A known issue with Microsoft’s Exchange Online is preventing some users from configuring their MBoxes in Outlook for Windows. There’s no timeline on when the issue will be fixed.
Microsoft shared a manual fix for IT admins until a code fix is issued. The company also said that the issue with Outlook, its hosted email service for businesses, stems from Error 603 codes after the configuration process fails during the Connectivity Test.
Outlook has many different versions, including 2020 and 2019. This can complicate things when trying to determine which version your organization uses.
Microsoft Outlook problems
Microsoft offers an email hosting service called Exchange Online that is similar to the services offered by Google Workspace. Though it is not their only money-generating product, the fact that they’re willing to fix the issue at all may be why Microsoft are keen to provide a solution.
Microsoft is quick to fix issues related to Outlook’s Exchange integrations, just needs to be a little quicker on the draw. The problem, however, appears to be this last one. Since an important bug fix landed in August, Microsoft has not yet managed to iron out the kinks and address a major issue that could impact the product.
In October 2022, Microsoft rolled out a fix for Outlook for Microsoft 365. In August, it was revealed that an email client crashing bug had also been patched.
There are times, however, Microsoft is not as quick to fix bugs in its software.
What happened in March is that 0patch released an unofficial fix for an issue that allowed cyberattackers to bypass Windows’ Mark of the Web (MotW) security mechanism, while one researcher accused Microsoft of “‘gaslighting’ the security community” after ignoring his efforts to disclose the issue.
While Microsoft is working on Outlook’s issues, providing no ETA for a fix may further push IT admins into trying to perform their own code changes.