I was referred to this forum by another Microsoft engineer, and while I do not believe this is where this problem can be resolved, I'm following his instructions.

I have Windows 8.1 on my desktop PC and an ASUS X205TA laptop. For several months, the three accounts I have under Mail (two Outlook.com accounts and one Microsoft Exchange work account) synced properly on my desktop. 

In fact, the Mail app on my desktop worked fine with my Exchange account from the first time I used it under Windows 8 in 2012. The version didnt seem to matter whether it was Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1, the Mail app connected to my Microsoft Exchange account simply by filling in my email address and password.

Sometime this past summer, however, in the July timeframe, the Mail app stopped synchronizing with my Exchange account. In an effort to repair it, I removed and attempted to reinstall the account. This time, it would not let me load the Exchange account, even when including additional information (domain, server, user name, et. al.).

This past fall, I purchased the ASUS notebook with Windwows 8.1 installed, and I was able to successfully load my Exchange account in Windows Mail using just my email address and password, as well as the two Outlook.com accounts, and all three accounts synchronize properly. When I went back to my desktop, however, I noticed that the Liberty email account was listed under my Mail app. Apparently, since my laptop and desktop configurations are registered under the same Microsoft account, when they synchronized, the Liberty email account which I successfully loaded on my notebook appeared on my desktop system as well. 

The Mail app on the desktop, however, still cant synchronize with my Exchange account so, in effect, Im back to where I was in July. I would also add that I'm running Microsoft Outlook 2013 on my desktop and laptop and, in both cases, all three of my email accounts are installed and working properly.

I dont know if this information gives you insight into what the problem might be, but its apparent that theres something in the configuration of my desktop Windows Mail app that is causing the problem. Its working just fine on my notebook.

I've uninstalled and reinstalled the Mail app multiple times, run the App Troubleshooter, and tried a Clean Boot installation of the Exchange account. None of these fixed the problem.

As I told the other Microsoft engineer, if this were an Exchange problem, I wouldn't be able to connect to my Exchange account in Outlook 2013 on my desktop and my laptop, nor would I be able to connect to my Exchange account using Windows 8.1 Mail on my laptop.

The problem is specifically with the Windows 8.1 Mail app on my desktop PC, and its sudden inability to sync with my Exchange account after it worked in every iteration of Windows 8 since 2012.

I have posted this issue in this forum as suggested, but my troubleshooting does not point to an Exchange problem, but rather a Windows 8.1 Mail app problem on my desktop PC.

Can you help?

Hello ronontheright,

Do you mean that only the Exchange account in the desktop Mail app cant sync?

Please take a look at the following article.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2012/11/26/supporting-windows-8-mail-in-your-organization.aspx
Exchange ActiveSync can be used to sync data for email, contacts, and calendar. The Windows 8 Mail app supports Exchange ActiveSync.

Please open the Windows Store app Calendar and People to check if they can normally sync.

Please try to remove the account in Mail app and sign in again and check if the issue still exists.

Best regards,
Fangzhou CHEN

Yes, you are correct - only the Exchange account in the Mail app cannot sync. The strange thing is that it worked from 2012, when I first installed Windows 8, right up until July 2014, and it works on my laptop which runs Windows 8.1 and connects to the same Exchange ActiveSync account.

That is where I'm stumped. If it works on my laptop, then it's not the Exchange server configuration, so I presume there's something out of place with the desktop Mail app that's preventing it from connecting to the Exchange account. Does that explanation give you anything to work with? Many thanks for your reply!

• Edited by ronontheright 21 hours 12 minutes ago

By way of update, I removed the account in my desktop Mail app and tried to reinstall it, and now it won't even allow me to install the account. I need to reiterate here that I'm also running Microsoft Outlook 2013 on my desktop, and it connects and synchronizes with my Exchange account with no problems. I like using the Mail app for quick checks of my email, however, so I'd like to be able to see my Exchange email in the Mail app as well.

If I can connect to my Exchange account through Outlook 2013 on my desktop, and through both the Mail app and Outlook 2013 on my laptop, is it safe to assume that the problem is not with the Exchange server or my hardware, but rather with the configuration of the Mail app on my desktop? I've uninstalled and reinstalled the Mail app, but that hasn't worked, either. I'll try that one more time, but I'm not expecting any change.

• Edited by ronontheright 21 hours 3 minutes ago

Yes, you are correct - only the Exchange account in the Mail app cannot sync. The strange thing is that it worked from 2012, when I first installed Windows 8, right up until July 2014, and it works on my laptop which runs Windows 8.1 and connects to the same Exchange ActiveSync account.

I need to reiterate here that I'm also running Microsoft Outlook 2013 on my desktop, and it connects and synchronizes with my Exchange account with no problems. I like using the Mail app for quick checks of my email, however, so I'd like to be able to see my Exchange email in the Mail app as well. If I can connect to my Exchange account through Outlook 2013 on my desktop, and through both the Mail app and Outlook 2013 on my laptop, is it safe to assume that the problem is not with the Exchange server or my hardware, but rather with the configuration of the Mail app on my desktop?

That is where I'm stumped. If it works on my laptop, then it's not the Exchange server configuration, so I presume there's something out of place with the desktop Mail app that's preventing it from connecting to the Exchange account. Does this explanation give you anything to work with? Many thanks for your reply!

• Edited by ronmiller1959 Tuesday, February 17, 2015 1:55 PM Consolidating feedback

I uninstalled and reinstalled the Mail app, and it immediately added the Exchange account I was unable to reinstall prior to the uninstall of the app. That is because the account is installed and active on the Mail app on my laptop, and the two are synchronized through my Microsoft account.

While the Mail app on the laptop is synchronizing with the Exchange server, however, the one on the desktop continues to have problems. It prompted me to "check settings" for the Exchange account, and I used all the same setting I used on the laptop to no avail. It has a "Couldn't sync messages" error message where my email messages should be.

Something on my desktop computer is preventing the Mail app from connecting to Exchange, even when Outlook 2013 on the same machine is connecting seamlessly to Exchange, as is the Mail app on my laptop computer. I'm hoping that someone much more familiar with the configuration of the Mail app than I am is out there to help.

Yes, you are correct - only the Exchange account in the Mail app cannot sync. The strange thing is that it worked from 2012, when I first installed Windows 8, right up until July 2014, and it works on my laptop which runs Windows 8.1 and connects to the same Exchange ActiveSync account.

I need to reiterate here that I'm also running Microsoft Outlook 2013 on my desktop, and it connects and synchronizes with my Exchange account with no problems. I like using the Mail app for quick checks of my email, however, so I'd like to be able to see my Exchange email in the Mail app as well. If I can connect to my Exchange account through Outlook 2013 on my desktop, and through both the Mail app and Outlook 2013 on my laptop, is it safe to assume that the problem is not with the Exchange server or my hardware, but rather with the configuration of the Mail app on my desktop?

That is where I'm stumped. If it works on my laptop, then it's not the Exchange server configuration, so I presume there's something out of place with the desktop Mail app that's preventing it from connecting to the Exchange account. Does this explanation give you anything to work with? Many thanks for your reply!

• Edited by ronontheright 21 hours 49 minutes ago Consolidating feedback

Yes, you are correct - only the Exchange account in the Mail app cannot sync. The strange thing is that it worked from 2012, when I first installed Windows 8, right up until July 2014, and it works on my laptop which runs Windows 8.1 and connects to the same Exchange ActiveSync account.

I need to reiterate here that I'm also running Microsoft Outlook 2013 on my desktop, and it connects and synchronizes with my Exchange account with no problems. I like using the Mail app for quick checks of my email, however, so I'd like to be able to see my Exchange email in the Mail app as well. If I can connect to my Exchange account through Outlook 2013 on my desktop, and through both the Mail app and Outlook 2013 on my laptop, is it safe to assume that the problem is not with the Exchange server or my hardware, but rather with the configuration of the Mail app on my desktop?

That is where I'm stumped. If it works on my laptop, then it's not the Exchange server configuration, so I presume there's something out of place with the desktop Mail app that's preventing it from connecting to the Exchange account. Does this explanation give you anything to work with? Many thanks for your reply!

• Edited by ronontheright Tuesday, February 17, 2015 1:55 PM Consolidating feedback

Mr. Chen,

In response to your suggestions, I followed these two steps you recommended, with the following results:

1) Please open the Windows Store app Calendar and People to check if they can normally sync.

Result: All accounts sync correctly except for the Exchange account, which all three apps say is "unavailable".

2) Please try to remove the account in Mail app and sign in again and check if the issue still exists.

Result: I removed the account, but when I tried to add it back in, the Mail app would not allow me to do so. I had to uninstall and reinstall the entire app, and when I did so, the synchronization of this Mail app configuration with the one on my laptop added the Exchange account back onto my desktop Mail app. The Exchange account still doesn't synchronize with the Desktop Mail app, however, so I'm back to where I was before.

What do you recommend for my next move?

I'm just checking in to see if anyone has a solution to my problem, which persists, even though I've reinstalled Mail twice since the last time I checked in. What setting on my desktop is preventing the connection to the Exchange server when the other iteration of the Mail app on my laptop connects to it without a problem?