not receiving emails in my inbox

Question

Not receiving emails in my inbox but going into the trash folder.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

May I know what troubleshooting steps have you already taken? This will help me avoid recommending them again.

Have you already checked Outlook rules?

If you haven't tried it yet, please go to https://outlook.live.com/mail go to Settings > View all Outlook settings > Mail > Rules and Mail > Forwarding to make sure no one has set up rules to forward or delete your messages.

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If the issue persists, please provide more details by answering my questions.

Click "Add comment" below to let me know.

Answer 2

When all new mail goes directly to Trash in Outlook.com or Outlook on the web, it is usually caused by a rule/filter or by messages being treated as junk.

Follow these checks in Outlook.com (web):

1. Check Junk Email and Other/Deleted folders
   • Open Outlook.com and check the Junk Email folder to confirm messages are not being marked as junk. If a message is there, select it and choose Not junk > Not junk to return it to the inbox and train the filter.
   • Check the Other tab (if Focused Inbox is enabled) to ensure messages are not being sorted there instead of Focused.
   • Check Deleted Items in case messages are being deleted instead of moved to Trash/Deleted. If found, select the message and choose Restore to move it back to the inbox.
2. Check rules and sweep settings
   • In Outlook.com, go to Rules settings and review all Inbox rules and Sweep rules.
   • Look for any rule that:
     • Moves messages to Trash or Deleted Items, or
     • Moves messages away from Inbox (for example, to RSS or another folder).
   • Edit or delete any rule that is incorrectly moving messages out of the inbox.
3. Check filters and Archive
   • At the top of the message list, select Filter and choose All so no filter hides messages that remain in Inbox.
   • Check the Archive folder in case messages are being archived instead of going to Inbox. If found, select the message and choose Move to > Inbox.
4. Check for filters at the mail provider
   • If Outlook.com is connected to another provider (for example, an ISP or third‑party mailbox), sign in to that provider’s webmail and check its filter/rule settings. A server‑side filter (like the AT&T example in the context) can move all mail to Trash before Outlook.com receives it. Remove or correct any such filter.
5. Check recent sign‑in activity and security
   • If there is any suspicion that the account was compromised (for example, after clicking a phishing email), go to the Recent activity page for the Microsoft account and review sign‑ins.
   • If anything looks suspicious, follow the guidance there to secure the account (change password, review recovery info, etc.). Attackers sometimes create hidden rules that move or delete mail.

After removing or correcting any problematic rule/filter and confirming Junk/Deleted/Archive, new messages should start appearing in the Inbox instead of Trash.

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References:

• Email is missing from your Outlook.com inbox
• All Outlook 2024 email going to Trash instead of Inbox - Microsoft Q&A
• Stopped receiving emails on my account. - Microsoft Q&A