My Hotmail account is not receiving email

Question

My Hotmail account is not receiving email after being hacked yesterday. I have scanned with Windows Defender, reset password and cleared browser cache.

Answer 1

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

What is the exact error message the sender receives when they try to email to your address?

Send a test email from another one of your accounts to the affected email address. Check whether you receive any bounce-back error messages in the Outbox folder. If you receive an error, please share the complete error message here.

If the email is sent successfully, then please check your email forwarding rules and blocked senders list, and verify whether the messages have been routed to another folder, such as Junk or Spam.

To do that, open an incognito tab on any web browser and sign in with your Microsoft account here:

Email forwarding rules: https://outlook.live.com/mail/0/options/mail/forwarding

(Click Do not forward if your emails are being forwarded to another address)

Additionally, to prevent this issue from happening in the near future, ensure you protect your account with a strong password and enable two-factor authentication for added security.

How to use two-step verification with your Microsoft account

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Answer 2

If your Hotmail account is not receiving emails after being hacked, there are several steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the issue:

1. Check Email Rules: Sometimes, hackers set up rules that redirect or delete incoming emails. Sign in to your Outlook account and check the settings for any suspicious rules that may have been created. You can do this by navigating to Settings → Mail → Rules.
2. Check Forwarding Settings: Ensure that no unknown forwarding addresses have been set up. Go to Settings → Mail → Forwarding to verify this.
3. Review Account Security: Since you mentioned that your account was hacked, ensure that you have enabled two-factor authentication (2FA) to enhance security. This can help prevent unauthorized access in the future.
4. Contact Microsoft Support: If the above steps do not resolve the issue, it may be necessary to reach out to Microsoft Support for further assistance. They can help investigate the problem and provide additional recovery options.
5. Monitor Account Activity: After regaining access, keep an eye on your account activity for any unauthorized changes or suspicious behavior.

By following these steps, you should be able to address the issue with your Hotmail account not receiving emails.

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References:

• Stopped receiving emails on my account. - Microsoft Q&A
• My personal hotmail account hacked by hacker with authentication app enabled. - Microsoft Q&A