Microsoft has fixed a known issue that removed the Copilot Chat and Copilot buttons in the classic Outlook desktop mail client for some Windows users.
As explained in an updated support documentAffected users with the Copilot Chat (Basic) license or a Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) account no longer saw Copilot buttons in the side navigation and above the ribbon.
Those affected have experienced one or more of the following problems:
- The Copilot button is missing from the top right area above the ribbon.
- The Copilot icon is missing from the left app bar or the More Apps section in classic Outlook.
- In Add Apps, Copilot may appear as an available app, but selecting Open has no effect.
- When adding Copilot via Ribbon Customization, the command may appear as unavailable or grayed out.
- Copilot remains available via other entry points, such as: B. Outlook on the web or the standalone app or web experience of Microsoft Copilot.
Microsoft first announced in June that it had fixed the bug through a service change, but announced last month that it had begun investigating again after recent updates caused the bug to reappear.
Now Microsoft says it has finally solved this classic Outlook problem, blaming it on a bug that prevented Outlook from retrieving some account information from the user’s Outlook profile.
“We fixed an issue in classic Outlook that could cause the Copilot entry point to be missing from the navigation pane when required account information could not be retrieved from the user’s Outlook profile. The Copilot button might be missing for a variety of reasons, including licensing, Microsoft 365 app configuration, update channel, privacy settings, or other environmental factors,” an update to the original support document reads.
“Because the missing button is a symptom that can have multiple causes, we recommend following the instructions in Copilot troubleshooting And How to find and enable the missing Copilot button in Microsoft 365 apps to identify and solve the problem.
Microsoft has also provided a temporary workaround for those still affected by this known issue. To do this, you need to enable the Show apps in Outlook option in Outlook classic settings by selecting the File tab, then going to Options > Advanced and checking the Show apps in Outlook box under Outlook Window.
Affected users can also use the new Outlook email client or Outlook Web Access (OWA), which are not affected by this error, or create a new Outlook profile.
Since the beginning of the year, Microsoft has also fixed known issues that prevented some classic Outlook users from sending email via Outlook.com and rendered the classic Outlook client unusable when the Microsoft Teams Meeting add-in was activated.
