Attention Outlook Users: Major CPU Usage Alert!

Microsoft is sounding the alarm for Windows users experiencing severe CPU usage spikes while typing in the classic Outlook email client. Reports have been flooding in since early November, with users taking to social media and Microsoft’s community platform to voice their frustrations.

What’s Causing the Problem?

The tech giant has confirmed that this performance issue affects users on the Current Channel, Monthly Enterprise Channel, or Insider channels who have updated to Outlook Version 2406 Build 17726.20126 and beyond. Microsoft explained that when composing emails in classic Outlook, users may witness their CPU usage skyrocketing by 30 to 50%, leading to increased power consumption. This alarming behavior can be tracked using Task Manager.

Temporary Fix? Switch Channels!

As Microsoft's engineers delve into the problem, they recommend affected users switch to the Semi-Annual Channel, which remains free from these frustrating CPU spikes. For those unsure how to make this transition, here’s a quick guide:

1. Open a Command Prompt window (make sure to select 'Run as administrator'). 2. Paste the command below and hit Enter: `reg add HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\common\officeupdate /v updatebranch /t REG_SZ /d SemiAnnual` 3. After adding the registry key, navigate to File > Office Account > Update Options > Update Now to switch to the Semi-Annual Channel.

Admins, Here’s What You Need to Know!

IT administrators can also steer devices in their organizations toward this channel using Group Policies, the Office Deployment Tool, Microsoft Configuration Manager, Intune, or the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center.

More Troubles? Microsoft’s Got You Covered!

Not stopping there, Microsoft recently issued emergency updates for Office 2016, fixing crashes in Word, Excel, and Outlook that arose post-April 2025 security updates. Additionally, the firm has been actively tackling a host of issues in Microsoft 365, including a widespread licensing glitch affecting Family subscriptions and a bug that caused Outlook to crash when attempting to revert to classic mode.

Stay Alert for Updates!

Keep an eye out for Microsoft's updates as they tackle these issues. In the meantime, if you're feeling the heat from those CPU spikes, don’t hesitate to make the channel switch!