How to clear Outlook’s cache: A simple guide

You should clear Outlook cache data when you notice your email app running slowly or having performance issues. If your device is short on storage space, you may also want to clear your cache.

Your Outlook cache stores temporary files on your device to save time later. Without a cache, the application would always need to access data stored on Outlook servers, making load times a little slower. For the most part, cached data is useful and improves Outlook’s speed and performance.

However, sometimes the saved data in your Outlook cache might become outdated or corrupted, causing the app to show an older version of your inbox. In this case, clearing the app’s cache can resolve issues. This also works if you use an Outlook Exchange server; clearing the cached data from your Exchange folder can fix performance issues.

You can easily clear your Outlook cache files on Windows and MacOS.

If you use Windows 10 or Windows 11, follow the instructions below to find your Outlook cache location and clear it.

1. Press the “Windows” key and “R.”
2. In the “Run dialog box,” type “%localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook,” and press “Enter.”
3. Click the folder entitled “RoamCache.”
4. Select all cached files in the folder and press the “Delete” key.

You can delete cached files from Outlook on MacOS with a few simple steps.

1. Make sure your Outlook app is closed.
2. Press the “Cmd” key along with the “Shift” key and “G.”
3. Type “~/Library/Caches” and press “Enter.”
4. Within the “Caches” folder, find the folder titled “com.microsoft.Outlook.”
5. Select and delete the “com.microsoft.Outlook” folder.

Over time, new cache files will start to be generated by the app, but following the above steps should resolve any problems stemming from a corrupted or incorrect cache.

You may have noticed that, when typing in Outlook, the app offers auto-complete suggestions based on previous messages you’ve sent. This is the result of a specific type of cached data, usually stored in the Outlook RoamCache folder, which can also be cleared. We’ll explain how to clear auto-complete cache data or turn the feature off completely.

If you just want to remove email addresses from your auto-complete cache data, follow these steps:

1. Open your Outlook app and start a new message.
2. In the “To” bar, input the start of the address you want to remove.
3. Click the “X” that appears next to the suggested address.

If you want to turn off your auto-complete cache completely, take the steps outlined below:

1. Open your Outlook app and select “File” > “Options.”
2. Open the “Mail” tab.
3. In the “Send messages” section, uncheck the “Use auto-complete list to suggest names…” box, or boxes.

You’ll also be able to turn off the auto-complete function for other areas, like subject lines, using the same instructions. Turning this feature off means you don’t have to empty auto-complete list data manually in the future.

When Outlook cache files are deleted, the app refers to the data it has saved on its servers rather than on your device. Outlook will then start caching new local copies of the data so it doesn’t have to rely completely on the servers in the future.

Clearing your Outlook cache files doesn’t delete emails, contacts, or any other important information. It just prompts the app to draw the latest version of the data it needs from its servers. At first, some processes might be a little slower, but the cache will quickly be rebuilt with new saved data, and any slowdown will be both temporary and minimal. You can clear the cache of most apps on your device, including web browsers (our guide to clearing cache on different web browsers will walk you through the process).

Having cached data is rarely a bad thing. It’s a useful feature, and you only need to clear it when problems arise with your Outlook app or when you need to free up space.