All of my email in outlook is going to my junk folder instead of the inbox

Question

All of my email in outlook is going to my junk folder instead of the inbox

Tom Stirling 0

Yesterday I realized, after not having any new email in my inbox, that everything, including regular email and junk, all ended up in my junk folder. I have changed the password and after doing that I had a friend send an email to me and it landed in my inbox. I thought everything was fine. I woke up this morning realizing that everything was going to junk again, and in fact, my friend's email from last night was no where to be found in any folder. I had her send another email this morning and it went to junk, so I am back where I started. Any ideas? Also, I have had calls from other friends who keep getting email supposedly from me that they can't open, but it is not from me. I also received an invitation that I couldn't open a few days ago, supposedly from another friend in my contacts. Someone has obviously hacked my email. Also I have been notified by several companies that someone was trying to access my account. (I was notified and they were unsuccessful in gaining access). Last night I also talked with a Norton representative who ran an intensive scan of my computer and reported that there were no virus attacks. Can you please give me some idea of what the problem might be and how to solve it? Thank you very much.

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Answer 1

Chloe-L 13,660 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear Tom Stirling,

I am sorry to hear about the stress this situation has caused. It sounds like you have already taken some great first steps with Norton and a password change but based on the symptoms you're describing—specifically emails moving themselves and friends receiving spoofed messages—it appears a few hidden settings in your account still need to be cleared.

Please follow these steps to fully secure your inbox and stop the auto-to-junk behavior:

1. Force Sign Out Everywhere

This ensures that any device currently logged into your account (including the hacker's) will be forced to log out.

Go to account.microsoft.com and log in.
Click on Security > Advanced security options.
Scroll down and click Sign out everywhere. (Note: This can take up to 24 hours to remove every single session).

2. Change Your Password Again

Since the "auto-to-junk" behavior persisted after your first change, it is safest to change the password one more time immediately after forcing the sign-out to lock the door behind them.

3. Delete Malicious Rules

Log in to Outlook.com on a web browser.
Click the Settings (gear icon) at the top right.
Go to Mail > Rules.
Delete any rules you did not create by clicking the trash can icon. This is likely why your friend's emails are being moved.

4. Turn Off Forwarding

Still in Settings, go to Mail > Forwarding.
If forwarding is turned on, turn it Off and click Save.

5. Recover Your Mail

Once the rules are deleted, you can safely move your messages back.

Check your Deleted Items and Junk Email folders.
Select the emails you need and move them back to your Inbox.

I hope this helps you regain full control of your account and stops the emails from disappearing. Please let me know if you need help with these security settings.

If the answer was helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote. For additional questions, you can click on the "Comment" button.

Note: If you would like to receive notifications about this issue, please follow the steps in our documentation to enable email notifications.

Tom Stirling 0 Reputation points

2026-03-22T11:44:11.4433333+00:00

Thank you for your help, Chloe. I think what you are telling me might work because I can see that there have been a couple of sign-ins to my account from various parts of the country and world. I am trying to follow your instructions, however after I go to "security", I don't see anything that says "advanced security options". Can you please direct me further to the place where I can "sign out everywhere". Thank you for your help with this.

Tom
Tom Stirling 0 Reputation points

2026-03-22T11:55:36.5966667+00:00

Do you think I should set up a 2-step verification with my phone number as one step?
Chloe-L 13,660 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-02T23:59:07.0266667+00:00
Hi Tom,

First of all, please accept my apologies for the delayed response! I am glad we are on the right track, though it is definitely concerning that you are seeing those unusual sign-in attempts from different locations.

To help you find the "Sign out everywhere" button, Microsoft sometimes updates the layout of these menus. Here is the current path you can take:

Go to your Security dashboard.

Click on Manage how I sign in (this essentially takes you to those advanced options).

Scroll all the way down to the bottom of that page, and you will see the option to Sign out everywhere. Click that to force all devices to log out.

To answer your second question: Yes, absolutely! Setting up two-step verification (2FA) using your phone number is a fantastic idea. It is one of the strongest security measures you can take to protect your account. It ensures that even if someone somehow manages to guess or steal your password, they still will not be able to access your account because they won't have the unique code sent to your physical phone.

Please let me know if you are able to find the sign-out button with these steps, or if you need any help setting up your two-step verification.

Answer 2

Follow these steps to stop legitimate mail going to Junk and to correct misclassification:

Check the Junk folder and mark good messages as not junk
- In Outlook.com or Outlook on the web, open the Junk Email folder.
- For any message that should be in the Inbox, select it and choose Not junk > Not junk. This moves it back to the Inbox and trains the filter.
- In Outlook for iOS/Android, open Junk Email, select the message, then choose Move to Inbox.
- In a mobile browser, open Junk Email, select the message, then choose Mark as not junk.
- Note: messages in Junk Email are automatically deleted after 30 days and cannot be recovered.
Make sure trusted senders are on the Safe Senders list
- At the top of Outlook.com, select Settings.
- Select Mail > Junk email.
- Under Safe senders and domains, select Add safe sender and add:
  - The email addresses of trusted contacts (for example, friends who are always going to Junk).
  - Any trusted domains (for example, example.com).
- Select OK, then Save.
- This prevents messages from those addresses/domains from being moved to Junk.
Remove incorrect spam/junk settings on mobile devices
- If a Samsung (or similar) mobile device is used with its default mail app, it can create its own Junk or Unwanted folder and move mail there even if Outlook rules are correct.
- On the Samsung device:
  1. Open the email app.
  2. Open Settings > General Settings.
  3. Select Spam addresses.
  4. Remove any addresses or domains that should not be treated as spam (for example, the user’s own address or corporate domain).
- This stops the mobile app from forcing messages into Junk/Unwanted.
Check for hidden or incorrect rules
- In Outlook (desktop or web), review any rules that might move messages to Junk or another folder.
- Disable or delete rules that:
  - Move “all new mail” to a specific folder (including RSS or Junk), or
  - Use conditions that match nearly every message.
Use Microsoft apps to avoid other apps misclassifying mail
- To avoid messages being moved to Junk by third‑party email apps, use a Microsoft app such as Mail for Windows 10 or Outlook for Windows to access the mailbox.
Security considerations for suspected compromise
- The password has already been changed and a malware scan run, which are correct steps.
- Also ensure:
  - Any unexpected forwarding rules or auto‑reply rules are removed.
  - Safe senders and blocked senders lists do not contain entire domains that should be allowed.

If the problem persists after these steps, continue marking good messages as Not junk and keep key contacts on the Safe Senders list; the filter may take some time to fully retrain.

References:

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All of my email in outlook is going to my junk folder instead of the inbox

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