How to fix “Your Outlook account settings are out of date” issue?

The Outlook app is the premium email client from Microsoft while the Mail application (accessible to all users) is the simple client. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft also provides email services (Hotmail, Outlook, for example) to a wide variety of clients.

We believe that a good number of Windows users use an Outlook account as their primary email address. If you are one of them, then you probably ended up on this page because you saw a message like this:

Your Outlook account settings are out of date

Why does Windows 10 say my Outlook settings are out of date?

We can narrow the reasons down to a few things, but we are yet to figure out others; the list below is not exhaustive.

• Incorrect password or login details.
• Error or corruption affecting security certificate.

How to fix the problem associated with the Your Outlook account settings are out of date error message?

The fixes below are troubleshooting procedures, and we recommend you go through them in the order they are listed to ensure that the chances of your problem being resolved remain as high as possible.

Use the fix button that appears alongside the message:

In the vast majority of scenarios, all users had to do to resolve the issue was click a button.

• We implore you to click on the message (Your Outlook account settings are out of date) when it appears. The Mail app will open, and you will see the notification come up again, but this time, in a program window.
• Click on the Fix button located not far from the message. Your system will act to solve the problem now the best way it can. If it fails, move on the next fix.

Check your password:

We earlier established that the disturbing Your Outlook account settings are out of date notification might have appeared because you tried signing into your account with an incorrect password. Now, you will do well to check the particulars the Mail app is attempting to sign in with on your computer.

Perhaps, you recently changed your password for your email account online (on a web browser), but the Mail app is oblivious of this event, so it continues to use your old password to sign in without success. Therefore, all you have to do to fix the problem in this scenario is to update your password in the Mail app.

Log in through different accounts:

Your Microsoft account might provide you with a lifeline against the problem. Here, you have to log your Microsoft account out of your system (if it is currently logged in) and sign in again.

If you employ a local account instead of a Microsoft account, then you will need to convert it first to the latter before moving on. Begin with these instructions first:

• Press (and hold) the Windows button on your keyboard, then tap the letter I key. Windows will launch the Settings app now. After the program window shows up, click on Accounts to enter its menu.
• Click on Sign in with a Microsoft account instead. Input the required details for your local account (password). Click on the Next button.
• At this point, you will be prompted to enter the details for your Microsoft account if you have one. Type in your login information and click on the Next button to move on.
• Windows will prompt you to verify your account. Select the verification method you prefer and click on the Next button. In most cases, we believe that you will get a confirmation code which you must eventually type in as required and click on the Next button to move on.
• After you finish inputting all the required details, then you are free to click on the Switch button to round things up.

At this stage, we believe you have a Microsoft account ready for use. Log out your current profile from your computer, then log in with your Microsoft account and see how things go.

If a Microsoft account had already been logged into your PC before you tried signing out and signing in to fix the problem, then a reversed switch might be what you need. Here, you are going to sign in with a local account. If you have one already, then great; Just sign out the current profile, then log in with the local account.

If you lack the required profile or are in doubt of what to do, then these instructions will do a whole lot of good:

• Open the Settings app. Check out the first step listed for the operation above if you are in doubt on how to go about this. Click on the Sign in with a local account instead link on the right pane.
• Type in your secret password. Once you are done, you must click on the Next button to continue. Type in your preferred username for the account you want to create. Click on the Next button.
• If everything went well, you might see the Sign out button, which can be used to check out immediately, or otherwise, you must log out on your own. Finally, you must sign in again through the local account and see if the Your Outlook account settings are out of date issue bothers you any longer.

Fix problem involving time:

The Your Outlook account settings are out of date error message that appeared might have something to do with your system employing the wrong time or using unnecessary features like Internet Time Synchronization.

Follow these instructions to turn off Internet Time Synchronization:

• Bring up the Power User menu by pressing (and holding) the Windows button on your keyboard, then tapping the letter X key. You will see a list of programs and options from which you must select Control Panel to launch it.
• After the required program window shows up, you will see a list of options or settings menu. Click on Date and Time. The Date and Time window will come up now, and there, you must navigate to the Internet time tab.
• Click on the Change settings button available. Now, you must untick the checkbox for Synchronize with an Internet time server. Click on the OK button. Your computer will move to save and activate the changes you just made.

If you struggled to carry out the required operation through the steps we just outlined, then this alternative method of doing the same thing might appeal to you:

• Right-click on any area void of icons or objects on your Taskbar to see a list of options. Select Adjust Date/Time. A particular location in a Settings program window should come up now.
• On the right pane, under the Date and Time menu, toggle off the Set time automatically option. Alter the values for your Date and Time if you believe changes are needed.

If you did everything right to disable Internet Time Synchronization, then you should be good to go now.

If the issue persists, then there is one last thing you could work on as regards your time settings. Here, you are going to alter the time synchronization server. The procedure involved is relatively easy to execute, and these instructions will guide you along the way;

• Open the Date and Time window you launched earlier. You can go through steps 1 and 2 in the instructions to turn off Internet Time Synchronization. At this point, we believe you have arrived at the required destination (The Date and Time window is up, and the Internet time tab is being displayed).
• Select a server that differs from the default one. Click on the Update now button to force Windows to use the latest or appropriate values for the time. Click on the OK button, and your system will move to save the changes you just made.

Fix problem through the use of a PIN:

PINs, much like passwords, are employed to protect accounts and profiles from unauthorized access. PINs differ in that they typically consist of only numerical figures and are generally shorter than passwords in terms of character count.

Well, a reasonable number of users stated that they had stopped seeing the Your Outlook account settings are out of date message after they tried adding a PIN to their account. The procedure involved here might make their claims seem outlandish, but you are welcome to try the same thing. Since you have nothing to lose, we see no reason why you should do otherwise.

Go through these steps:

• Launch the Settings app by clicking on the Windows Start icon always present on your desktop screen (or by pressing the Windows button on your keyboard), then selecting Settings from the programs and options you see.
• From the menu list, click on Accounts. Go through the list of items on the left pane and select Sign in options. On the right pane, you must navigate to the section for PIN, then click on the Add button.
• At this stage, Windows will prompt you to input the password for your Microsoft account. Click on the Sign in button to move on. Well, you need not continue with the PIN addition process. You are free to close all the windows you opened since you commenced this operation.

Finally, you must move on to check if the problem defined by the appearance of the Your Outlook account settings are out of date notification is gone for good.

On the other hand, if you had already employed a PIN in your login setup before the appearance of the Your Outlook account settings are out of date message, then you must do things differently. In your case, the problem defined by the notification more likely has something to do with your usage of a PIN.

Therefore, to resolve the problem given the known variables and conditions involved in your case, you must remove the PIN. Here you go:

• Open the Settings app. We have already provided instructions on doing this. If any case, you can quickly check out the first step outlined for the operation above involving the addition of a PIN.
• After the Settings program window shows up, click on Accounts. Continue by clicking on Sign in options (one of the items on the left pane). Move to the PIN section, and there, you must click on the Remove button.
• Windows will display a dialog box requesting confirmation for your action. Click on the Remove button to confirm. Windows will still ask you for your Microsoft password, anyway, to ensure that the operation in play is being carried out by an authorized person.
• Click on the OK button. Your system will act to get rid of your PIN as requested. Finally, you are free to sign in through your Microsoft account and check the new state of things.

Disable notifications:

If you believe that the Your Outlook account settings are out of date notification appearing is not a consequence of any underlying problem, then the procedure here will prove incredibly useful as regards the result you want to see. Disabling of notifications also seems to be a decent workaround for people who only care about getting to stop the message from appearing without any thought to the real issue.

Follow these instructions to stop Windows from displaying the message or notification:

• Reboot Windows. After your computer boots up and settles down, you have to wait for the Your Outlook account settings are out of date message to pop up. After it appears, you must right-click on it.
• Now, select or choose the option to stop receiving notifications from the app in view, and everything should turn out fine afterward.

We would like to reiterate that this procedure is not a direct fix to the problem, and you will do well to take note of the downsides associated with its use. For one, Windows is expected to stop displaying all notifications for the Mail app, and due to this, you might end up missing out on relevant information, or you might discover a message later than you should have seen it.

Delete the folder for your profile:

According to the reports we gathered from users, you must get rid of a particular folder (which contains the data that your Mail client uses to handle your account) to solve the problem causing the Your Outlook account settings are out of date error message to spring up.

These instructions will guide you through the procedure in view:

• Open the File Explorer app. You can do this by pressing (and holding) the Windows button on your keyboard, then tapping the letter E key. After the program window shows up, you must go into the folder defined by this path: %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Protect\

If you are in doubt on how to go about this, then you must copy the stated path, paste it into the text field close to the top of the File Explorer program window, then hit the Enter key to force its execution.

• At your current location, you should see your profile folder. We recommend that you create a backup for this folder before you get rid of it. Right-click on it, select Copy from the list of options that show up, then paste the copied item to a safe place (your Desktop, for example).
• Since you have created a backup which you can fall back on in case things go south, you can now move on to delete the folder in view by right-clicking on it and selecting Delete from the list of options.
• Restart your PC. This way, the changes you made become effective. Finally, you must check if things are now in order. Your system will prompt you to re-enter the login details for your account when you open the Mail app, and from now onwards, the notification that bugged you should no longer appear.

Other things you could try to fix the problems associated with the Your Outlook account settings are out of date message.

Download and install all the available Windows updates:

To be fair, besides the latest Windows updates, your system needs the newest drivers. This way, you get to ensure that the interactions between your hardware components and the software on your PC take place at optimal levels. You will do well to download and run Auslogics Driver Updater. With the help of this superb program, you can update all your device drivers quickly and efficiently.

Delete your Outlook account, then re-add it.

Use the Change account settings option to freshen up things.

Run the WINSOCK reset commands to fix the problem with your computer’s internet components.

Use SFC to perform scans and reset the Microsoft Store cache.