This error occurs in Microsoft Outlook, as well as Outlook Express; Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail. It will include the message the operation timed out while waiting for a response from the receiving server.
There are several reasons why this might occur:
1. No connection to the Internet:
- If your Internet connection is not working, then you will not be able to download any e-mail.
- Ensure that you are connected. The best way to test this is to see if you can perform a successful search using a search engine, such as Google or Bing.
- Should you find that your Internet connection is generally slow, then it will also affect your e-mail.
2. Anti-virus software:
- If your anti-virus software is configured to scan incoming e-mail, then it can sometimes interfere with the download process.
- Disable the mail scanning feature within your anti-virus program and restart Outlook.
3. Firewall software:
- Your firewall software is designed to protect your computer from unauthorised connections both from and to the Internet.
- If Outlook is not listed as an allowed or safe program within your firewall configuration, then the firewall will block any connection attempts made by Outlook.
- Adding Outlook to the list of allowed programs will correct this.
4. Large attachments:
- Downloading an e-mail message with one or more large attachments typically takes longer than smaller messages.
- If the message that you are waiting for is particularly large and the download consistently results in an error message, you can either try increasing the time-out limit in Outlook or log in to the webmail portal to view and delete the message, if necessary.
Should none of the suggestions above correct the issue, please contact our support team for assistance.
