Why is Microsoft Office 365 Slowing Down the Computer?

Do you feel that your computer is sluggish while using Microsoft 365? Many users may notice that their system slows down when using Office 365 services. If you’re experiencing the same issue, I’ll provide you with ways to resolve Office 365 slowing down your computer.

Microsoft 365 or Office 365 is a widely used productivity service used by many organizations, because of its cloud-based apps and Microsoft tools like Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and OneDrive. Most of us use it daily for communication, collaboration, and managing tasks. However, it is not immune to any issues; several users complain about their performance slowdown when starting to use Office 365.

Here, I am going to address these slowdown issues and explain to you how to use Microsoft 365 properly. But, before that, it is important to check if Office 365 is the culprit for making your device slow down.

How to Know Office 365 is the Culprit?

There are many reasons behind the slowdown of your PC. So, before blaming Office 365, you should first check it. Here, how you can do it.

• When you are launching Outlook, Word, Excel, or Teams on your device. It takes a long time to launch compared to other programs.
• While browsing or running other software, you can do it smoothly. But it starts freezing or performing slowly when you open the Office 365 application.
• The task manager or activity monitor indicates that Outlook, Teams, or OneDrive consumes too many system resources.
• Your laptop will heat up, or your fans will run loudly, when you are using Microsoft 365 apps.
  Struggling to sync your OneDrive or Outlook files and email, which also slows down your system.

These signs indicate that Microsoft Office 365 makes your laptop slow. So, to address this issue, let’s learn the reasons.

Why Microsoft 365 Slows Down?

The reasons your computer slows down from Office 365 are because to several factors. That I have mentioned below.

• Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive run multiple background processes. If they sync emails and files continuously, the usage of CPU and RAM will increase, and it will make your computer slower.
• If your mailbox contains various emails, attachments, and calendar entries. It will take a long time to load and index your data, and also make your system slower.
• Constant synchronizations of OneDrive files, Team chats, or automatic Office updates take a lot of bandwidth and system resources.
• Your corrupted or damaged profile can affect your computer performance, like slowing down your computer and constantly freezing.

These are the common factors to make the performance slower. So, to fix it, I am going to provide you with the solutions that you can use.

How to Fix Office 365 Slowing Down the Computer?

To fix the issue of your computer slowing down due to Office 365. There are multiple ways to resolve them. Optimizing Outlook, managing OneDrive synchronization, updating your System, adjusting system resources, and backing up your Office 365 data. I will explain all methods with proper steps.

Optimize Outlook Performance

For the bad performance of your computer, MS Outlook is the biggest problem. So, here are the ways to fix it.

1. Reduce Mailbox size: An oversized or almost full mailbox can cause a serious problem. So, it is best to reduce the mailbox. To do this, you can archive your older emails, delete your unnecessary items, and move large attachments to cloud or local storage.
2. Disable unnecessary add-ins: If you have installed unwanted add-ons, then disable them. Click on the File button >> Options >> Add-ins and then disable it.
3. Clear Outlook Data Cache: Corrupted cache files can cause your system to hang mid-work. For this, delete the cache.
4. Regularly update your Outlook to fix any performance issues.

Managing your OneDrive Syncing

OneDrive from Office 365 is also one of the reasons for your system slowing down. So, here are the solutions to resolve the problem.

1. Pause the Syncing process while a Heavy Task, if you are editing your large files or using any files that require heavy resources. Right-click the OneDrive icon and click on Pause syncing to set a time.
2. Exclude Unnecessary Folders: Folders that are not unwanted, exclude them by selective sync. From the OneDrive settings, click on the Account option and then choose the folder and uncheck the ones you never need.
3. Updated your OneDrive so that your OneDrive and the system performance will improve. Also, it will make your synchronization faster.

Updating your Computer System

Older systems can create so many problems, like slowing down your computer. To do this, update your Office 365 and Windows system.

1. For Office 365: Open any Office apps, click on File, and then Account option. Select the Update Options, then Update Now.
2. For Windows System: Navigate to the Settings, click on Update & Security. Select the Windows Update option and then check for updates.

Adjust the System Resources

Not only Microsoft 365, but handling the load itself can make your computer slow down. Here are the ways to improve the performance.

1. Upgrade to SSD: If you are still using a hard drive, then it may fill quickly. So, switch to an SSD (Solid State Drive) to save your data to speed up the performance.
2. Upgrade your RAM: You know that Outlook and Teams consume so much memory. Therefore, add more RAM to multitask your processes without any issues.
3. Close Unwanted Background Apps: There are some apps that are running in the background, but you don’t know them. So, go to Task Manager, find out the apps, and end the tasks.
4. Empty Disk Space: Disk cleanup also helps you fix the problem. Remove the temporary files, cache, and unnecessary data.

Backup and Archive Office 365 Mailbox

When the data overloads your Office 365 mailbox. This will cause your computer to slow down. When so many emails, documents, and contacts are stored in your mailbox. It consumes too much storage and increases the load on your system’s CPU and memory. Therefore, it is best to archive or backup your Microsoft 365 mailbox. SysTools Office 365 Backup Software will be a great way to help you. You can easily download your data into a PST file, which you can easily access from anywhere. Thus, by saving your emails, you not only solve the problem but also safeguard your data.

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Final Words

These are the ways to solve when Office 365 is slowing down the computer. Here, I have explained the reasons and found out if Microsoft 365 is the culprit or not. Then, provided various solutions to resolve them. Here, you can see how Outlook and OneDrive can cause the problem. Also, not only Office 365, system may also be the reason for this problem. But using the solutions that I have explained may help you fix the issue. So, properly follow them.

Read More: What is the limit of Office 365 Extra File Storage?