live.com problem

Question

my live.com emails are not sending or receiving on two different iphones or my pc

Answer 1

Hi Tom McCarthy

I understand you’re having a problem where your @live.com (Outlook.com) mailbox is not sending or receiving mail on two iPhones and a PC. Does sending/receiving also fail on the web when you sign in at Outlook.com in a PC browser, or does it work on the web and only fail in apps/devices?

I would love to hear from you soon. Have a nice day!

Answer 2

Follow these steps in order, checking after each step if email starts working again.

1. Check Microsoft cloud storage and mailbox

• If Microsoft cloud storage is full, sending and receiving email stops and messages sent to the account while full are bounced and unrecoverable.
• Check mailbox storage and free up space if needed using the storage page linked from the Outlook.com article.

2. Verify the account is not blocked and password is current

• If the password was recently changed, update it on both iPhones and the PC.
• If unusual sign-in activity was detected, the account may be temporarily blocked. Use the steps in Unblock my Outlook.com account to restore access.

3. Confirm sign-in works in a browser

• On the PC, open a browser and sign in directly to Outlook.com.
• If sign-in fails, use the Microsoft account sign-in helper.
• If sign-in works but no mail is sending/receiving, continue with the steps below.

4. Check for sync/device issues

• If the problem is only on certain devices, remove and re-add the account on those devices.
• Removing the partnership between the mobile device and the mailbox often fixes sync issues. Follow the guidance in Fix email sync issues by removing a device from your Outlook mailbox.

5. Check for rules, forwarding, and junk settings (in Outlook.com)

• In Outlook.com, check:
  • Other tab and filters so all messages are visible.
  • Junk Email settings and Junk Email folder; mark valid messages as Not junk.
  • Any rules that might move or delete messages.
  • Any forwarding that might send messages to another address.

6. Check connected apps and protocols

• If using third‑party mail apps, ensure they support modern authentication and IMAP.
• If IMAP or POP are enabled and causing issues, disable them and test again, using the guidance in POP, IMAP, and SMTP settings for Outlook.com and Modern Authentication Methods now needed to continue syncing Outlook Email in non-Microsoft email apps.

7. If messages to the account are bouncing with server errors

• If seeing an error like “The recipient server did not accept our requests to connect,” update the email address/alias as described in Add or remove an email alias in Outlook.com.

8. If none of the above resolves it

• Use the interactive troubleshooter in the Outlook.com article.
• For further help, sign in to Outlook.com, select Help on the menu bar, describe the issue, then under Still need help? choose to contact support.

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References:

• Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com
• I can't send or receive messages in Outlook
• Where are my email messages or calendar events in Mail and Calendar for Windows 10?
• MSN email issues - Microsoft Q&A
• Stopped receiving emails on my account. - Microsoft Q&A
• my outlook email is not delivered - Microsoft Q&A
• Outlook.com doesn't send any emails to junk folder - Microsoft Q&A
• Outgoing emails with attachments undelivered as spam - Microsoft Q&A