Office 365 - Outlook for Mac 2016 experiencing multiple issues on latest patch versions (15.29 & 15.30)

Posted: 13:03:04, Friday, Jan 20, 2017 Expiration: 13:03:04, Sunday, Mar 5, 2017

There has been a recent stream of issues that Microsoft believes are being caused by the latest patch versions of Outlook for Mac 2016.

Remove/Delete all Outlook/Office records from within credential manager. Mac OS Access the keychain application and remove/delete any of the following records: Microsoft Office Identities Cache 2 Microsoft Office Identities Settings 2 and any ADAL, Microsoft, or Office entries that are listed within the 'Name' or 'Kind' columns. My main Windows 10 PC runs Microsoft Office 2013, OneDrive, and the Office Upload Center. In such a configuration the Microsoft Office file cache can grow to be HUGE, tens of thousands of files occupying tens of gigabytes (there are many complaints in Windows support forums about this profligate usage of disk space).

These issues include, but are not limited to:

Issues configuring your account initially
Continual NetID authentication prompts from the client
An inability to send or receive email from the client

Microsoft has stated that a new patch to resolve the above issues should be available by mid-February. We will continue to update you with new information.

2/23/16 - status: Microsoft has released a new patch/update to Outlook, version 15.31, which should resolve this issue. Please update your client to this version and if you had disabled automatic updates, please re-enable this feature.

Workarounds

Option 1: Desktop client
- Delete Cached Preferences
  1. Quit Outlook
  2. Open Terminal (click the Spotlight search glass in the top right corner and type terminal).
  3. Type: defaults delete com.microsoft.Outlook (to delete the old preferences).
  4. Type: killall cfprefsd (to kill the cached prefs).
  5. Quit Terminal.
  6. Launch Outlook and check.

Option 2: Keychain Access
- Remove/Delete related keychain entries
  1. Quit Outlook
  2. Open Keychain Access (Finder > Go > Utilities > Keychain Access).
  3. Select All Items on the left hand pane.
  4. Search for 'Exchange' and delete all the Exchange entries except 'Private Key'.
  5. Search for 'Adal' and delete all the entries for Adal.
  6. Search for 'Identity' and delete all the entries for Identity.
  7. Search for 'Office' and delete all the entries for Office.
  8. Quit Keychain Access.
  9. Launch Outlook and check.

Option 3: Rollback patch
- Roll back to the latest stable patch of Outlook for Mac 2016
  1. Open Keychain Access (Finder > Go > Utilities > Keychain Access).
  2. In Keychain Access, in the search field, enter 'Exchange'.
  3. In the search results, select each item to view the account that is listed at the top, then press the Delete key. Repeat this step to delete all keychain entries related to your Exchange account.
  4. In the search field, enter 'adal'.
  5. Select all items similar to MicrosoftOffice15_2_Data:ADAL:, and then press the Delete key.
  6. In the search field, enter 'office'.
  7. Select the items that are named Microsoft Office Identities Cache 2 and Microsoft Office Identites Settings 2, and then press the Delete key.
  8. Quit Keychain Access.
  9. Restart the machine.
  10. Download and install the latest stable patch (15.28).
    - - Scroll down to 'Method 2: Microsoft Download Center' and click Download the Outlook package now.
    - - Run the installer, you will be prompted to activate Office and configure your account.
  11. Open Outlook and navigate to Help > Check for Updates. Select the setting to check for updates manually.
    - Important: Once the new patch has been released, please change this setting back to check for updates automatically.
  12. Confirm you are running version 15.28 by following this document: Office 365 - What version of Microsoft Office/Outlook am I using?. If you are not, please contact the DoIT Help Desk.
  13. Download and install all other Office applications that you want to have.
    - - Scroll down to 'Method 2: Microsoft Download Center' and click to download each application. Important: Do not download the AutoUpdater.

Option 4: Outlook on the web
- Access your email only via Outlook on the web until the patch has been released
  Outlook on the web is working as expected.

Option 5: Desktop client - upgrade to beta version
- Some users may be able to upgrade to the latest beta-version of Outlook for the Mac. Important: Beta versions version do not have full support.
  1. Start Outlook.
  2. Go to Help | Check for Updates.
  3. Click 'Join the Office Insiders program'.
  4. Click 'Office Insider Fast' from the 'how you get Insider builds' select box.
  5. Quit Terminal.
  6. Update Outlook when prompted.

If you have questions or need help with any of the above, please contact the DoIT Help Desk.

-- UW-Madison Office 365 Service and Support Team

Created: 07:44:22, Sunday, Jan 15, 2017 (by Calvin L.)
Updated: 11:05:34, Wednesday, Feb 22, 2017 (by Ara M.)

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Symptoms

In Microsoft Outlook 2016 for Mac, you are repeatedly prompted for authentication while you're connected to your Office 365 account.

Cause

This issue occurs because of the presence of duplicate tokens in the keychain.

Resolution

To resolve this issue in Outlook 2016 for Mac, install the February 2017 Outlook update (version 15.31.0) from the following Office website:

Workaround

To work around this issue, delete any cached passwords for your account, and also delete any modern authentication tokens from the keychain. To do this, follow these steps.

Note

Delete Microsoft Office Cache Mac Os

These steps affect all Office applications that use modern authentication.

Delete Microsoft Office Cache Mac Catalina

Quit Outlook and all other Office applications.
Start Keychain Access by using one of the following methods:
- Select the Finder application, click Utilities on the Go menu, and then double-click Keychain Access.
- In Spotlight Search, type Keychain Access, and then double-click Keychain Access in the search results.
In the search field in Keychain Access, enter Exchange.
In the search results, select each item to view the Account that's listed at the top, and then press Delete. Repeat this step to delete all items for your Exchange account.
In the search field, enter adal.
Select all items whose type is MicrosoftOffice15_2_Data:ADAL:<GUID>, and then press Delete.
In the search field, enter office.
Select the items that are named Microsoft Office Identities Cache 2 and Microsoft Office Identities Settings 2, and then press Delete.
Quit Keychain Access.
Note
When you start Outlook, you are prompted to authenticate.