Recently some emails not received in Hotmail/Outlook.com

Question

Please help here, suddenly and recently over last few weeks some emails are not arriving in my hotmail .com account. This is my main hotmail.com account which has worked for many years.

Nothing else has changed and i have checked all usual checks such as filters, junk, blocked senders, also added email domains i know were missed to safe senders list. I am now accessing and viewing my email account direct on outlook web so this must be issue at backend server in outlook/microsoft. Also viewing in outlook claasic on pc and outlook app on mobile, it is same population of emails on all platforms.

I have missed critical emails including medical related, and need help to resolve. I now do not know what emails i am missing but do seem to be gradually receiving less emails. It is from range of senders so far eg. Electricity Company, other snall companies, also personal email accounts, there is no pattern some have attachments others do not. Senders are receiving no bounce back or message

Answer 1

Thanks for prevoous reply, i did respond but it was deleted. Your answer was useful as i was able to get to a live person but as soon as they heard i was having same problem on web outlook and likely to be backend server issue they said i had to contact outlook.com support.

The support details they gave me did not work, there was never an option to contact support using those instructions, i have pasted the instructions below. It jept going back toboutlook login.I went back to the same support chat several times and they gave same answer and closed the chat.

So still stuck not able to get anyone to check my missing emails

Open your browser (Safari, Chrome, etc.) and go to https://outlook.com.

Sign in to your Microsoft account.In the top-right corner, click the question mark icon (?) or go to Settings > Help.

A Help pane will open on the right side.

Scroll down and click “Contact Support” or “Get more help”.

You’ll be redirected to the Microsoft Support page.

Select Outlook.com as the product.

Choose your issue from the list or type it in manually.

Scroll down to the “Still need help?” section.

Click “Yes” to open chat options.

Choose “Chat with a support agent

Answer 2

Hello Glenn, 

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I understand how disruptive it is when important emails stop arriving, especially when this has been ongoing for several weeks. 

Based on what you’ve shared, the checks suggested by Q&A Assist (rules, Junk Email, Safe Senders) are reasonable first steps, but some items mentioned there - such as Azure DevOps or Active Directory attributes - apply only to work or school accounts and are not relevant to a personal Hotmail/Outlook.com account. 

In addition to the storage and Junk Email checks already mentioned, if messages are still missing across Outlook.com on the web and all apps, the next supported step is to contact Microsoft Support so they can review the mailbox status in context. Since moderators and contributors (including Microsoft external staffs) do not have access to internal mail‑flow systems, delivery logs, or account‑level filtering controls. We’re only able to provide guidance based on documented features and user‑accessible settings. 

You can contact a live chat agent for a personal Microsoft account as follows: 

1. Visit the Microsoft Support contact page: Contact - Microsoft Support    
2. In the search bar provided on the page, type "Email not receiving messages" and press Enter.    
3. Click on the "Get Help" button that appears.    
4. Scroll down the page until you see and click on the "Contact Support" option.    
5. When prompted to select your product or service, choose "Other Products".    
6. For the category, choose "Outlook".    
7. Look for and click on "Chat with a support agent in your web browser".    
8. When prompted, provide a valid contact email where Microsoft can reach you regarding your case.    
9. Explain your situation clearly: Be concise but provide all the relevant details.    

I hope this clarifies what can and cannot be done from the forum and helps set the right expectations moving forward.

Answer 3

It sounds like you're experiencing a frustrating issue with missing emails in your Hotmail/Outlook.com account. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot this problem:

1. Check for Filters and Rules: Even though you've mentioned checking filters, ensure that there are no hidden rules that might be diverting your emails to other folders.
2. Review Junk and Spam Folders: Sometimes, legitimate emails can end up in the junk or spam folders. Make sure to check these folders thoroughly.
3. Safe Senders List: Since you've added domains to your safe senders list, ensure that the specific email addresses of the senders are also included, as sometimes domain-level settings may not suffice.
4. Use Outlook on the Web: Since you are already using Outlook on the web, verify if the emails are missing there as well. If they are present in the web version but not in the desktop or mobile apps, the issue may be related to those specific applications.
5. Run Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant: This tool can help identify and fix issues with Outlook. It can check for problems with your account settings and configurations that might be causing the issue.
6. Check Active Directory Attributes: If you are part of an organization, sometimes special characters in the Active Directory attributes can cause issues with email delivery. Ensure that there are no special characters in your profile that could be affecting email delivery.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, it may be necessary to contact Microsoft support for further assistance, especially since you are missing critical emails.

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References:

• Help Identify My Issue with Sending/Receiving Email in Outlook (Automatic Checks)
• Find and fix email delivery issues as a Microsoft 365 for business admin