How can I fix my incoming e-mail problem?

Question

How can I fix my incoming e-mail problem?

L Larson 20

I have not received any e-mails on my computer or my phone since Feb. 6th in my inbox. I have received junk mail since then & have been able to send e-mails, but my incoming e-mails do not come through. I have had people send me e-mails so I know that I should have received some. I have tried the troubleshooting that was listed on the forum but nothing helped. How do I fix my problem?

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Answer accepted by question author

Francisco Montilla 30,710 Independent Advisor

Hello,

What is the email domain you are having trouble with? (the part after the @ symbol)

Also, please log in to your email account directly through a web browser (like Outlook.live.com) and let me know if the emails are missing there as well, or if they appear in folders like Archive or Deleted Items. This will help determine if it is an account setting or a device sync issue.

L Larson 20 Reputation points

2026-02-09T03:59:17.8766667+00:00

I'm using hotmail. I found the e-mails in Deleted Items. Thank you I never thought of looking there. How do I get them to go directly to my inbox?
Francisco Montilla 30,710 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-02-09T05:53:32.5033333+00:00

Glad you found them! You should move them back to your Inbox immediately so they do not get permanently cleaned out.

To fix new emails going there, you likely have a Rule set up by mistake. Click the Gear icon at the top right to open Settings. Select Mail and then Rules. Check that list for any rule that moves messages to Deleted Items and delete it if you find one.

Let me know if that was the issue.

2 additional answers

Your answer

L Larson 20 Reputation points

2026-02-09T03:59:17.8766667+00:00

I'm using hotmail. I found the e-mails in Deleted Items. Thank you I never thought of looking there. How do I get them to go directly to my inbox?
Francisco Montilla 30,710 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-02-09T05:53:32.5033333+00:00

Glad you found them! You should move them back to your Inbox immediately so they do not get permanently cleaned out.

To fix new emails going there, you likely have a Rule set up by mistake. Click the Gear icon at the top right to open Settings. Select Mail and then Rules. Check that list for any rule that moves messages to Deleted Items and delete it if you find one.

Let me know if that was the issue.

Answer 1

L Larson 20

The things to try in the response did not work. Still unable to receive e-mails on my computer & cell phone. I do have Microsoft 365 on my computer only & I was wondering if that could be giving me problems.

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Answer 2

To troubleshoot your incoming email problem in Outlook, you can try the following steps:

Check for Rules: Sometimes, rules can divert incoming emails to other folders or even to junk. Make sure there are no rules set up that might be causing this issue.
Clear Offline Items: If you are using Cached Exchange Mode, emails may not appear in your Inbox. You can clear offline items to resynchronize:
- Right-click on the Inbox folder and select Properties.
- In the Inbox Properties dialog box, go to the General tab and select Clear Offline Items.
- Confirm the action and then press Shift+F9 to force a resynchronization.
Start Outlook with Clean Switch: You can also try starting Outlook with the /cleanips switch to clear any issues with the incoming item processing pipeline. To do this:
- Exit Outlook completely.
- Open the Run dialog (Windows + R) and type Outlook.exe /cleanips, then press Enter.
Check for Software Updates: Ensure that your Outlook and Windows are up to date. Outdated software can lead to connectivity issues.
Create a New Outlook Profile: If the above steps do not resolve the issue, consider creating a new Outlook profile. This can help if your current profile is corrupted.
- Go to Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles, and add a new profile.

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the issue with incoming emails not appearing in your inbox.

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