Fix: Cannot attach files to email in Outlook.com or Desktop app

If you are unable to attach files to email in Outlook, this article can help you get rid of this problem. Many people face it when sending a file to someone as an attachment via Outlook. Regardless of whether you are having this problem in Outlook.com or the desktop application, you can follow this tutorial to resolve it.

There are certain specific things or rules you need to follow to send a file via Outlook. Sometimes you may have to send something very wrong and you will want to bypass general regulations. At such a time, these tips will come in handy.

Unable to attach files to email in Outlook

If you can’t attach files to email in Outlook.com or the Microsoft Outlook app, you should follow these suggestions –

1. Check file size
2. Compress the attachment in a ZIP file
3. Change sharing preferences
4. Change or update browser

1]Check file size

Each email provider has certain limitations, and almost all have one thing in common: the size of attachments. It doesn’t matter whether you use Gmail or Outlook as your email management tool; you can deal with this problem everywhere. Therefore, it is best to check the size of the attachment before trying to add or download it.

If you see The attachment size exceeds the allowable limit error, you can change the default attachment size limit in Outlook.

2]Compress the attachment in a ZIP file

Although Outlook allows users to send files to anyone, that doesn’t mean you can send any file to your friend. Besides having a barrier on file size, it also prevents users from sending specific files containing suspicious extensions. This happens due to user security issues, as many people often experience problems by simply downloading the attachment to their computer. If you are sending a valid file, but Outlook is preventing you from doing so, there is only one solution. You must create a .zip file containing your original file. After that, you can send it to anyone via Outlook.

3]Change sharing preferences

If you can’t attach files in Outlook, you can change the sharing preferences and check if that fixes the problem or not. It’s quite simple when you use Outlook.com to send an email. To start, open the Settings panel and visit Mail> Attachments. From there you can change your sharing preferences. By default, it is set to Ask me how I want to share them every time. However, you can set it to Always share them as OneDrive links or Always share them as copies.

After that, save your change and try to send a file to someone.

4]Change or update browser

If you are using an outdated version of the browser, it is recommended that you update it to the latest version. If it does not work, you must change it. Sometimes a browser extension, a security plugin, etc. may block the download process.

Here are some working solutions to fix this problem.

Read more: Unable to add electronic signature in Microsoft Outlook.