When you try to connect to Outlook in Office 365, you may sometimes get the error – “We are unable to connect right now. Please check your network and try again later.”
There are many reasons for this error.
Often, it is simply the case of faulty or slow connection. So, the first step you must take is to check if internet is running well. Try opening a website on your web-browser to check. You can also try restarting your router to fix any glitches related to internet connection.
Other troubleshooting includes not related to the internet but with the email account and Outlook settings, like rebuilding the databases. But here are also talking about the same problem that also bothers many people who are using VPN in work-related computers. Sometimes when you use VPN services, Outlook may give the same error.
There are the two ways to fix it:
1 – Try manually restarting the NlaSvc service on the client.
NlaSvc.dll is a program, where NLA stands for Network Location Awareness and is part of the Windows svhost.ext program. The command for launching NlaSvc.dll is ‘C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k NetworkService.’
Go to your Windows PowerShell and type “Restart-Service NlaSvc -Force” and press enter.
Another alternative method is to go to “Services” in your Windows and do it from there. However, note that “NlaSvc” has a dependent service also called “Network List Service” (netprofm). So, both NlaSvc and netprofm needs to be manually restarted.
Go to ‘Start’ and type for “Services” and then launch it. Then look for services called “Network Location Awareness” and “Network List Service”, right-click and select ‘Restart.’
Now restart your PC and the error “We are unable to connect right now. Please check your network and try again later” will not bother any more.
Unfortunately, the issue with restarting these both services is that you might need to do it frequently. When NlaSvc starts too soon before the domain services have had the chance to start, there can be problems detecting network location, and if you are using a VPN, Outlook may once again give you the error.
You will need a permanent fix for the issue.
2 – Enable Active Probing for NlaVsc using Registry Editor
The problem with VPN is that it can make Outlook more dependent on Network Location Awareness and VPN tools can often cause issues with NLA, especially if you also use SharePoint.
One of the most frequently applied solution to the problem is to enable Active Probing for NlaVsc (NLA) service by going into Registry Editor.
- Press Ctrl + R to launch the “run” dialog box in Windows
- Type regedit and press ‘Enter’ to launch the registry editor
- Then browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\NlaSvc\Parameters\Internet\EnableActiveProbing
- Double-click on the entry and type 1 inside the “value,” which is to enable it. (if it’s 0, it means it is disabled).
- Restart your PC
Conclusion
One final thing that you can try is allowing the VPN program in your Windows Firewall. Sometimes, the firewall you are using can block internet connectivity for Outlook and other software programs when using VPN. So, go to Control Panel -> System and Security -> Windows Defender Firewall -> Allowed apps, and then click “Allow Another App,” Browse to the VPN software and select it.
Hopefully, the above suggestions work for you and you get rid of the connectivity error in Outlook.