Automatic Language Detection No Longer Working in Outlook for Mac Version 16.100.2

Question

Automatic Language Detection No Longer Working in Outlook for Mac Version 16.100.2

NUNOJO 10

Hello,

The automatic language detection feature in Outlook for Mac has stopped working, even though all settings are correctly configured.

This used to work flawlessly: Outlook would detect the language I was typing in and automatically switch the spelling dictionary accordingly. I work in multiple languages daily (French, English, Portuguese, etc.), and this feature was crucial to avoid manual switching each time.

Here’s what I’ve already verified:

“Detect language automatically” is checked in the language settings of Outlook.

All relevant languages are listed in my macOS “Preferred Languages” and are supported by Outlook.

Outlook is fully updated, and I’ve rebooted my Mac multiple times.

I tested both generic and regional language variants.

Other Microsoft apps (e.g., Word) still detect language correctly.

Legacy Outlook reportedly still works, but new Outlook does not.

This seems to be a regression introduced in a recent update (Summer 2025). If this feature has been deprecated, please confirm. Otherwise, I strongly encourage Microsoft to restore it — it’s a key function for anyone working in a multilingual environment.

Thanks in advance for your help and clarification.

Kind regards,

David Milette 66 Reputation points

2025-11-18T13:46:00.8+00:00

I’ve been dealing with this exact issue for months now. Since the rollout of the new editor, Outlook no longer auto-detects French—even though “Detect language automatically” is still enabled. Like NUNOJO, I’ve been patient, and so have my employees. This feature worked flawlessly before the new editor was introduced.

When the option to switch back to the old editor was still available (not Legacy Outlook), I could at least work around the problem. But now that Microsoft has removed that toggle, I’m completely stuck and forced to manually set the language every single time.

This is unacceptable for a business environment. A core functionality has been broken for months, and despite raising this issue with support repeatedly, nothing has changed. Maybe not many users are affected, but this is impacting our entire team. If this isn’t seriously addressed, I will have no choice but to move my company to an alternative solution.

Please escalate this—this needs attention.

3 answers

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David Milette 66 Reputation points

2025-11-18T13:46:00.8+00:00

I’ve been dealing with this exact issue for months now. Since the rollout of the new editor, Outlook no longer auto-detects French—even though “Detect language automatically” is still enabled. Like NUNOJO, I’ve been patient, and so have my employees. This feature worked flawlessly before the new editor was introduced.

When the option to switch back to the old editor was still available (not Legacy Outlook), I could at least work around the problem. But now that Microsoft has removed that toggle, I’m completely stuck and forced to manually set the language every single time.

This is unacceptable for a business environment. A core functionality has been broken for months, and despite raising this issue with support repeatedly, nothing has changed. Maybe not many users are affected, but this is impacting our entire team. If this isn’t seriously addressed, I will have no choice but to move my company to an alternative solution.

Please escalate this—this needs attention.

Answer 1

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Answer 2

MassimoUn 0

Is there any progress on this? It is now a few months that it doesn't work, and it should be a very basic feature for a software to be used in a corporate environment.

David Milette 66 Reputation points

2026-01-24T13:02:45.1+00:00

For me it still persists its like they don’t care….

Answer 3

Vergil-V 11,000 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @NUNOJO
Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum!
Based on your description, I understand that you detect multiple language feature in Outlook for MAC does not work as expected.

From my testing on Outlook for Mac version 16.100, it appears that the language detection feature relies more heavily on Microsoft Editor than on the built-in “Language” settings within the Outlook for Mac app.

To verify this, I unchecked the “Detect language automatically” option, and as shown in the screenshot below, the composing window was still able to detect the language, which suggests that Microsoft Editor is actively handling this functionality.

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That said, even in my test environment, the detection feature works inconsistently. It can detect languages, but the behavior is not stable.

Additionally, I reviewed the update history for Office on Mac and found the most recent changes related to language features.

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May I confirm if this issue began after updating Outlook for Mac to version 16.100.02?
If so, you might consider reverting to an earlier version where the language detection was still working properly in your environment.

Regarding the possibility that the “Detect multiple languages” feature has been deprecated; I’ve looked into it but haven’t found any official confirmation from Microsoft at this time.

I completely understand how frustrating it can be when a feature you rely on suddenly stops working, especially without clear communication. Your patience and understanding during this investigation are truly appreciated. If any updates or confirmations become available, I’ll make sure to share them with you promptly.

I also understand this may not be the resolution you were hoping for, but I want to reassure you that your experience is valid and aligns with what I’ve observed in my own testing. If you need further assistance or have any updates to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m here to support you.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread

NUNOJO 10 Reputation points

2025-09-10T07:28:06.75+00:00

The editor is as bad, and doesn't recognise the language I am writting in.

See example written in French, and look at the proposals made by Microsoft Editor.

The first word is actually correct, but I am being proposed with a correction in another language
Vergil-V 11,000 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-10T11:31:36.9566667+00:00

Hi @NUNOJO
As I mentioned in my previous response, Microsoft Editor does not consistently auto-detect language, as it primarily relies on AI services. Based on my testing environment, I found that you may need to manually change the language in the “Language” section to ensure Outlook applies the correct dictionary within Microsoft Editor.

This behavior seems to go against the expectation of full automation and appears to be limited to one or two languages at a time. Again, this is based on my own observations during testing.

If you're experiencing a similar situation, I kindly suggest submitting feedback through the Microsoft Feedback Portal. This helps bring the matter to the attention of the development team and could potentially influence future improvements.

I completely understand this might not be the outcome you were hoping for, and I truly appreciate your patience throughout. As a fellow user, I believe the most effective way to bring attention to this issue is by sharing your experience through the Microsoft Feedback Portal, where it can reach the development team directly.

If you have any further concerns or updates, please feel free to reach out. Thank you again for your time and understanding.
Vergil-V 11,000 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-12T12:59:22.63+00:00

Hi @NUNOJO
I hope you're doing well
I just wanted to kindly check in to see if you’ve had a chance to try the suggestions I shared regarding Microsoft Editor’s language detection behavior.
Understanding whether our response was helpful is an important step as we continue working toward a solution.
Thank you for your understanding
NUNOJO 10 Reputation points

2025-09-15T08:52:50.5333333+00:00

Yes, of course: if I tell it the language then it works. But this is not the issue, the issue is in the topic of the tread, which is the automatic language detection.
Vergil-V 11,000 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-15T09:52:43.1033333+00:00

Hi @NUNOJO
I hope you're doing well. Regarding the automatic language detection feature in Outlook for Mac, may I confirm whether it was functioning correctly prior to the update to version 16.100.02?

If that’s the case, I would recommend reverting to the previous version to check if the issue persists. If the problem no longer occurs after the rollback, it would strongly suggest that the new version may not be fully compatible with this feature.

I understand that this workaround may require some time and effort, but I hope it helps restore the stability of the language detection functionality in your Outlook for Mac. Please feel free to let me know if you need any assistance or have any updates to share. I’d be happy to support however I can.
NUNOJO 10 Reputation points

2025-11-18T14:00:25.4866667+00:00

It is not only on Mac. On windows the same problem exists.
David Milette 66 Reputation points

2025-11-18T14:03:08.4466667+00:00

This is a pretty major regression but and as a professional QA tester of 30 years experience something I find unacceptable. This functionality worked flawlessly....
Vergil-V 11,000 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-19T06:15:52.6733333+00:00

Hi @NUNOJO and @David Milette
Thank you for your follow-up!

I tested this in my desktop environment, and it appears that the Detect Language feature in Microsoft Editor is not working as expected. Currently, you need to manually select the language you want to detect.

Since this may affect your workflow, I recommend reaching out to your IT admin team to raise a ticket about this behavior in the Microsoft Admin Center.

Alternatively, you can contact Microsoft Support via phone: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support

Important Note: You may first interact with an AI assistant before being connected to a human agent. Please answer the questions carefully to ensure you're routed correctly. Having your information ready will help speed up the process.

Please be aware that this team is often handling a high volume of cases. It may take 3–10 business days for them to get back to you.

I hope this helps clarify the situation.
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David Milette 66 Reputation points

2025-11-19T11:20:16.62+00:00

Good day Vergil, let me start by thanking you for taking the time. For context, I’m a professional QA tester and the owner of SQALogic, working with many large-scale organizations. I’ve raised this issue through every possible channel for months, providing videos, logs, and detailed evidence. Yet nothing has been addressed. Microsoft is effectively ignoring the problem while still keeping the broken feature active in the product. At this point, it feels outright insulting.

This is what I just received again on yet another ticket (.Case Number: [Moderator note: PII removed]):

“Outlook for Mac shouldn’t actually work like this and we apologize for the inconvenience.

This matter is still being worked on by our Dev Team. I have added your information internally to the report.

There’s a fix coming up, however, we have no definite information when but please keep Outlook updated…”

I’ve been getting this exact answer for months, without timelines, without follow-up, and without any real progress. Given how long this regression has been allowed to persist, I can only assume it’s simply not considered important. Microsoft introduced a change that broke a feature that previously worked flawlessly—and it has stayed broken ever since.

To the thread response:

“I tested this on my desktop environment, and the Detect Language feature in Microsoft Editor is not working as expected. You currently need to manually select the language.

Please contact your IT admin to raise a ticket in the Admin Center, or contact Microsoft Support via phone…

Please note support may take 3–10 business days…”

With respect, this is the exact loop many of us have been stuck in. We raise tickets, provide evidence, wait weeks, and get the same non-answers over and over again.

This is a confirmed regression affecting multilingual users’ daily workflows. We don’t need more ticket recycling—we need Microsoft to acknowledge the root cause, commit to a fix, and provide an actual timeline.

[Moderator note: PII removed]
Vergil-V 11,000 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-21T11:58:43.0666667+00:00

Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your response to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.
Hi @David Milette

I truly appreciate the time you’ve taken to share your feedback. I completely understand how frustrating and inconvenient it can be when such an important feature like automatic language detection isn’t working as expected.

Thank you for the effort you’ve put into contacting the Microsoft Support Team to address this problem. I realize it’s disappointing that this hasn’t led to any progress so far.

As a fellow user, I understand how essential this feature is and agree that it deserves attention to ensure it’s investigated and corrected as soon as possible.

One option to escalate this matter more directly is to raise a paid support ticket through Microsoft Support for Business. Their team works closely with the product groups and is uniquely equipped to handle edge cases and provide deeper investigation. This channel can be a valuable resource for critical issues where a guaranteed resolution path is needed.

I understand this may not be the answer you were hoping for, but I sincerely hope this information helps. Please feel free to share any updates
David Milette 66 Reputation points

2025-11-21T12:42:23.9466667+00:00

Sadly as a paying customer owner over 20 licensed for employees as well as exchange server and SharePoint access it unfortunately did not get me a clearer answer.
Vergil-V 11,000 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-23T14:54:51.1933333+00:00

Hi @David Milette

I’m truly sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.

I’ll keep you updated as soon as there’s any progress regarding the automatic language detection

Thank you for your patience and understanding.
David Milette 66 Reputation points

2026-04-02T14:20:46.4466667+00:00

Do we have any update on a potential fix to this??? We are now April 2nd 2026 and yet another update done and no fix in sight....

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Automatic Language Detection No Longer Working in Outlook for Mac Version 16.100.2

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