Is the Outlook Mail icon missing from your Control Panel in Windows 11? This unexpected situation has caused confusion and concern among some individuals who rely on Outlook Mail for their communication needs.
Why is my Outlook email not showing up in the Control Panel?
There could be several possible reasons why there’s no Outlook mail icon in the Control Panel:
- Outlook wasn’t installed properly.
- Installing the Office app from the Microsft Store won’t add a Mail applet to the Control Panel.
- The mlcfg32.cpl file is missing from its location in the Control Panel.
- Incorrect mlcfg32.cpl file path in the registry.
- The operating system is not presently configured to run this application.
Outlook mail missing from Control Panel in Windows 11
To begin with, you need to install Outlook if it’s not already installed. You can install it through Microsoft 365 with a subscription or as a standalone Ofice package. However, if this does not work, you can try the below methods to fix the issue.
- Locate the Mail app
- Use the Run console
- Modify the registry to add mlcfg32.cpl
- Access Outlook profiles
- Verify the file locations
- Uninstall and reinstall the Office apps
1] Locate the Mail app
The Mail app usually shows right in the classic icon layout (Large icons/Small icons) in the Control Panel. But, if you cannot spot it, set the View by field to Category, and click on User Accounts.
On the next screen, you can see the Mail app on the right side.
When you try to run it and it says The operating system is not presently configured to run this application, you can follow the solutions in the linked post.
Read: How to create and set up an Outlook.com email account
2] Use the Run console
You can try the Run command trick to open the Email Setup utility and fix the issue. For this, open the Run console (Win + R).
Now, type in the below command in the search box and hit Enter:
control mlcfg32.cpl
If it still does not pull up the Email Setup screen, it means that mlcfg32 is not set up on your system.
In this case, you must add the Outlook mail entry to the registry to set up the mail and fix the issue.
Read: Outlook Toolbar missing?
3] Modify the registry to add MS Outlook
You can add the MS Outlook entry in the registry editor. However, before you make any changes to the registry settings, create a backup of the registry data to restore data in case of any data loss.
Now, open the Run console (Win + R), type in regedit, and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. Then, navigate to the path below:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Control Panel\Cpls
Here, look for the key named mlcfg32.cpl. If the entry is missing, right-click on the key named Cpls, select New, and then Key to create it.
Rename this new key as mlcfg32.cpl.
Next, go to the right side, and double-click on the Default string value.
Now, in the Edit String dialogue, set the Value Data field to:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\MLCFG32.CPL
Press OK to save the changes.
Now, exit the registry editor and restart your PC and the Outlook Mail should be visible again in the Control Panel.
Read: Outlook Trash icon missing?
4] Access Outlook profiles
You can also open the manage profile options on Outlook to access the Email Setup utility and set up your Outlook mail to get back the mail icon in the Control Panel.
Launch the Outlook app, and click on the File tab on the top left.
Now, select Info from the menu, click on the Account Settings drop-down on the right, and select Manage Profiles.
This will open the Mail Setup – Outlook dialog box.
Alternatively, you can also open the Run console (Win + R), type in outlook.exe /manageprofiles, and hit Enter.
This will help you to open the Mail Setup utility and set up Outlook mail.
Read: Fix Outlook crashes when creating a new profile
5] Verify the file locations
Check the file location in the File Explorer
At the same time, you must check if the mlcfg32.cpl file is located in the correct location in File Explorer. Also, please note that the location would depend on the Office version. So, it would be different for Office 365 and Office 2021/19.
Therefore, to verify the file location, open File Explorer, and navigate to the below path for Office 365:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\MLCFG32.CPL
Once you locate the Office 365 folder, look for the mlcfg32.cpl file.
Now, double-click on it to run the Email Setup utility.
At the same time, also check if the AppVLP.exe file is in its correct location as below:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Client\AppVLP.exe
Now, open the registry editor and navigate to the path below to check if the files have the correct path in the registry for Office365:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{A0D4CD32-5D5D-4f72-BAAA-767A7AD6BAC5}\shell\open\command
Next, go to the right, and double-click on the Default string value to check if the key value is the same as below:
“C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Client\AppVLP.exe" rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\MLCFG32.CPL”
Here, change the paths to the correct locations for both AppVLP.exe and MLCFG32.CPL as per your device.
But if you do not find the mlcfg32.cpl file in any of the locations, this means that the Mail Setup utility is missing from your system due to corruption in the MS Office installation. In this case, you would need to repair the Office installation.
Check the file location in the registry editor
In addition, open the registry editor and check the path as below:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{A0D4CD32-5D5D-4f72-BAAA-767A7AD6BAC5}\DefaultIcon
Double-click on the Default string value on the right and ensure that the Value Data is set to the below location:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\MLCFG32.CPL,0"
Likewise, check the below file paths one by one and check if the Value data parameter is set correctly:
-
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{A0D4CD32-5D5D-4f72-BAAA-767A7AD6BAC5}\DefaultIcon -
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{A0D4CD32-5D5D-4f72-BAAA-767A7AD6BAC5}\shell\open\command -
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{A0D4CD32-5D5D-4f72-BAAA-767A7AD6BAC5}\shell\open\command -
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{A0D4CD32-5D5D-4f72-BAAA-767A7AD6BAC5}\DefaultIcon
If the Value data parameter is set incorrectly, change it to the correct one as below:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\MLCFG32.CPL,0"
Read: Outlook not showing up on Microsoft 365
6] Uninstall and reinstall the Office apps
If you still see no mail icon in the Control Panel, you can uninstall Office to remove the Office apps. Once done, restart your PC and install Microsoft Office or Office 365 to add the apps back again.
Where is the Mail icon in the Control Panel Windows 11?
To find the Mail icon in the Control Panel on Windows 11, click the Windows search bar and search for Control Panel. Open the Control Panel and look for Mail in the search box. Note that the Mail option only appears if Outlook is installed and has been opened at least once.
How do I set up Outlook in the Control Panel?
To set up an email account on Outlook via the Control Panel, open the Control Panel, select Mail, and then click on Email Accounts. Now, click on New, select Email Account, and enter your details. Follow the prompts to make changes to the servers and complete the setup. This integrates your email with Outlook for easy access and management.
