If your new Outlook signature is missing after the switch, open Settings, then Accounts, then Signatures and look at the list for the account you send from. If it is empty, the signature was never copied across and you rebuild it, ideally by copying the text out of classic Outlook first. This guide follows Microsoft’s help pages on Outlook signatures, Outlook on the web and roaming signatures, read in October 2026.
New Outlook signature missing: the recovery path
- Confirm you are in new Outlook, then check Settings, Accounts, Signatures for each account.
- If a signature is listed, tick the boxes for when it is used.
- If the list is empty, copy the signature out of classic Outlook, or out of Outlook on the web.
- Paste it into Add signature, tick the boxes and select Save.
- Send yourself a test.
First, confirm which Outlook you are in
Microsoft’s page says that if the steps under its new Outlook tab do not work, you may not be using new Outlook for Windows yet. New Outlook has a cog icon for Settings. Classic Outlook has a ribbon with a File tab. The recovery below only matters if you are looking at the cog and have a new Outlook signature missing.
New Outlook signature missing: the recovery path, one rung at a time
Stop climbing as soon as the signature is back. Most cases of a new Outlook signature missing after a move come down to one fact: the signature was stored somewhere that new Outlook does not read.
Rung 1: check the list for every account
Open Settings, Accounts, Signatures. If you added more than one account to new Outlook, select the account first, because the list belongs to the account. A signature that exists for one mailbox does not appear under another. If you find it, move to rung 2.
Rung 2: check the boxes
A signature can be in the list and still not appear on a message. The editing screen has checkboxes for new messages and for replies and forwards. Leaving them blank is allowed, and the page says you then add the signature yourself. Tick what you want and select Save. The steps for adding one by hand are in our guide to adding a signature in new Outlook.
Rung 3: look in Outlook on the web
Sign in to Outlook on the web with the same account and open Settings, Accounts, Signatures. If a signature is there, copy its content and paste it into new Outlook. Microsoft says that if you use both Outlook and Outlook on the web you need to create a signature in both products, so an empty list on one side tells you nothing about the other.
Rung 4: go back to classic Outlook, if it is still installed
If classic Outlook is still on the computer, open a new email there. From the Message menu choose Signature, then Signatures. Pick the signature, copy everything in the Edit signature box, then paste it into the Add signature editing box in new Outlook. Microsoft’s classic steps put edits under File, Options, Mail, Signatures, in case the first route is hard to find.
One detail from the roaming page: signatures not chosen as a default for new messages or for replies and forwards are not copied to the mailbox. They stay on the device, in a group the page calls Signatures on this device. If the one you want was a spare, rather than a default, that is where to look.
Rung 5: rebuild from another copy
A new Outlook signature missing with no old copy left is the hardest case. If classic Outlook is gone and the web has nothing, you need the content from somewhere else. Our own suggestions, not Microsoft’s, are an email you sent that carries the signature, which you can copy from the bottom of the message, or the master copy your company keeps. After pasting, check that the logo is still an inline picture. If it turns out to be an attachment, see our guide to Outlook signature images not displaying.
Why a new Outlook signature missing report is so common
Microsoft’s page states that classic signatures under Signatures on this device “are stored locally on the device where they were created” and may not be available when you use Outlook on another device. Its advice is to create and manage the signature through your Microsoft account where available.
The roaming signatures page adds a limit that explains a lot of “not syncing” reports. It describes signatures roaming in Outlook for Windows, build 2303 or higher, when the mailbox is on Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com. It says accounts on Exchange on-premises servers, third-party email services and POP or IMAP accounts cannot roam their signatures. It also says no existing signatures are overwritten.
The text we read mentions Outlook for Windows and does not name new Outlook, so we cannot tell you that every roamed signature appears in new Outlook. This table is what the pages support:
| Where the signature came from | What the pages tell us |
|---|---|
| Classic Outlook, set as a default, Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com mailbox | Copied to the mailbox (roaming page). Whether new Outlook lists it is not stated |
| Classic Outlook, not a default | Stays on the device |
| Classic Outlook, POP, IMAP, third-party or on-premises account | The page says these cannot roam |
| Outlook on the web | Lives in the web product. Create it in both |
| A signature typed in new Outlook | Created in new Outlook. Behaviour in other products is not stated |
If you manage IT for the company, note that the roaming page says an administrator can switch the feature off with a registry value named DisableRoamingSignatures. Check whether someone did before you spend an afternoon on one mailbox.
Before you move more people to new Outlook
A ten-minute checklist per person stops a second new Outlook signature missing report from the same desk.
- Open classic Outlook and note which signature is the default for new messages, and which for replies.
- Copy each signature’s content into a document or the company’s master file.
- Note the logo file, so you can insert it again.
- After the switch, rebuild in Settings, Accounts, Signatures, tick the boxes, and send a test to yourself and to an outside address.
- Test a reply, not just a new message.
For a whole office, doing this by hand ten or fifty times is how two people end up with different phone-number formats. emailfooter lets the company keep one design in WordPress, each person fills in their own details, and it shows numbered steps for new Outlook. It does not place the signature in a mailbox, so each person still pastes it, and it is English-only for now. Here is a signature drawn by the engine, as an example of a master copy to keep:
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Classic layout. The company and person are made up.
If the signature is back but misses on some messages, or you still have a new Outlook signature missing on one account, the checks in Outlook signature not showing go through the rest. If your problem is a new computer rather than a new Outlook, read moving a signature to a new computer.
Frequently asked questions
Why is there a new Outlook signature missing after the switch?
Signatures made in classic Outlook are stored on the device where you created them, and Microsoft’s page does not say new Outlook imports them. Check Settings, Accounts, Signatures and rebuild what is absent.
Why is my new Outlook signature not syncing?
Roaming, as Microsoft describes it, needs Outlook build 2303 or higher and a Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com mailbox. POP, IMAP, third-party and on-premises accounts are listed as unable to roam.
Where do I find my old signature after switching to new Outlook?
Look in classic Outlook under Message, Signature, Signatures, and in Outlook on the web under Settings, Accounts, Signatures.
Do I need to create a signature in both Outlook and Outlook on the web?
Microsoft says yes, if you use both with a Microsoft account.
Keep reading
- How to add a signature in the new Outlook for Windows: How to add signature in new Outlook for Windows: the Settings path, the auto-add boxes, what changed from classic Outlook and why a signature goes missing.
- Outlook signature not showing? Causes and fixes for each version: Outlook signature not showing or disappeared? Match your symptom to the cause in a diagnostic table, with fixes for new, classic, web and Mac Outlook.
- How to add a signature in classic Outlook for Windows: How to add signature in classic Outlook for Windows: the Signatures window, default settings for each account, adding a logo and why the first email stays bare.
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