Resolve "Windows Live error" when syncing Windows Live email, calendar, or contacts to Windows Phone

This error can indicate a back-end mail server issue, which may be caused when Windows Live tries to sync an email with a large or problematic Word document such as an attachment. There could also be a temporary service outage.



To help narrow the set of email messages that might be causing the issue, try the following:

1. Determine whether email is causing the issue.
   
   On your phone:
   1. Go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
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      .
   2. Tap Email+accounts and then tap Windows Live.
   3. Under Content to sync, uncheck Email and tap Done
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      .
      
      Note Check to see if the error code stops appearing after these steps. If so, then email syncing is causing the error. If not, the error may be related to Contacts, Calendar, or a temporary server issue that's addressed within the other error codes solutions. To finish solving an email syncing error, continue on to step D, and step 2: Determine the email folder that's causing the issue.
   4. Return to your Windows Live screen (see steps A and B). Under Content to sync, check Email, and then tap Done
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      .
2. Determine the email folder that's causing the issue.
   
   If you sync more than just the inbox to your phone (such as sent items), find which folder has the problematic email message.
   
   1. On your phone, go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Hotmail.
   2. Tap the More icon
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      at the bottom of the screen.
   3. Tap Folders, and then tap Show all folders to see a list of folders that your phone syncs from Hotmail. Tap an available folder other than the inbox.
   4. Tap the gray application bar, at the bottom of the screen, or tap
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      .
   5. Tap Don't sync this folder.
   6. Repeat this for each folder.
      
      Note Try syncing your folders again after each time you tap Don't sync this folder. As soon as the error message stops appearing, you'll know the last folder removed contained the problematic email. However, if all folders except for the inbox are removed from syncing, and the error code still appears, then the inbox has the email that's causing the error. If this is the case, continue with step 3.
   
   
3. Find the set of emails causing the issue.
   
   The phone uses a sync window of time to determine how many days of mail to collect. By reducing this download email sync window, you can find which set of emails that may be causing the issue.
   
   
   1. On your phone, go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
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      .
   2. Tap Email+accounts and then tap Windows Live.
   3. Tap Download email from, and from the drop-down list tap the last 3 days.
   4. Tap Done
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      .
      
      Note If the error code stops appearing, then the problematic email message is located in a folder that was downloaded beyond the selected date, in this case more than three days ago. To locate the email causing the error, increase the time frame until the error code returns. The difference between the 3 day window and the last selected time frame will help you narrow down the folder with the email causing the error.
      
      Example Let's say the error doesn't occur when Download email from is set to 3 days, but the error does occur when it's set to 7 days. This means the problematic email was received sometime in the past 3 to 7 days. Continue with step 4 to find the email.
4. Determine the problematic email that is causing the issue.
   
   After you've determined when the email likely arrived, open a web browser and visit http://mail.live.com/. (This site may not be available in your language.)
   
   1. Sign in to your Windows Live account.
   2. Look for email messages in the date range discovered to have caused the problem. Look for emails that have Word documents or large attachments.
   3. Move the email message to a specific folder that's not syncing with your phone, or delete the email if you no longer need it. You may want to create a new folder if all other folders are syncing.
   4. On your phone, check whether you can successfully sync your email (tap and hold Windows Live, and then tap sync).

If the previous steps don't fix the problem, try to sync your phone again later. You may be experiencing a temporary service outage.

One of these circumstances may be true for you: Your Windows Live Hotmail mailbox or calendar wasn't fully set up; your contacts are out of sync; you recently updated your phone; you haven't agreed to the latest Terms of Service; you're using an Outlook Live Friends & Family account, or there may be a temporary service outage.

Here are some possible solutions:

• If your Windows Live Hotmail mailbox or calendar isn't fully set up, or you haven't agreed to the latest Windows Live Terms of Service:
  
  1. Open a web browser on your computer and visit http://mail.live.com. Sign in to your Windows Live account. (This site may not be available in your language.)
  2. Complete any steps that occur. These may include setting up your mailbox and accepting the new Terms of Service.
  3. Browse to your calendar or visit http://calendar.live.com to finish setting up your calendar. (This site may not be available in your language.)
     
     
• You may need to delete your web browser's history: 
  1. On your phone, go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Internet Explorer
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     .
  2. Tap the More icon
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     , and tap Settings.
  3. Tap Delete history, and then tap Delete.
     
     
• If your Windows Live contacts are out of sync with your phone or you recently updated your phone:
  1. Open a web browser and visit http://contacts.live.com. Sign in to your Windows Live account. (This site may not be available in your language.)
  2. Select any contact, and click Edit.
  3. Enter changes to the contact, and click Save.
     
     Note You may also revert these changes, if desired.
  4. On your phone, go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
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     .
  5. Tap Email+accounts, tap and hold Windows Live and tap Sync.
     
• If the previous steps don't fix the problem, try syncing your phone again later. You may be experiencing a temporary service outage.

One of these circumstances may be true for you: You haven't agreed to the latest Windows Live Terms of Service; your account may be flagged as one that can't sync, or your phone's mailbox is experiencing an error.

Here are some possible solutions:

• If you haven't agreed to the latest Windows Live Terms of Service or your account is flagged as one that is unable to sync:
  
  1. Open a web browser on your computer, visit http://mail.live.com/, and then sign in to your Windows Live account. (This site may not be available in your language.)
  2. Complete any steps that you're prompted for, including setting up your mailbox and accepting the new Terms of Service.
  
  
• This may also happen if your mailbox on the phone has an error.
  
  1. On your phone, go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
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     .
     
  2. Tap Email & accounts and then tap Windows Live.
  3. Under Content to sync, uncheck Email (and, if available, Contacts and Calendar).
  4. Restart your phone: Press and hold the Power button until you see Slide down to power off, then flick down. After it’s off, press
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     to turn on your phone again.
     
     If this restart sequence doesn’t work for your phone, try one of the following options:
     
     • Press and hold the Power button
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       for 10 seconds. After it’s off, press
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       to turn on your phone again.
     • If your phone has a replaceable battery, remove and reinsert the battery located under your phone’s back panel. Now, press
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       to turn on your phone again.
  5. On your phone, go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
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     .
  6. Tap Email+accounts and then tap Windows Live.
  7. Under Content to sync, check Email (and, if available, Contacts and Calendar).

The mailbox or language setting on your phone may have an error. If so, try one of these solutions.

• If the mailbox on your phone has an error:
  
  1. On your phone, go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
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     .
  2. Tap Email+accounts and then tap Windows Live.
  3. Under Content to sync, uncheck Email (and, if available, Contacts and Calendar).
  4. Turn off the phone. Press and hold the Power button at the top of your phone for 5 seconds until Goodbye appears.
  5. On your phone, go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
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     .
  6. Tap Email+accounts and then tap Windows Live.
  7. Under Content to sync, check Email (and, if available, Contacts and Calendar).

• If the language setting on your phone has an error:
  
  1. On your phone, go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
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  2. Tap Region+language.
  3. Locate System locale and Display language options. Tap either of these to change the current language setting to something different, like from English to Spanish. Accept any prompts you receive in the process. After you're finished, the phone should restart itself.
  4. After your phone restarts, go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
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  5. Tap Region+language.
  6. Change System locale and Display language from their current settings back to the original ones. Accept any prompts. The phone should restart itself.

The problem may be temporary and you should try to sync again later.

The request may have timed out. The phone uses a sync window to determine how many days of mail to collect. By reducing the Download Email sync window, you can narrow down the time it takes to sync, or for the server to respond.

1. On your phone, go to Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
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   .
2. Tap Email+accountsand then tap Windows Live.
3. Tap Download email from, and from the drop-down list, tap The last 3 days.
4. Tap Done
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   .