Emails folders

Question

My email folder titles and headings etc in my outlook account have all been changed to a foreign language - what should I do

Answer 1

Hello

On a computer (not smartphone or tablet), go to www.outlook.com , then click on the gear icon on the upper right to launch Settings. Then use the screenshot below to guide you, so you know where to click to change the language back.

I would suggest that you also go through the following list of things to do, as it sounds like your account might have been compromised.

First, go to https://www.outlook.com and sign in.

Click the gear icon in the top right corner to open Settings.

Under Mail, review the following areas:

Rules

If any rules are listed, delete all of them.

Conditional formatting

If anything is set up there, delete it.

Forwarding and IMAP

If you see any entries or settings you did not create, remove them.

After that, exit Settings and return to outlook.com.

Open the To Do section by clicking the blue checkmark icon on the left side. Delete anything there that was not created by you.

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If you do not find anything suspicious above, go to https://account.live.com.

Under Your info > Sign-in preferences, review all aliases on the account. If you see any alias you do not recognize, remove it.

Next, go to the Devices section of your Microsoft account and remove any devices you do not recognize.

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Please also do the following in Security section

Change your password

Enable two-step verification

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Then go to Security > Manage how I sign in and make sure all contact information belongs to you.

On that same page, scroll down to App passwords and remove any existing app passwords.

Also on the same page, click on Sign out everywhere. This is intended to disconnect any active sessions that may still be connected. Please note that this can take up to 24 hours to fully take effect.

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In addition, this problem can sometimes be caused by a malicious script or infection on one of your devices.

Are you using a Windows computer to check email? Do you use an email app such as Outlook Classic or New Outlook?

If so, please open the app and remove the account from the app settings.

Then go to the Microsoft Safety Scanner download page:

https://learn.microsoft.com/defender-endpoint/safety-scanner-download

Download the 64-bit version, run a full scan, and let me know what the final results say.

Answer 2

Outlook folder names changing to a foreign language is usually caused by language/region settings or by a mobile app/device changing the mailbox language. Use these steps to restore them.

1. Try resetting folder names in Outlook for Windows
   1. Close Outlook.
   2. Press Windows + R.
   3. Type:

            Outlook.exe /resetfolders
      

      and press Enter.
   4. After Outlook opens and finishes, close it again.
   5. Press Windows + R again, type:

            Outlook.exe /resetfoldernames
      

      and press Enter.
   6. Reopen Outlook and check the folder names.
2. Fix language via Outlook on the web (also renames default folders)
   1. Close Outlook on the PC.
   2. Sign in to Outlook on the web with the same account.
   3. Select Settings (cog) > View all Outlook settings.
   4. Go to General > Language and time.
   5. In Language, choose the preferred language.
   6. Tick Rename default folders so their names match the specified language.
   7. Choose the desired date and time format and select Save.
   8. Close Outlook on the web.
   9. Open Outlook on the PC and confirm the folder names are back in the correct language.
   If the preferred language is already selected, choose a different language, save, then switch back to the preferred language and save again.
3. If the rename fails with a “Cannot localize the default folders” error The mailbox may already contain custom folders whose names match the default folder names in the target language (for example, a custom folder named with the foreign word for Inbox). In that case:
   1. In Outlook (desktop or web), locate any custom folders whose names are the same as default folders (Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts, Junk Email, RSS Subscriptions, Deleted Items) in the foreign language.
   2. Rename those custom folders so they have unique names.
   3. Repeat step 2 above in Outlook on the web (change language and tick Rename default folders so their names match the specified language).

If the issue persists and this is an Exchange/Microsoft 365 mailbox managed by an organization, an administrator can also reset default folder names using the Set-MailboxRegionalConfiguration PowerShell cmdlet as described in the references.

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References:

• Issues with default folders in Outlook
• Cannot localize the default folders error when changing default folder names to another language in Outlook on the web
• Archive folder is automatically added to your Office 365 mailbox
• How do I change my language?
• Check or change language settings