All emails are going to Junk

Question

I have been receiving previously recognized email in my inbox. In the past week, all of my emails are going directly to junk. When I select "Not Junk" to send to my inbox, a message appears at the top of the email explaining this email went directly to junk because of an Inbox rule. I did not change anything to, my knowledge. How can a fix this problem?

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Moderator note: thread moved from Microsoft 365 and Office to Outlook.

Answer 1

An inbox rule is moving all messages to Junk. That rule must be located and disabled or deleted.

Use these steps depending on how mail is accessed:

1. Check rules in Outlook.com or Outlook on the web
   1. Sign in to the mailbox at Outlook.com or Outlook on the web.
   2. Select Settings > Options or Mail.
   3. In the left Options menu, select Inbox and sweep rules.
   4. Look for any rule whose action moves messages to Junk Email (or deletes/moves them away from Inbox).
   5. Uncheck or delete that rule so it no longer runs.
   6. If any rules move messages to other folders, also check those folders for mail that was moved.
2. Check rules in classic Outlook (desktop)
   1. In Outlook, on the Home tab, select Rules > Manage Rules and Alerts.
   2. Review each rule and find any that move messages to Junk E-mail or another folder instead of Inbox.
   3. Uncheck or delete the problematic rule.
   4. If there are rules that move messages to other folders, check those folders for missing mail.
3. Review Junk Email settings and lists
   1. In Outlook, select Home > Junk > Junk E-mail Options.
   2. Confirm the protection level is appropriate (for example, not set to Safe Lists Only, which is very restrictive).
   3. Review Blocked Senders and remove any addresses or domains that should not be blocked.
   4. Optionally, add trusted senders or groups to Safe Senders or Safe Recipients so their messages are less likely to be treated as junk.
4. Correct messages already in Junk
   1. Open the Junk Email folder.
   2. For messages that should be in Inbox, select them and choose Not junk / Mark as not junk or Move to Inbox (depending on the app).

After disabling or removing the rule that sends mail to Junk and adjusting Junk settings, new messages should start arriving in the Inbox again.

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References:

• Where are my email messages or calendar events in Mail and Calendar for Windows 10?
• Change the level of protection in the Junk Email Filter in Outlook
• Options > Junk Email
• Email is missing from your Outlook.com inbox
• Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com
• Mail goes to the Junk folder by mistake
• Label a message as "junk" or "not junk"