Not receiving emails

Question

I am not receiving emails to my inbox anywhere despite knowing people are sending them to me.

Answer 1

Hi! Let me help you.

Have you tried signing out and signing back in?

Try to send a test mail to yourself.

Answer 2

Work through these checks in Outlook.com / Outlook on the web to find where the messages are going and restore delivery:

1. Confirm messages aren’t filtered or sorted away

• In Outlook.com, open the Inbox.
• At the top of the message list, select Filter and choose All so no filter hides messages.
• Select Filter > Sort > Date to ensure messages are shown in chronological order.
• If using Focused Inbox, check both Focused and Other tabs.

2. Check Junk Email and junk settings

• Open the Junk Email folder and look for expected messages.
• For any message that should be in Inbox, right‑click it and choose Mark as not junk to train the filter.
• Review Junk Email settings (Settings > Mail > Junk email) to ensure nothing is over‑blocking.

3. Check rules, sweep rules, and Archive

• Go to Rules settings and review all Inbox and Sweep rules. Look for any rule that moves or deletes new mail (for example, moving everything to another folder or RSS). Edit or delete incorrect rules.
• Open the Archive folder and verify messages are not being auto‑archived. If they are, select the message and choose Move to > Inbox.

4. Check blocked senders and domains

• In Outlook.com / Outlook on the web, go to Settings > Mail > Blocked senders or Block and allow.
• Remove any sender address or domain that should be allowed to send mail.

5. Verify account and storage status

• Make sure sign‑in to Outlook.com works normally.
• Check mailbox and cloud storage usage via the mailbox storage page; if storage is full, new messages are bounced and cannot be recovered. Free space by deleting or archiving items.

6. Check forwarding and connected apps

• In Outlook.com settings, verify Forwarding is not enabled, or if it is, that it points to the correct address.
• If using third‑party mail apps (mobile/desktop), ensure they support modern authentication and IMAP. If IMAP/POP access is enabled and causing issues, disable IMAP/POP and test again.

7. If only specific senders fail

• Ask the sender to confirm they receive any bounce or error message.
• If there is no visible error, ask them to follow Sender Support in Outlook.com to ensure their messages are accepted.

8. If none of the above resolves it

• Use the Outlook.com interactive troubleshooter from the article.
• From Outlook.com, select Help, describe the issue, and if self‑help does not resolve it, choose Still need help? to contact support.

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References:

• Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com
• Email is missing from your Outlook.com inbox
• Where are my email messages or calendar events in Mail and Calendar for Windows 10?
• I can't send or receive messages in Outlook
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