Deleted items return to inbox the next day.

Question

On new Outlook, deleted email messages return to Inbox next day after being deleted. I have completed all the self-help steps to fix.

Answer 1

After you set Auto-Expunge off, did you also select “Move the message to the Trash” and save the change?

Set Auto-Expunge to off, then choose “Move the message to the Trash” and save at the bottom of Gmail settings. Next, go to Gmail Labels and uncheck “Show in IMAP” for All Mail. Then delete one test email in Gmail web and confirm it stays in Trash. Finally, restart Outlook so it syncs fresh with Gmail.

Answer 2

This happens because Gmail keeps messages on the server and sync brings them back. Sign in to Gmail in a browser, go to Settings, Forwarding and POP/IMAP, set “When I mark a message as deleted” to “Move to Trash” and turn Auto-Expunge on. Then go to Labels and uncheck “Show in IMAP” for All Mail. After this, delete a message in Gmail web and confirm it stays deleted, then sync Outlook again.

Answer 3

Hi Christine,

That very much cleared things up.

Are you using Gmail as an IMAP account in Outlook for Windows?

Since this only affects Gmail, this points to how Gmail sync works. Outlook follows the server, and Gmail controls the actual delete action. When you delete a message in Outlook, Gmail may move it to All Mail instead of removing it. On the next sync, the message returns to Inbox. The message “you can't permanently delete these items” also fits this behavior with IMAP accounts. I would recommend to sign in to your Gmail settings in a browser, go to Forwarding and POP/IMAP, then check what happens when a message is deleted. Set it to move to Trash or delete immediately. Also check Gmail web and confirm if the messages still exist there after deletion. Outlook will always reflect what Gmail keeps on the server, if that's the case, the fix needs to be done on the Gmail side.

Answer 4

Hi Christine,

I see the issue with deleted emails coming back. Does this happen to all emails or only from one account like Gmail or another provider?

In the new Outlook, this usually relates to sync with your email account. If the mail server still keeps the message, Outlook sync brings it back to Inbox. This often happens with IMAP accounts or server rules. Check Settings, Mail, Rules in Outlook and remove any rule that moves messages to Inbox. Also check your email in the web browser and delete a message there. If it returns in webmail, the issue is from the email provider. If not, it is within Outlook.

Answer 5

Deleted items returning to the Inbox are typically caused by server-side rules/filters or account configuration outside of Outlook itself, especially if all Outlook self-help steps have already been tried.

Take these steps to isolate and fix the issue:

1. Check webmail or provider filters

• Sign in to the mailbox using the email provider’s web interface (for example, Outlook.com or the ISP’s webmail, not the New Outlook app).
• Open the Rules/Filters or Mail settings in webmail.
• Look for any rule that:
  • Moves messages from Deleted Items back to Inbox, or
  • Acts on “all messages” or broad conditions.
• Disable or delete such rules, then test by deleting a message and waiting to see if it stays deleted.

2. Check for external filters (ISP or security portal)

• If the account is provided by an ISP (for example, AT&T, Comcast, etc.), sign in to the ISP’s email portal.
• Review any server-side filters there; remove any that move messages from Trash/Deleted Items back to Inbox. A misconfigured filter at the provider level can override Outlook behavior before messages reach the client.

3. Verify no “Ignore”/conversation processing is involved

• In classic Outlook, the Ignore feature can automatically move messages in a conversation to Deleted Items and keep processing future messages in that thread.
• If Ignore was used previously and conversation actions are stuck, start Outlook with the cleanup switch to clear conversation actions:
  • Close Outlook.
  • Run: Outlook.exe /CleanConvOnGoingActions
  • This deletes hidden conversation action messages so new messages in those threads will no longer be auto-processed.

4. Confirm Deleted Items auto-emptying is not masking behavior

• In Outlook on the web, go to Settings → Message handling.
• Under When signing out, ensure Empty my deleted items folder is unchecked if the goal is to keep deleted items until manually purged.

5. If the problem persists

• Use Outlook.com or the provider’s webmail for a day without running New Outlook and see if deleted items still come back. If they do, the issue is definitely on the server/provider side and must be fixed there.
• If it only happens when New Outlook is used, reset the New Outlook profile (clear local state) and re-add the account, then test again.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, contact support for the specific email service (Outlook.com, ISP, or organization) so they can check for hidden rules or mailbox policies on the server.

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References:

• Recover and restore deleted items in Outlook
• Messages in an e-mail thread are automatically moved to the Deleted Items folder
• All Outlook 2024 email going to Trash instead of Inbox - Microsoft Q&A
• Stopped receiving emails on my account. - Microsoft Q&A
• Emails deleted from Outlook.com are reverting back to the Inbox