can't send or receive messages on outlook

Question

Hotmail/Outlook email not able to send or receive messages even though account indicates unused storage. How to resolve? Thanks.

Answer 1

Welcome L C,

I understand how frustrating it can be when you are unable to send or receive emails on your Hotmail/Outlook account even though the storage shows as unused. 

To help resolve this as quickly as possible, could you please confirm the following details:  

• Do you see any specific error message when trying to send or receive emails? 

In the meantime, you can try the workaround steps below to troubleshoot the issue:  

Step 1: Check mailbox status 

• Sign in at outlook.com and confirm the account is not temporarily blocked or asking to verify recent activity. 

Step 2: Review Junk and Deleted Items folders 

• Open Outlook > Junk email and Deleted email  
• Check whether messages are being redirected there and clear some items if those folders are full. 

Step 3: Check Inbox rules 

• Go to Settings (Gear icon) > Mail > Rules > confirm no rule is automatically moving or deleting incoming emails. 

Step 4: Try sending from Outlook on the web 

• If the issue occurs only in an app, this helps confirm whether it is client-related or account-related. 

Step 5: Sign out and sign back in 

• Completely sign out of all sessions and then sign in again to refresh the mailbox connection. 

I hope this information helps resolve your issue. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me again in this thread. 

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