My auto forwarding keeps getting turned off.

Question

My auto forwarding keeps getting turned off. I need a solution besides adding a phone number, because you cannot use the same phone number on more than one account.

Answer 1

Hi Kolleen Fletcher,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Based on what you’ve described, since this is a personal Outlook.com/Hotmail account, forwarding can sometimes switch off if Microsoft asks for an extra sign-in verification step or if the destination mailbox rejects forwarded messages. You don’t have to add a phone number, because other verification methods can be used.

Please try the options below:

1. Use Microsoft Authenticator / passkey / email for verification, then re‑enable forwarding

• Add a non‑phone verification method: go to account.microsoft.com > Security > Manage how I sign in > Add a new way to sign in or verify, then choose Microsoft Authenticator (Use an app), Passkey, or add an email address as a verification method.
• Re‑enable forwarding in Outlook.com: Settings > Mail > Forwarding > Enable forwarding > enter the forwarding address > Save

2. Use an Inbox Rule as a workaround

• Settings > Mail > Rules > Add new rule and create a rule that forwards (or redirects) messages to your destination address.

3 (If forwarding to Gmail): switch from “forwarding” to “Gmail fetch/pull”

• If Gmail rejects forwarded messages, Microsoft can disable the forwarding rule. In that case, it’s typically more stable to configure Gmail to check mail from the Outlook.com account (pull/import) instead of using forwarding

Please feel free to let me know if you have any further updates, thanks.

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Answer 2

Automatic forwarding in Outlook.com and Outlook on the web depends on the forwarding setting staying enabled and, in some cases, on security verification such as two-step verification. If forwarding keeps turning off, verify and stabilize the configuration directly in Outlook.com without adding a phone number.

Use these steps in Outlook.com / Outlook on the web:

1. Open Outlook.com and sign in.
2. Select Settings (gear icon) at the top.
3. Select Mail > Forwarding.
4. Make sure Enable forwarding is turned on and the correct forwarding address is entered.
5. If desired, select Keep a copy of forwarded messages so messages stay in the original mailbox.
6. Select Save.

If prompted to verify identity and two-step verification is not enabled, Outlook.com may ask to turn it on when enabling forwarding. Two-step verification can use methods other than a phone number (for example, an authenticator app or alternate email), so forwarding can be kept enabled without assigning the same phone number to multiple accounts.

If using classic Outlook instead of Outlook.com’s built-in forwarding, configure a rule-based redirect/forward so that forwarding is controlled by rules rather than the single global forwarding toggle:

1. In classic Outlook, go to Home > Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts.
2. Select New Rule.
3. Under Start from a blank rule, choose Apply rule on messages I receive and select Next.
4. Do not select any conditions; select Next, then Yes to apply to all messages.
5. Under What do you want to do with the message?, select redirect it to people or public group (or forward) and stop processing more rules.
6. Click the people or public group link and enter the forwarding address.
7. Finish and apply the rule.

This rule-based approach can be used when global forwarding is unreliable or being disabled, while still avoiding reuse of the same phone number across accounts by relying on non-phone verification methods.

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References:

• Turn on or off automatic forwarding in Outlook.com
• Turn on automatic forwarding in Outlook