Outlook not displaying message content

Forums › IT Pro and developers › Outlook not displaying message content

Dynamic

3866 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#285709 12-May-2021 08:06

We've had two calls this morning from different clients. The symptoms are that Outlook is not showing email content.

I jumped on to one machine and sent myself a screen shot of the issue and typed out a note in the message body. Interestingly I could see that line of text until I hit ENTER, and then it disappeared. I could not even select it with CTRL-A.

I suspect this is a brand new issue.... and a third client just called.

Has anyone else seen this so far? I suspect a bad update, though a 60 second Google has not highlighted anything. Research time!

UPDATE: Microsoft have reportedly released an update to correct this issue. Update your office software again. Instructions here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/install-office-updates-2ab296f3-7f03-43a2-8e50-46de917611c5

[Mod update: this issue is now fixed. You can update Outlook from File | Account for a fix]

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management. A great Kiwi company.

This is a filtered page: currently showing replies marked as answers. Click here to see full discussion.

Shindig

1585 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2706476 12-May-2021 10:56

Fix rolling out in the next few hours

Current status: We’ve identified the underlying cause of impact and are applying a fix. This fix will reach all affected users incrementally over the course of the next four-to-five hours. Once users receive the fix, they will need to restart their email client to apply the fix. In some circumstances, users may need to restart their client a second time for the changes to take effect. We expect to complete this process and restore service for all affected users by May 12, 2021, at 3:00 AM UTC.

The little things make the biggest difference.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79254 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2706555 12-May-2021 13:36

Correct - use the Office update and version 2104 Build 13929.20372 should work again.

wratterus

1687 posts

Uber Geek

#2706561 12-May-2021 13:42

I just updated mine (Pro Plus 2019) through the built in check for updates button (after running the fix earlier this morning) and Ver 2104 Build 13929.20373 installed and is working sweet.

Jiriteach

1119 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2706631 12-May-2021 16:25

Here's the final status from Microsoft on this issue which is now resolved along with the preliminary root cause.

Final status: We've confirmed that the fix successfully resolved the issue, though some users will be required to restart their email client for the change to take effect. In some circumstances, a second restart may be necessary.

Scope of impact: This issue could have affected any user attempting to view an email message in the Outlook client.

Start time: Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at 6:24 PM UTC

End time: Wednesday, May 12, 2021, at 2:00 AM UTC

Preliminary root cause: A recent change to systems that facilitate text display management for content within the Outlook client caused impact. A full root cause analysis is being performed and additional details will be provided in the PIR.

Next steps:

- We're performing an extensive review of our coding to understand how the issue occurred and why it was missed during the testing and early deployment cycle.

We'll publish a post-incident report within five business days.

-- opinions expressed by me are solely my own. ie - personal