Need technical assistance with Outlook email

Question

Want to talk to tech support about Outlook emails going to incorrect folders after adding email account.

Answer 1

Dear @DENNIS ZANDER,
Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

From your description, I understand that after adding another email account, some Outlook emails are now going into folders you did not expect, instead of staying in the Inbox. This is happening in Outlook on the web, and it started after the additional account was added.

To better assistance, could you please confirm following information:

Is the new email address an alias of your existing mailbox, or a different mailbox?

Are the emails appearing under Focused or Other, instead of the main Inbox?

Do the emails move to another folder immediately when they arrive, or after some time?

Have you ever set up any Inbox Rules in Outlook (even a long time ago)?

Does this affect all emails, or only emails from specific senders?

Are you using only Outlook on the web, or also the Outlook desktop app?

Did this start right after the additional email account was added?

In the meantime, I recommend the following checks:

1/ Review Inbox Rules in Outlook on the web

Outlook may be moving emails automatically if there are Inbox rules set on the mailbox.

How to check Inbox Rules:

• Sign in to Outlook on the web.
• Select Settings > Mail > Rules.
• Review the list of rules: Look for any rule with actions like Move to folder, Delete, or Mark as read, Pay attention to rules created earlier, as they still apply after adding a new email account.
• If you find a rule that may be moving emails unexpectedly: Temporarily turn off the rule, or Edit the rule to confirm the conditions and target folder.

2/ Check if Focused Inbox is enabled

Outlook on the web may also separate emails using Focused Inbox, which splits messages into Focused and Other tabs.

This can look like emails are going to the “wrong folder,” even though they are still in the Inbox.

How to check Focused Inbox:

• In Outlook on the web, select Settings (gear icon).
• Go to Mail > Layout.
• Look for Focused Inbox: If enabled, emails are automatically sorted between Focused and Other tabs.
• You can either: Switch between Focused and Other tabs in the Inbox to find the emails, or Turn Focused Inbox off if you prefer all emails to stay in one Inbox.

Please understand that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

I truly appreciate your patience and understanding. If you have any further questions or need further clarification, please feel free to reach out. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. 

Thank you for your cooperation.

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

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.

Answer 2

If your Outlook emails are going to incorrect folders after adding an email account, it may be due to a folder mapping error in the .ost file created by Outlook Cached Exchange Mode. This can happen when multiple accounts are associated with a single Outlook profile.

To resolve this issue, you can follow these steps:

1. Drag all incorrectly sent messages to the correct folders.
2. Remove the secondary account that is causing the issue:
   • Go to Control Panel and search for mail.
   • Double-click Mail and select E-mail Accounts.
   • In the Account Settings dialog, select the account to remove and click Remove.
   • Close the dialog.
3. Exit Outlook.
4. If you are using Outlook 2007, run the ScanOST.exe process to repair any errors in the .ost file. For Outlook 2010, redownload the .ost file from the server.
5. Re-add the secondary MAPI account to the profile by following the same steps to access E-mail Accounts and selecting New.
6. Send a test message to ensure the account is set up correctly and monitor it to confirm the .ost file is repaired successfully.

If you continue to experience issues, consider reaching out to Microsoft support for further assistance.

---

References:

• Email messages are sent to the wrong account when multiple accounts are associated with an Outlook profile