Outlook app for iOS display issues

[ChrPa293]

Good morning,

As of today, emails are not displaying properly on iPhones for mobile. It appears to be defaulting to the Desktop version instead, so the text is very small and impossible to read unless you zoom in and scroll around.

[ChrPa293]

Hi all. This particular issue with font sizes and images not appearing correctly in the Outlook app for iOS is the result of an update on their end. Their most recent version (4.2307.0) unfortunately changed the way mobile-responsive emails display. 

The only real workarounds in the meantime will come down to either:

• Using a different email program/app such as the native Mail app on iPhones. Since Outlook renders emails using Microsoft Word, it tends to have drastically different ways of handling mobile queries, compared to all other email programs. 
• Including a View as Webpage link in your email - usually accompanied by text that says "Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to view in your web browser." 
• Reduce your image sizes to under 300px through the library.

We're aware that it's not possible to force all contacts to use another mail program but the View as Webpage link would allow them to view the email in a more readable manner.

We understand this causes some extra work on your end. Our teams are reviewing possible changes to have a more consistent mobile view through the Outlook app but we cannot guarantee when this could happen or if it's possible since this is a third-party program.

Should we receive any updates or information, we'll update this thread.

For additional context on how Outlook displays emails, and how it differs from other email programs, make sure to check out this Community post.

[William_A]

Hello @ChrPa293 ,

Is this happening in multiple email apps on iPhones, or just one in particular? Is this occurring on multiple iPhone models, or just one in particular? Does the issue correct itself when screen rotation is turned on for the device, it's rotated to the wide / horizontal view, then rotated back?

[ChrPa293]

Thank you for the reply. The issue started today, I was sending test emails to myself yesterday and they displayed fine. Here are some more details:

- It is happening in the Outlook app on iPhones, I've tested it with more than one person. Android phones are displaying correctly. As for other email apps, I can't say.

- Yes, it is occurring on multiple iPhone models.

-  The issue does not correct itself by adjusting the screen rotation back and forth.

- One other note - When opening an email from Constant Contact, it displays the mobile version for a split second before switching to the desktop version.

- This issue is affecting past Constant Contact emails that previously appeared as they should

[William_A]

Thank you for the info. We've passed it and our own troubleshooting to our devs, but they're having trouble recreating it on their end with internal tests on iOS devices, as well as Litmus testing. It's possible the app versions on your devices are out of date, or may require cache clearing or full uninstall-reinstalls. It may also be worth reaching out to Outlook support to see if they'd have any further insight if the issue just started today.

[SisterT3]

I noticed the issue starting last night when I send myself a test email, which I wanted to send out today. I also have an iphone and use the Outlook app. If you turn your phone on the side it displays correctly but it does not correct the problem when you turn it back upright. 

Also I noticed it does it with previous emails as well but not all of them. I do not think Outlook could help in this perhaps the constant contact team could take a look and tell us how to correct or prevent the problem. 

Thankyou

[ChrPa293]

You're right - it is not all emails. I went back a couple of weeks and some appear unaffected. Hopefully, the team can help us out, thank you.

UPDATE: Upon further testing... It appears that inserting an image into the email causes this issue to occur. If I send myself a test email with no images, the text displays correctly.

[BrynG9]

I am having the same problem that just showed up in the last couple of days. I am on an Android using Outlook. My work partner is having the same issue on an iPhone using another email application. I've gone back to look at older emails and they all seem to be having the same issue. All of them were displaying correctly when they were sent over the last few weeks. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[SisterT3]

I sent out a message to Outlook for help but have not yet received any response. My Gmail app and Mail app on IPhone are both displaying correctly. it is only my outlook app that is having the problem. Hope someone can solve this issue before we lose our mobile outlook subscribers!!!

[johnc2627]

agree same problems and same concerns!

[BrittanyF444]

Good morning, I'm trying to send out a newsletter tomorrow morning, and we are realized that the mobile version of the newsletter is NOT the same as the mobile preview. It's making the images very large, and the text very small. What can I do to get this fixed? Mobile PreviewActual Mobile Device Screen

[William_A]

Hello @BrittanyF444 ,

Does this occur in multiple email apps, or just one in particular? Does this occur in other devices using the email app(s) or just one in particular? Are there any pending updates to the email app(s) affected? Are there any settings in the email app(s) affecting how text or images are displayed?

[BrittanyF444]

This is happening in the Outlook ios app, but is not happening in the apple mail app. This is occurring on at least 3 diferent ios outlook app devices. The device where the email looks as expected, is an iphone using the apple mail app. 

I also made sure that my iphone outlook app is updated. 

Looking at my outlook app settings, I do no see anything that allows me to edit how text or images are displayed.

[William_A]

Thank you for providing that troubleshooting info. 

If you're able, could you please share the following info as well so our devs can look further into the situation, or report it to Microsoft?

• iPhone version number

• iOS version number

• Outlook app version number

[stjohnstally]

Having the VERY same issue (small text and larger pictures). Don't seem to be having it in the Gmail app, which is the other I use. Constant Contact - please rectify this issue. The mobile experience is basically unusable. Just started happening after our 2/24 email (it's even showing up incorrectly when viewing the past sends). 

[William_A]

Please provide the information asked for in my comment, or call our general support so they can troubleshoot live.

[stjohnstally]

Well, it seems the issue is not isolated to the Outlook app on iOS. It's also the Outlook app for Android. We have tried and experienced the issue on three separate devices. All react the same - when you first receive the email through the Outlook mobile app, the text appears as it should (momentarily!) and then it gets really small. The photos remain large.

Here are devices and versions we are running:

Samsung Galaxy A535G

Outlook App for Android - Version 4.2306.1

iPhone XR

iOS 15.6

Outlook App for iOS - Version 4.2307.0

iPhone 11

iOS 16.3.1

Outlook App for iOS - Version 4.2307.0

[William_A]

Hi all. This particular issue with font sizes and images not appearing correctly in the Outlook app for iOS is the result of an update on their end. Their most recent version (4.2307.0) unfortunately changed the way mobile-responsive emails display. 

The only real workarounds in the meantime will come down to either:

• Using a different email program/app such as the native Mail app on iPhones. Since Outlook renders emails using Microsoft Word, it tends to have drastically different ways of handling mobile queries, compared to all other email programs. 
• Including a View as Webpage link in your email - usually accompanied by text that says "Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to view in your web browser." 
• Reduce your image sizes to under 300px through the library.

We're aware that it's not possible to force all contacts to use another mail program but the View as Webpage link would allow them to view the email in a more readable manner.

We understand this causes some extra work on your end. Our teams are reviewing possible changes to have a more consistent mobile view through the Outlook app but we cannot guarantee when this could happen or if it's possible since this is a third-party program.

Should we receive any updates or information, we'll update this thread.

For additional context on how Outlook displays emails, and how it differs from other email programs, make sure to check out this Community post.

[stjohnstally]

Very same problem! @William_A when might Constant Contact have a solution to this problem?

[KathleenP027]

I'm having this exact problem too. Has anything further been determined about it?

[William_A]

Hello @KathleenP027 ,

While this largely stems from Outlook's functionality in how it chooses to override text sizes, we'd still appreciate any information you can provide us so our devs can pass this along to the Outlook app's developers. Please see Amber's comment in this thread for what info we're needing.

[JoanneY28]

Having the same issue with Outlook mobile app. Same as with NathanB91, when the phone is held sideways it looks correct in app, no issues with mobile version on Gmail. I have tried different font sizing, images, templates, etc. - hoping to have an update when available.