Receiving emails in inbox on phone, but not on computer

Question

I am receiving emails in my inbox on my phone, but i am not receiving emails in my inbox on my computer.

Answer 1

Hi,

On your computer, are you using the Classic Outlook app or the web version? Are you receiving emails from third-party accounts like @gmail.com? Are there any error messages or codes?

Answer 2

Follow these steps to troubleshoot Outlook.com when mail appears on the phone but not on the computer:

1. Check filters and sort order on the computer
   • In Outlook.com on the computer, select Filter above the message list and choose All to ensure no filter is hiding messages.
   • Also select Filter > Sort > Date so messages appear in chronological order and new mail is visible at the top.
2. Check the Junk Email folder
   • On the computer, open the Junk Email folder and look for the missing messages.
   • If any should be in the inbox, select the message and choose Not junk > Not junk, or right‑click and choose Mark as not junk to move it back to the inbox.
3. Check the Other tab and Focused Inbox
   • If Focused Inbox is enabled, check both Focused and Other tabs in the inbox to see if messages are landing under Other instead of Focused.
4. Check rules and Sweep settings
   • On a computer, go to Rules settings and review any Inbox or Sweep rules.
   • If a rule is moving new mail to another folder (for example, Archive, RSS, or a custom folder), edit or delete that rule.
5. Check the Archive folder
   • Open the Archive folder and see if messages are being archived automatically.
   • If so, select the message and choose Move to > Inbox.
6. Check forwarding and “keep a copy” options
   • Verify whether email forwarding is enabled. If forwarding is turned on, ensure the option to keep a copy of forwarded messages in Outlook.com is enabled so they still appear in the inbox on the computer.
7. Check account and storage status
   • Confirm the Outlook.com account is not blocked and that the password is current.
   • Check mailbox and cloud storage; if storage is full, Outlook.com will not receive new messages.
8. If only one device has issues, reset its connection
   • If the phone shows all mail correctly but the computer (for example, Outlook desktop) does not, remove and re‑add the account/profile on the computer so it resyncs from Outlook.com.

If after these checks the messages still only appear on the phone, compare which folders they arrive in on the phone (Inbox, Archive, custom folder) and then look for that same folder in Outlook.com on the computer.

---

References:

• Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com
• Email is missing from your Outlook.com inbox