How to disable the background save feature in Outlook

Original KB number:   319158

Summary

When you create an email message that has one or more attachments in Microsoft Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2010, or Outlook for Microsoft 365, the attachments are streamed to Microsoft Exchange Server in the background. This background save feature minimizes the time that you have to wait before you can send the message.

In an environment that has a low bandwidth, you can disable the background save feature in these Outlook versions by setting the DisableBGSave registry key as follows.

Important

Follow the steps in this section carefully. Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Before you modify it, back up the registry for restoration in case problems occur.

  1. Exit all Microsoft Office applications.

  2. Start Registry Editor:

    • In Windows 10, go to Start, enter regedit in the Search Windows box, and then select regedit.exe in the search results.
    • In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, move your mouse to the upper-right corner, select Search, type regedit in the search text box, and then select regedit.exe in the search results.
    • In Windows 7, select Start, type regedit in the Search programs and files text box, and then select regedit.exe in the search results.
  3. Locate and then select the following registry subkeys:

    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\xx.0\Outlook
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\xx.0\Outlook

    Note

    In this registry path, <xx.0> corresponds to the Outlook version (16.0 = Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019 or Outlook for Microsoft 365, 15.0 = Outlook 2013, 14.0 = Outlook 2010).

  4. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then select DWORD Value.

  5. Type DisableBGSave, and then press Enter.

  6. In the Details pane, right-click DisableBGSave, and then select Modify.

  7. Select Hexadecimal for the base, type 1 in the Value data box, and then select OK.

  8. Exit Registry Editor.