The main use that is given today to any email service is the transfer of information, data and files of all types. For this purpose, Outlook provides the function of sending attachments.
However, situations may arise in which, for various reasons, the option to send attachments is disabled, making it impossible to perform this action and causing great interference in your performance.
In the next few paragraphs, We will explain step by step the causes and consequences of this failure and the methods you can use to solve it and restore the sending of attachments.
Why can’t I send attachments in Outlook?
When Outlook have problems while sending attachments, generates inconveniences when carrying out your work.
This error can have several causes, but the main ones are listed below:
Bad internet connection
Even if the volume of the attachments is within the limit of Outlook, the lack of a stable internet connection can prevent attachments from leaving the outbox. This is one of the most common causes, which can be fixed quickly if it is a problem with the wiring. Otherwise it’s a bit longer and tedious process, usually involving waiting for the connection to restore itself.
No storage
When you have considerable time using Outlook, storage space for messages and files is gradually running out, until it reaches a point where it is not possible to upload any more attachments, or to send or receive messages. A failure of this kind occurs frequently in old accounts, with a long time of use and a huge amount of stored messages, They are neither compressed nor backed up, taking up a large space in Outlook storage.
File volume limit exceeded
This error occurs when sending an email and trying to attach a particularly large file. Outlook supports a maximum set weight of attachments of 20 MB. Although generally what is sent by mail are documents, PDF files, Docs and other office file formats, This limit can be reached very easily when sending video files as an attachment in Outlook.
Incompatible Browser
Certain browsers, such as Internet Explorer or low-resource browsers, have problems attaching files to your Outlook messages, since its low specifications make it impossible to upload files and less when they are extremely heavy. Currently, very few browsers are incompatible with Outlook, in addition to certain plugins like Adblockers, that interfere with the processes of Outlook, among which may be the sending of attachments.
Learn how to fix errors that won’t let you send attachments in Outlook
Since sending attachments is a crucial part of the general use of Outlook, you must have methods to solve each of the possible causes of the problem.
For this particular case, you have several methods that can work to enable the sending of attachments:
Check your connection
It is one of the simplest solutions that can be used, since, more than a failure of Outlook, it is a connection error related to the equipment being used.
The best option is to ensure that the network connection is stable, through the following methods:
- Check the connection of the team.
- Use the Windows troubleshooter, by right clicking on the icon “Internet access” and then about the option “Solve problems”.
- Make sure the network cables are correctly connected.
This is one of the most common reasons for general difficulties in Outlook and requires nothing more than a quick check of network settings and connection cables to verify if it is an internal equipment failure, or if it will be necessary to contact your internet service provider.
Use links
Yes Outlook presents problems for upload files attached to your emails, an option that you can use to replace this function, is to use links to files in the cloud to send them via email.
The procedure is the same as that used to send a regular email, with the following steps added:
- Upload the file you want to share to the cloud host service of your choice, you can use OneDrive, Mega and Google Drive, among others.
- Share the file and copy the link of it.
- Log in to your account from Outlook and click “New message”.
- Paste the file link in the cloud as text and enter the text you want to add.
- click in “Send”.
Without good is a somewhat tedious method to send light files, it is quite effective to avoid the transfer limit of Outlook and send larger files, plus, If the problem is only with the attachments, it can serve as a solid alternative.
Delete old emails with attachments
This method is effective when you have consumed a large amount of storage of Outlook. The objective is clear the inbox to free up space, allowing you to perform actions such as attaching files to your messages.
The procedure for this is as follows:
- Login to your Outlook account with your user credentials.
- In your inbox, click “Filter”.
- Select the option “Tidy” at the end of the drop-down menu that you will see below.
- In the section “Sort by” Choose “Date”, and in “Ordering criterion” click on “Oldest at the top.”
- Select the messages that are highlighted with a paperclip icon, as these are the ones that contain attachments.
- In the top toolbar, select “Remove”, option highlighted with the trash can icon.
Once this is done, the messages will be sent to the folder “Deleted elements”, where will be kept for 30 days before being eliminated.
You can empty said folder before that period by means of the following steps:
- From your Outlook inbox, click “Deleted elements”, located in the folder bar.
- Click on the box located at the top of the folder, next to the text “Deleted elements” to select all content.
- Click on the trash can icon, labeled as “Empty folder”.
To the delete emails with attachments from Outlook storage permanently, you will be able to free up a considerable amount of space that will allow you to restore the regular functions of Outlook.
Send files in parts
If the problem that your account presents is that you have exceeded the maximum weight of attachments, the solution is very simple, although it depends largely on the amount and type of files you want to send. When using the attachments feature, You must bear in mind that the maximum capacity of attachments that can be uploaded in an email is 20 MB, therefore, if you exceed this amount, Outlook will not allow you to send the mail.