Email problems

Question

I am unable to send or receive emails to my account. I would like to talk with someone.

Answer 1

Hi Michael J. Soucier

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Forum. I understand that you’re unable to send or receive emails in Outlook and would like to speak with someone for assistance.

Please make sure you have already tried the Q&A Assist steps provided under your thread. In addition, test your account in Outlook on the web at https://outlook.live.com. If the web version works, the issue is likely related to the Outlook app or your Outlook profile.

Next, please temporarily disable any third‑party antivirus or email‑scanning features, then restart Outlook and test sending and receiving again. You can also try creating a new Outlook profile by opening Control Panel, selecting Mail, creating a new profile, setting it as the default, and testing your account there.

Finally, try removing and re‑adding your account by going to Classic Outlook > File > Account Settings, removing the account, and then adding it back.

If the issue persists and you would still like to contact a Microsoft Support agent, please follow the steps below to reach them. It may offer live chat and, depending on your subscription/region, an option to request a callback:

• Go to Contact - Microsoft Support
• Type a brief description of your issue in the search box.    
• Click "Get Help", then scroll to the bottom and select "Contact Support”.
• Choose the appropriate Products & Services/ Category.
• Look for and select "Chat with a support agent in your web browser" (during business hours) or a similar callback option (if available). Explain your situation clearly.

I truly appreciate your time and understanding.

---

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

Follow these steps in classic Outlook for Windows to troubleshoot not being able to send or receive mail, and then options to contact support:

1. Confirm the account and password

• If the email account password was recently changed on the provider’s website, update it in classic Outlook as well. See the guidance under Have you changed your password recently? in the Outlook help article.

2. Check antivirus email scanning

• Some antivirus products block sending/receiving when they detect an issue. Use the antivirus help desk or settings to review email scanning and clear any blocks.

3. Repair the Outlook installation

• Use the Office repair tool as described in Repair an Office application. This can fix issues where Outlook cannot send/receive.

4. Repair or recreate the Outlook profile

• A corrupted profile can stop mail flow. Use the steps in Fix your Outlook email connection by repairing your profile / Create an Outlook profile to repair or create a new profile, then test send/receive again.

5. Start Outlook in Safe Mode

• Press the Windows key, type outlook.exe /safe, and press Enter.
• If mail works in Safe Mode, an add-in is likely causing the problem; creating a new profile usually resolves this.

If the problem is with an Outlook.com account specifically (Hotmail, Live, MSN, Outlook.com address):

6. Check Outlook.com account status

• Make sure the Microsoft cloud storage and mailbox are not full using the mailbox storage page referenced in Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com.
• If the account is blocked due to unusual activity, follow unblock your Outlook.com account from the same article.

7. Check rules, junk, and forwarding (for not receiving)

• Review Junk Email settings and the Junk Email folder and mark legitimate messages as Not junk.
• Check for any rules or forwarding that might be moving or diverting messages.

To talk with a support agent:

8. Use Outlook.com in-browser support (for Outlook.com accounts)

• Sign in at Outlook.com.
• Select Help on the menu bar, describe the issue, then scroll to Still need help? and choose Yes.
• Select Chat with a support agent in your web browser to start a live chat.

If Outlook.com is not the account type, use the appropriate Microsoft support channel for the email provider or Microsoft 365 subscription, such as the Help & Support entry points described in the referenced articles.

---

References:

• I can't send or receive messages in Outlook
• Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com
• Unable to send emails from Outlook.com connected accounts from Outlook app
• Sent email in Outlook.com comes back "delivery failed"
• Outlook.com email account appears as "outlook_[long series of letters and numbers]@outlook.com" in Outlook for Windows
• Need to speak to a agent I am getting pop up draft scam emails - Microsoft Q&A
• MSN email issues - Microsoft Q&A
• Stopped receiving emails on my account. - Microsoft Q&A