Outlook Freezing and Emails Disappearing

Question

Outlook Freezing and Emails Disappearing

SARATH S 20

Since yesterday morning, Outlook has been experiencing a serious issue on my system.

When I open Outlook, it hangs within a few seconds and turns into a white, non-responsive window. Windows then prompts me to force close the application. After force closing and reopening Outlook, any emails that were received during that time are getting deleted automatically and are not visible in any folder, including the Deleted Items folder.

After this i have updated 365 also . I am using POP and IMAP also i tried, but the same problem continues to occur.

Please let me know how to resolve this issue, as it is impacting email access and causing data loss.

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Answer accepted by question author

Austin-H 8,380 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello SARATH S
Thank you for posting question to Microsoft Q&A Forum.
Update: Known issue: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/classic-outlook-pop-account-profiles-hang-and-freeze-after-windows-11-update-to-kb5074109-590fe356-ecc2-49f4-b9e3-bd39fafa58f6
Only solution for now is to uninstall the update.

According to this issue, may I have your confirmation again that if you are using IMAP/POP email and trying to render in Outlook? You could provide a screenshot like this from your end by clicking on File whenever Outlook is opening. If you are using Microsoft as email service provider, it should display "Microsoft Exchange" under your email address.

User's image

For troubleshooting steps:
1.Try to create a new Outlook profile then sign-in again with your email credential: Guide

2.Try to open Outlook on safe mode by pressing Windows + R to open "Run" then type in "Outlook /safe". Try to use this to see if Outlook could be frozen again.
User's image

3.If two suggestions above does not work, consider following this guide and go for "Online repair" option to see if it could help.
I am looking forward to your response.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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2 additional answers

Your answer

Answer 1

SARATH S 20

Dear Austin,

Please find the attached screenshot for your reference.

I am currently using a POP account, and I also tried configuring the account with IMAP. However, the issue still persists. Outlook keeps freezing continuously, and after reopening the application, emails are getting deleted or are not visible.

Austin-H 8,380 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-17T10:58:05.1933333+00:00

Hi SARATH S
Thanks for your response.
May I know if you were at the part that Outlook was frozen after you connected to your email server? Or it was frozen at the moment you were trying to connect the account?
If you have the difficulty opening Outlook after connecting to your account, a new Outlook fresh profile should be created again to see if the issue persists.
I am looking forward to your response.
SARATH S 20 Reputation points

2026-01-17T11:03:40.22+00:00

Hi Austin,

We are facing a freezing issue in the inbox while scrolling. I tried creating a new profile as well, but the same issue is still occurring.
Austin-H 8,380 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-17T13:08:53.9133333+00:00

Hi SARATH S
Thank you for your response.

I found an issue related to this:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/classic-outlook-pop-account-profiles-hang-and-freeze-after-windows-11-update-to-kb5074109-590fe356-ecc2-49f4-b9e3-bd39fafa58f6
I guess for now, you might need to use the webmail for the time being as the internal team is investigating on this.
For now, the only solution is to uninstall the update

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5707915/outlook-classic-not-opening-properly-or-recording
SARATH S 20 Reputation points

2026-01-19T10:11:50.5533333+00:00

Hi Austin,

After uninstalling the update, it is now working fine.
Austin-H 8,380 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-19T23:13:39.7766667+00:00

Hi SARATH S
Thank you for your response.
Please avoid updating for now until the issue is being investigated by Microsoft.

Answer 2

It sounds like you're experiencing a combination of issues with Outlook freezing and emails disappearing. Here are some potential causes and resolutions for both problems:

Outlook Freezing

Update Outlook: Ensure that you have the latest updates installed for Outlook, as outdated software can lead to performance issues.
Check for Conflicts: Other applications or processes may be interfering with Outlook. Try closing unnecessary applications or performing a selective startup to identify conflicts.
Disable Add-ins: A previously installed add-in may be causing Outlook to freeze. You can disable add-ins to see if that resolves the issue.
Repair Outlook: If Outlook is still freezing, consider repairing your Microsoft 365 installation.
Antivirus Software: Sometimes, antivirus software can conflict with Outlook. You may need to disable any Outlook integration within your antivirus software.

Emails Disappearing

Check Filters: Make sure that no filters are applied to your Outlook view that might be hiding emails. You can adjust the filtering options in the View settings.
Check Deleted Items: If emails are disappearing, check if they are being moved to the Deleted Items folder or another folder due to rules or filters.
POP and IMAP Settings: Since you mentioned using both POP and IMAP, ensure that your settings are correctly configured. POP settings can sometimes lead to emails being deleted from the server.
Corrupted Data Files: Corrupted Outlook data files can also lead to issues with disappearing emails. You may need to repair these files using the Inbox Repair Tool.

If the problem persists, consider creating a new Outlook profile to see if that resolves the issues. This can help if your current profile has become corrupted.

References: