Is it impossible to make Outlook the default email on a Mac right now?

September 26, 2016 12:14 PM

I use Outlook for work on my Mac (El Capitan 10.11.6). There seems to be no way to make the computer have Outlook be the default client, so this is a last-ditch attempt to find an answer. According to Microsoft, in theory you just open the Mail app and then use Mail's preferences to choose Outlook as the default. It doesn't work. You can tell Mail to use Outlook at the default, but it reverts back to Mail almost immediately without you telling it to. What am I missing?

The only thing I am finding on google is that other people have this problem. You can't set it from Outlook, either, so the Mail preferences approach is supposed to be the workaround.

It's driving me batty.

posted by Stewriffic to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

Best answer: Someone on the internet claims you have to temporarily turn off iCloud for the setting to stick.
posted by vasi at 12:32 PM on September 26, 2016

In reviewing the thread posted above, I tried the following, which worked:

Opened Mail

Rather than selecting Outlook from the choices, I used the Select option and then clicked on Microsoft Outlook from the list.

I closed Mail and then re-opened it and it now shows Outlook as my default mail program.

I just tested it from a weblink and it worked perfectly.

I upgraded to Sierra last week, so I'm not sure if the bug was fixed there. All I know is that it works properly now!

Joel
posted by jwt0001 at 12:55 PM on September 26, 2016

Response by poster: Yep. And you have to restart the computer, also, it seems. Just turning it off doesn't work. Thanks, vasi! Now I am off to tell my whole team.
posted by Stewriffic at 12:56 PM on September 26, 2016

Response by poster: Rather than selecting Outlook from the choices, I used the Select option and then clicked on Microsoft Outlook from the list.

I did this ^.

I closed Mail and then re-opened it and it now shows Outlook as my default mail program.

This^ did not happen.

But the iCloud thing worked, so yay!
posted by Stewriffic at 12:57 PM on September 26, 2016