Microsoft fixes Outlook Desktop bug causing slow saving issues

Microsoft has resolved a known issue causing significant delays for Microsoft 365 customers when saving attachments in Outlook Desktop.

The bug is known to impact Outlook users trying to save an attachment to a network share, according to a support document published by Redmond when the bug was first acknowledged in July.

Users encountering this problem see a “Trying to connect” dialog box, leading to prolonged loading times for the “Save As” dialog.

This issue was confirmed to affect Microsoft 365 Apps, particularly in the Current Channel Version 2304 (Build 16327.20214) and Monthly Enterprise Channel Version 2304 (Build 16327.20324).

While Microsoft now has a fix, it’s currently rolling out only to insiders, starting with building 25991.1000.rs_prerelease.231102-1335.

In February, the company had previously addressed a similar bug affecting Office Suite apps, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. At the time, it confirmed that the problem also impacted users saving email attachments to a network share.

Redmond also provides a temporary fix for customers impacted by this bug who aren’t enrolled in the Insider program.

To address this known issue, users must revert to an earlier M365 Apps build and disable the WebClient Windows service from starting at login.

This can be done by going through the following steps:

1. Rollback the M365 Apps for a previous build: How to revert to an earlier version of Office.
2. Set the WebClient service Startup type to Disabled through Windows Services:

• Open services.msc from Run (Win+R).
• Find the WebClient service and open its properties.
• Stop the service and change the Startup type to Disabled.

In July, Microsoft provided a workaround for another bug that blocked Outlook Desktop users from opening hyperlinks with IP addresses or fully qualified domain names (FQDN) after installing the July 2023 security updates.

However, the company warned customers that applying the hyperlink temporary fix might increase the attack surface on affected systems, potentially exposing users and their data to attacks.

One month earlier, Redmond also shared an interim solution for an issue causing slow starts and app freezes for Outlook for Microsoft 365 customers.