Fix Outlook “Error Downloading the File Content” in Outlook Web and New Outlook for Windows

This guide puts the steps in a sensible order and marks which ones Microsoft documents, which ones are community workarounds, and which ones to try carefully.

What the error actually means​

As Guiding Tech explains, Outlook has to fetch an attachment from Microsoft's servers before it can preview or save it. That means a connection problem, a service problem or an access restriction can all cause the same message. An answer on Microsoft's Q&A forum gives a similar explanation: it happens when Outlook on the web temporarily cannot retrieve the attachment or image content from the service, so the download request does not complete. The same answer adds that browser session data or extensions can interfere with the attachment service, and certain attachment types can also be restricted by security rules in Outlook on the web.

Guiding Tech also lists unstable connections with large files and low disk space as possible causes. Those are reasonable things to check, but no Microsoft documentation found for this article links them to this specific error. Treat them as quick sanity checks, not confirmed causes.

In short: the message tells you the download failed. It doesn't tell you why. Work out the cause before you start resetting things.

Check whether Microsoft broke it​

This error has a history of server-side incidents, and that changes what you should try first.

• EX776161 (2024): Microsoft's Service Health incident said users may be intermittently unable to download attachments or view embedded images in Outlook on the web and Outlook mobile apps, starting Friday, March 29, 2024, at midnight UTC. The cause was a code configuration issue in a recent update intended to improve the reliability of Outlook on the web and Outlook mobile apps. The NHS's Microsoft 365 alert for the same period noted that users can download attachments and view embedded images consistently through the Outlook desktop client or the Outlook mobile app.
• EX764050 (2024): a Microsoft community moderator described a similar incident in Outlook on the web. The root cause was a configuration issue that kept sessions running too long, and signing out and back in was the suggested workaround. The moderator later posted that service was restored on April 13, 2024.
• EX1015106 (2025): from 2:00 a.m. UTC on February 22, 2025, to 4:00 p.m. UTC on March 3, 2025, some Outlook on the web users couldn't download or preview attachments from shared mailboxes. Microsoft said personal mailboxes, the desktop client and the mobile apps were not affected. A service update had broken how the language setting was stored, and some users' non-English language settings were also reset to English.

All of these incidents are resolved, and none of them shows a current 2026 outage. They do show a pattern: if several people in your organization see the error, or it only happens in a shared mailbox, check Microsoft 365 Service Health (or ask your admin) before anyone reinstalls Outlook.

Triage before you fix​

Spend five minutes on these checks first:

1. Sign out and back in. Microsoft offered this as a workaround during the 2024 incidents. It's not a cure-all, but it costs nothing.
2. Find out where it fails. Is it only Outlook on the web, only the new Outlook app, or both? If you have access to the classic desktop client or the mobile app, try those too.
3. Compare mailboxes. Does the same type of attachment open in your own mailbox but fail in a shared one? That pattern matches the 2025 incident.
4. Try a private window or another browser (web users only). This tells you whether stored browser data is involved.
5. Check the file type (see the blocked-attachments section below).

Fix 1: Forward the email or save to OneDrive​

Guiding Tech suggests forwarding the message to yourself and downloading the attachment from the new copy. This is a long-running community workaround. One Microsoft Q&A user reported that if you forward the message containing the attachment you want to yourself, it will let you download or save the attachment. Results vary, though. A responder in the same thread could not reproduce the error and found downloading and saving the attachment worked fine. Use it as a quick test, not a guaranteed fix. Forwarding also won't get around a block set by Outlook or your administrator.

If forwarding doesn't help:

1. Open the attachment's menu (Guiding Tech describes a drop-down arrow next to the file).
2. Choose Save to OneDrive, or Save all to OneDrive if there are several files. Microsoft's support documentation for the new Outlook and Outlook on the web confirms both options, though labels can vary by version.
3. Open OneDrive and download the file from there.

Blocked file types are not a bug​

Sometimes the download isn't failing at all. It's being stopped on purpose. Microsoft says Outlook blocks certain file types to protect against viruses. Its list includes .exe, .cmd, .com and .cab, but it's much longer than those four. It also covers scripts like .ps1, .vbs and .js, installers like .msi, and disk images like .iso and .vhdx.

Microsoft's recommended alternative is to have the sender upload the file to OneDrive or SharePoint and send you a link. Microsoft also mentions ZIP compression and renaming the file extension as options. In a work or school tenant, don't use those to get around your security team. On Exchange accounts, your administrator controls which file types are allowed, so if a policy is blocking the file, ask IT.

Fix 2: Recreate the Attachments folder (new Outlook only, use with caution)​

Guiding Tech says the new Outlook for Windows keeps downloaded attachments in a local folder, and that if this folder is corrupted every download can fail. Its steps:

1. Close Outlook completely.
2. Press Win + R, enter %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Olk and press Enter.
3. If there's no Attachments folder, create one with that exact name.
4. Reopen Outlook and try the download again.

This fix also appears in other third-party guides. The Windows Club lists Create an Attachments folder in the Outlook olk folder among its fixes. However, no Microsoft documentation found for this article says this folder is a supported repair target or that a damaged folder causes this error. Creating a missing folder is low risk. Deleting an existing one is not: don't remove it unless Outlook is closed and you have a backup.

Fix 3: Time zone and language settings (only in the right situation)​

Guiding Tech suggests correcting the time zone under Settings > General > Language and time in the new Outlook or Outlook on the web, saving, and restarting Outlook. Microsoft's support pages confirm that path for language settings in both versions.

Be skeptical of the claim that a wrong time zone generally breaks attachment downloads. The documented link is narrower. In the 2025 EX1015106 incident, a fault in how Outlook on the web stored the language setting stopped shared-mailbox attachments from downloading. Checking these settings makes sense if your problem is limited to a shared mailbox or your language has changed unexpectedly. Otherwise, don't expect it to help.

Fix 4: Clear Outlook site data in the browser​

If only Outlook on the web is affected, clearing the site's cookies and permissions is reasonable. Guiding Tech's steps for Edge:

1. Open Edge Settings and go to Privacy, search, and services, then Cookies, then See all cookies and site data. Edge's menu labels change between versions, so the exact names may differ on your machine.
2. Search for "Outlook".
3. Delete the data for outlook.office.com.

This signs you out, so have your password and MFA device ready. If you're using an organization-managed browser, check with IT first, as policies may control site data.

Fix 5: Repair, then reset, the Outlook app​

For the new Outlook app, Microsoft documents this route on Windows 11:

1. Go to Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
2. Click the More (three-dot) icon next to Outlook and select Advanced options. Microsoft notes that some apps don't have this option.
3. Click Repair if it's available. Microsoft says to use Reset if Repair isn't available or doesn't fix the problem.

Repair is the safer first step. Reset removes the app's local data, so expect to sign in again. Reinstalling from the Microsoft Store is the last resort. Windows 10 uses Apps & features instead of Installed apps, but Microsoft ended Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025, which is another reason to move on from it.

Quick reference​

The bottom line​

"Error downloading the file content" can mean very different things. Sometimes Microsoft has pushed a bad configuration and the fix is on its side. Sometimes it's a blocked file type working as designed, and sometimes it's a local app or browser problem. Start with the free checks: sign in again, compare mailboxes and clients, and check Service Health. Then move to Microsoft's documented Repair and Reset options. Treat forwarding the email and recreating the Attachments folder as workarounds reported by users, not official fixes.