in preferences is turned in the Send/Receive settings. You might also see Working Offline (or disconnected or trying to connect) in the corner.
Do you run any kind of anti-virus or malware on your Mac? If so, temporarily disable it and see if you now receive your email from Gmail correctly.
Next, check if you have any rules set-up in your Outlook account. To do this, you need to log into Outlook’s online site via a browser. Look under Rules and Alerts and see if you have anything listed. If so (even if they are not directly related to Gmail) try turning them off and see if that solves your issues.
Hopefully, something here helps. If not, let us know
Hello
Have office 2019 and I want to update my MacBook Pro OS Catalina.
I have two email identities that I use to manage with Outlook Profile Manager !
The problem is that it seems that this Profile Manager does not work with Catalina because stills running on 32bit !
Is it true or I can update and still working normally ?
This is my only doubt before do the upgrade !
I would appreciate your help !!!
Thanks Rui
Hi Rui,
macOS Catalina does not work with any 32-bit apps, that is correct. So that would include any 32-bit profile manager.
It appears that some folks are using office 2019 with different identities on macOS Catalina with version 16.30.
So if you are not yet on that version, update that first before you attempt to update to macOS Catalina. Make sure your version of Outlook is 64-bit–that should include a profile manager that works with macOS Catalina.
To check,
Choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then click the System Report button.
Select Legacy Software in the sidebar. All legacy software is 32-bit.
If you don’t see Legacy Software in the sidebar, select Applications in the sidebar, then check the list of apps on the right.
The column labeled ”64-Bit (Intel)” shows ”No” for apps that are 32-bit.
Then the goal is to update to 64-but architecture before you update to macOS Catalina.
If you continue to see the profile manager as 32-bit, contact Microsoft support.
How do you explain Word for Mac crashing? See https://youtu.be/UDDdMZlIOZA
Path Finder, iMovie, etc!!!
Kamel, Thanks for taking time to put this on a video. We have seen other reports of MS-Office apps crashing. We will explore this and see if we can locate anything that can help fix the issue. What version of MS-Office/Word are you using currently?
Using Word and Mac OS Catalina. When I select parts of texts (e.g. for copy paste purposes in tables), Word freezes for about 20 seconds. Pretty annoying and not workable. Alternatively, I’m using Google Docs until the problem is fixed. Have the latest Word version 16.30 ….
Same, I am now using pages, please keep me updated on the situation. Now when I select text on word, my macbook crashes and restarts…
Exactly the same happens to me!
I installed Catalina a week ago and it’s crashed my Mac and I am not happy. I don’t know how to fix my Mac. I need help.
Same with me, when a I select parts of texts in MS word, my mac crash….