I am not getting my Hotmail emails

Question

I am not receiving emails in my Hotmail account suddenly. I really noticed ther was an issue when I had to get a company to send me a verification code to this Hotmail email and I never received it. I always check my spam (Junk) folder too, nothing??

******@hotmail.com

Answer 1

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

1. Are you able to send emails normally?
2. Could you please let me know the exact error message that the sender receives when they try to email your account?

Send a test email from another one of your own accounts to the affected email address. Check whether you receive any bounce-back error messages or if the email gets stuck in the Outbox. If you receive an error, please share the complete error message here. This will help us to determine the exact problem with your account.

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 check that, sign in with your account on the affected email address.

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, check that you have enough mailbox storage space available to send and receive emails.

Go to Outlook Settings > Accounts > Storage.

Let me know if you still need more help.

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Answer 2

Work through these checks in order to restore mail delivery to the Hotmail (Outlook.com) account:

1. Confirm the account is active and not blocked

• If the mailbox or cloud storage is full, new messages (including verification codes) are bounced and lost. Check Outlook.com mailbox storage and free up space if needed.
• If there has been unusual sign-in activity, the account might be temporarily blocked. Follow the steps to unblock the Outlook.com account if prompted when signing in.

2. Check where messages are going

• In Outlook.com (web):
  • Check the Junk Email folder and mark any legitimate messages as Not junk so future messages go to Inbox.
  • Check the Other tab (if Focused Inbox is on) to ensure messages are not being filtered there.
  • Check Filters and sort order (Filter > Sort > Date) so messages are not hidden or out of order.
  • Review Junk Email settings, rules, and forwarding:
    • Remove or adjust any rules that move or delete new mail.
    • Turn off forwarding if mail is being sent to another address.
• In Outlook for Windows:
  • Check local rules that might move messages to other folders (including RSS or custom folders).

3. Check blocked senders and safe senders

• In Outlook.com / Outlook on the web:
  • Go to Settings > Mail/Options > Blocked senders or Block and allow.
  • If the sender’s address or domain (for example, the company sending the verification code) is listed, remove it from Blocked senders.
  • Optionally add trusted senders to the safe/allowed list.

4. Verify that Microsoft verification emails can arrive

• Verification codes from Microsoft come from @accountprotection.microsoft.com.
• Check the Junk Email folder for messages from this address and mark them as Not junk.
• Add @accountprotection.microsoft.com as a trusted sender so future codes go to the Inbox.

5. If only a specific sender is failing

• If all other mail works and only one company’s verification codes are missing, ask that sender to review their side using the Outlook.com sender guidance and ensure they are not getting bounce messages.

6. If using other apps or devices

• If a third‑party mail app is used, ensure it supports modern authentication and IMAP as required for Outlook.com.
• If IMAP/POP access is enabled and causing issues with a connected app, temporarily disable IMAP/POP and test again.
• If only one device is affected, remove that device’s partnership with the mailbox and re-add the account so it resyncs cleanly.

7. If mail is still missing

• Check again in Outlook.com on the web (not just in the desktop app) to rule out a client-side issue.
• If messages are still not appearing and the above checks do not resolve it, use Outlook.com in-product Help to contact support (requires signing in) and describe that new mail is not arriving despite storage being available and rules/junk settings checked.

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References:

• Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com
• Email is missing from your Outlook.com inbox
• Where are my email messages or calendar events in Mail and Calendar for Windows 10?
• Troubleshoot Microsoft verification code issues
• Stopped receiving emails on my account. - Microsoft Q&A
• My personal hotmail account hacked by hacker with authentication app enabled. - Microsoft Q&A
• Authenticator app not sending code to my email - Microsoft Q&A
• MSN email issues - Microsoft Q&A