No emails going to my junk folder.

Question

There are no emails going to my junk folder. There are emails that usually go to my junk folder that I need. I am not getting any of them. In fact, I am not getting anything at all in my junk folder. I have looked at my junk mail settings and think I have them right. I am using outlook live. This has been happening since late February.

Answer 1

Hi LM,

I appreciate you confirming that you’ve already tried all the troubleshooting steps from the Q&A Assist answer. I understand how frustrating it is to get stuck in a loop where support keeps redirecting you back to the community, especially after you’ve already gone through everything suggested.

To clarify expectations first: contributors in this forum can help explain settings and behavior, but there is no access to mailbox‑level or server‑side filtering. When Junk filtering stops behaving as expected and all client-side checks are exhausted, only Outlook.com support can review the mailbox configuration.

For personal Outlook.com accounts, the main supported way to reach support is from inside Outlook.com itself, please follow below steps carefully to reach a live chat agent:

1, Go to Outlook.com and sign in.  

2, Click the Help icon (question mark) in the top right corner.  

3, In the Help pane that opens, type a brief description of your issue (e.g., "cannot receive emails"), then press Enter.   

4, Scroll down the page until you see "Still need help?", click Yes.   

5, Select "Chat with a support agent in your web browser."  

6, Review the description of your issue and confirm your email address (ensure it's an email you can access).  

7, Click Confirm to create the service request and then Start chat to connect with an agent.  

This in‑app Help path is the only route that can surface Outlook.com support options. The Contact Support pages outside Outlook.com commonly redirect back to community content for mail filtering topics, which explains the loop you’re seeing.

I hope this clarifies why you’re being redirected and shows the exact path to reach support if it’s available for your account.

Answer 2

Try the following checks and reset steps in Outlook.com / Outlook on the web:

1. Confirm junk isn’t being bypassed entirely
   • In Outlook.com, go to Settings > Mail > Junk email.
   • Under Safe senders and domains, make sure no broad domains (for example *@*, large TLDs, or common providers) are listed that would cause almost everything to be treated as safe.
   • Under Blocked senders and domains, remove any entries that might be blocking legitimate senders that “used to go to junk.”
2. Re-save junk handling settings
   • In Settings > Mail > Junk email, change Incoming mail handling to Strict, then Save.
   • Sign out of Outlook.com.
   • Sign back in, go again to Settings > Mail > Junk email, change Incoming mail handling back to Standard, and Save.
   • Allow a few hours for filtering behavior to stabilize; this has been shown to restore junk filtering when it stopped working.
3. Check that messages aren’t being diverted elsewhere
   • In Outlook.com, review:
     • Rules to ensure there is no rule moving all mail to another folder (for example RSS or a custom folder) instead of Junk.
     • Forwarding settings to ensure mail isn’t being forwarded away without keeping a copy.
   • Also verify the Focused/Other tabs and any filters (via Filter > Sort) so messages aren’t simply hidden in the Inbox view.
4. Verify Junk folder behavior
   • Open the Junk Email folder directly and confirm whether any new messages appear there.
   • Remember that messages are automatically removed from Junk after 30 days, so only recent mail will be visible.
5. If specific senders are missing
   • For senders whose messages “used to go to junk” but now are not arriving at all, confirm they are not on the Blocked senders list (see steps above).
   • If messages still do not arrive, ask the sender to review Sender Support in Outlook.com so they can check delivery and reputation issues on their side.
6. Use built-in support if the problem persists
   • In Outlook.com, select Help on the menu bar, enter a short description (for example, “No emails going to Junk folder”), and follow the self-help.
   • If unresolved, scroll to Still need help? and choose Yes to contact Outlook.com support so they can check the mailbox configuration server-side.

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References:

• Filter junk email and spam in Outlook
• Mail goes to the Junk folder by mistake
• Email is missing from your Outlook.com inbox
• Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com
• Where are my email messages or calendar events in Mail and Calendar for Windows 10?
• Outlook.com doesn't send any emails to junk folder - Microsoft Q&A