How to Make Outlook Send Mail Right Away

Tweak these options to tell Outlook when to send

By

Updated on December 12, 2021

What to Know

Go to File > Options > Outlook Options > Advanced > Send and Receive > Send immediately when connected, and select OK.
When connected to a network and Outlook is online, emails are sent immediately when you click Send.
When connected to a network and Outlook is offline, emails will be sent when Outlook is online.

Set up Outlook so it delivers mail immediately after you click Send instead of using a mail-sending schedule. The key lies in setting the appropriate options. Instructions in this article apply to Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010, as well as Outlook for Microsoft 365.

Change Outlook So It Sends Mail Right Away

If Outlook waits to send your email according to a schedule, change the settings so that it sends emails immediately when you press the Send button.

Go to File.
Select Options.
In Outlook Options, select Advanced.
Go to the Send and Receive section.
Select the Send immediately when connected checkbox.
Select OK.

What Happens When 'Send immediately when connected' Is Enabled?

When the Send immediately when connected option is enabled in Outlook and you click Send, what happens next depends on whether you are connected to a network and whether Outlook is offline or online:

If you are connected and Outlook is set to Work Online, the message is delivered immediately unless Outlook runs into an error. In that case, it attempts delivery periodically thereafter.
If you are connected and Outlook is set to Work Offline, Outlook will not deliver the email. The message is kept in Outbox until you set Outlook to Work Online.

Outlook attempts to send the message while offline if the account is part of a Send/Receive Group that is set to attempt mail delivery according to a schedule while working offline.
If you are not connected and Outlook is set to Work Online, Outlook sends the email but returns an error. The message is kept in Outbox. Outlook attempts to deliver the email a few minutes after you have connected.
If you are not connected and Outlook is set to Work Offline, Outlook will not deliver the message immediately.

Make Outlook Try Mail Delivery at Any Time

Press F9, or select Send/Receive > Send/Receive All Folders to have Outlook attempt to deliver any messages in Outbox folders (provided the accounts are included in a Send/Receive Group that is included in manual Send/Receive actions.

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for letting us know!

Tell us why!