CRM Client in Outlook Stops Displaying Records after Office Update

The Problem

Our team recently came across an issue where customers reported to us that the CRM Client for Outlook appears to be properly configured and connected, but the CRM records do not display as expected.

The Symptoms

The problem manifests as “waiting for a page to be retrieved” and the expected records from CRM are never brought after waiting over an hour.

In our screenshot, the Contacts Entity is selected, and the CRM Client is configured properly, with the CRM menu showing as active when in the ribbon menu.

The Cause

The issue has been traced to the October 2017 Microsoft Outlook security update. The details from the related Microsoft KB article explain the problem:

“The October 2017 Microsoft Outlook security update disables roaming home pages in Outlook to address a significant vulnerability with the application, and as such, inadvertently causes the add-in to fail.”

The Solution

To fix the issue, you need to add a registry entry based on the version of Office that you have installed. (setting value to 2, for future use, per the article)

Microsoft Outlook 2016:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Security] “EnableRoamingFolderHomepages”=dword:00000002

Microsoft Outlook 2013:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Security] “EnableRoamingFolderHomepages”=dword:00000002

Microsoft Outlook 2010:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Security] “EnableRoamingFolderHomepages”=dword:00000002

Once this registry key is added to the local client, reboot the PC. The add-in will be able to render webpages without issue. Microsoft recommends applying the extra registry key instead of removing the security update, as it addresses a significant vulnerability in Outlook.

The full article with detailed explanation is here.

Beringer is always here to provide expert knowledge in topics like these. Contact us with any questions you may have.

Beringer Technology Group, a leading Microsoft Gold Certified Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and CRM for Distribution. We also provide expert Managed IT Services, Backup and Disaster Recovery, Cloud Based Computing and Unified Communication Systems.