Whoops! Microsoft Outlook Mac Update Removes Email Conversation History

When replying to an email, it’s often helpful to include the conversation history for context. But Mac users who updated Microsoft Outlook to its newest version just lost that feature. The problem was introduced in version 16.110, build 26061317, which launched on June 16.

Before the update, when Outlook for Mac users replied to an email, they could see the original message thread. According to technology news publication The Register, after the update, this was no longer the case. The area where a response is composed is now left blank, no longer showing the original email. 

A representative for Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

A moderator labeled as Microsoft external staff posted about the problem on Microsoft Learn, Microsoft’s official technical documentation and learning platform. The representative said the only current solution is to revert to version 16.109.3 or earlier. To do so, you have to remove the current Outlook version 16.110 and install an earlier version.

“Equally important to Reply is Forwarding,” one Outlook user wrote on Microsoft Learn. “When forwarding a message, obviously, we want to forward the message. But when the original message is not included, then it defeats the purpose of forwarding. Yes, this needs to be fixed as soon as possible.”

Once you have version 16.109.3 or earlier, you must turn off automatic updates so that Outlook doesn’t update to the version that contains the bug. Go to the Help dropdown, click Check for Updates and then uncheck Automatically keep Microsoft apps up to date. Just remember to go back and select that last option once the bug is eventually fixed. 

If you use a device managed by an employer, you may have to wait for Microsoft to roll out an official fix. No timeline for that has been announced.