Outlook error "Cannot move the items" when moving items to other folders

Last Updated: January 9, 2024

ISSUE

Outlook users are unable to move mail to other folders. When an attempt is made to move an item, the following error is returned: "Cannot move the items".

STATUS: FIXED

The Outlook Team has mitigated this issue which temporarily requires disabling the solution for Outlook starts up slowly and hangs at splash screen when REST to MAPI is unexpectedly toggled. Starting 1/4/24 the change is applied to all internal Office channels, and externally for Beta and CC Preview Channels. Starting 1/5/24 the change is applied to Office Current Channel. Starting 1/8/24 the change was applied to Monthly Enterprise Channel.

If you begin to see the previous issue where Outlook starts up slowly, use the registry key RestUpdatesForCalendar DWORD:1 to workaround it for now. Please see Outlook starts up slowly and hangs at splash screen when REST to MAPI is unexpectedly toggled for more information.

WORKAROUND:

Please try the workarounds below. If these do not work and you have the option to open an In-App ticket from Outlook, please do (Help, Contact Support). If you work for a company that has a business subscription, please contact your Tenant Administrator and ask them to open a support ticket from the M365 Admin Portal.

To mitigate the issue, please do the following:

• Ensure Outlook is up to date, File > Office Account > Update Options > Update Now.

• Restart your machine. In some cases, Office or Windows updates have not yet been applied.

• Create a new Outlook Profile. For more information, go to Create an Outlook profile. Please keep your current profile to switch back to if needed.

If the above steps do not resolve the issue, please use the workarounds below in the meantime:

• Use Outlook on the Web (OWA) to move the items to other folders.

• For mail hosted with 3rd parties (IMAP/POP3), please log into webmail to move the items to other folders.