stuck in a loop mails

Question

My Outlook inbox is stuck in a loop where the same email appears and disappears repeatedly across all devices even after removing rules, apps, and signing out everywhere. I also removed third-party app permissions and changed password, but the issue persists.

Answer 1

Thank you for sharing the screenshot and providing more details about the issue.

Those could be phishing attempts. Please don’t click on any links or respond to the message. Scammers often use these tactics to trick people into giving away personal information or money.

If you're also using Windows PC, please isolate it and follow these steps:

Start by running a full antivirus scan on your computer using Windows Security and any third-party antivirus software you have.

Run a full deep scan using a trusted security tool:

• Download and run Microsoft Safety Scanner here: https://learn.microsoft.com/defender-endpoint/safety-scanner-download
• After running the scan, please restart your PC and monitor whether the issue continues.

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To be safe, I recommend the following steps:

Check your account rules and forwarding settings, hackers create rules that automatically forward or delete emails. You can do this in Outlook settings under Mail > Rules and Forwarding. https://support.microsoft.com/office/manage-email-messages-by-using-rules-in-outlook-c24f5dea-9465-4df4-ad17-a50704d66c59

Just to be safe, I’d recommend to sign out everywhere. Visit: https://account.live.com/proofs/manage/additional Scroll down to Sign me out and select "Sign me out".

• After signing out everywhere, please monitor if the issue persists in the coming hours.

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After checking the rules and signing out everywhere, please monitor the situation for at least 24 hours and let me know how it goes afterward.

Answer 2

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

Since it is happening on all devices, this may be an Outlook sync issue, mailbox rule issue on the server side, or possible mailbox corruption.

To help narrow down the issue:

1. Does the email come back after you delete it, or does it just keep refreshing?
2. Are you using a personal Outlook account or a work/school account?

Also, please share a screenshot or short screen recording of what happens in the inbox. Make sure to hide any personal information before uploading it.

For testing, please also try opening your mailbox in Outlook Web:

https://outlook.live.com/mail/

Then check if the same looping issue happens there too.

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Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Answer 3

The behavior described is consistent with hidden or stuck processing of items in Outlook rather than a visible rule or app, especially since rules, apps, and sessions have already been cleaned up.

For Outlook-connected mailboxes, one known cause of messages repeatedly appearing/disappearing or not showing correctly in the Inbox is corruption in the incoming item processing pipeline used by Outlook Cached mode. This pipeline uses a hidden folder (ItemProcSearch) to process items before they appear in the Inbox; if items get stuck there, the Inbox view can behave inconsistently.

To repair this on a Windows client using classic Outlook (connected to the same mailbox):

1. Close Outlook completely.
2. Run Outlook with the /cleanips switch to clear the incoming item processing pipeline:
   • Select Start → Run.
   • Enter:

          Outlook.exe /cleanips
     

   • Press Enter and let Outlook start and fully synchronize.
3. If the issue persists, clear and resync the Inbox offline cache:
   • Start Outlook.
   • Right-click the Inbox folder → Properties.
   • On the General tab, select Clear Offline Items.
   • Confirm when prompted that data is removed from the .ost file.
   • Select OK to close the properties dialog.
   • With Inbox selected, press Shift+F9 to force resynchronization.

These steps rebuild the local processing pipeline and offline cache, which can stop the loop of messages appearing and disappearing across clients that use Cached mode.

If the mailbox is accessed only via Outlook on the web and mobile apps, still perform the above steps once from a Windows Outlook client connected to the same account, as the corruption resides in the mailbox pipeline that Outlook uses.

If the problem continues after this repair, check for any missing messages or unexpected moves using the guidance for missing mail (filters, rules, Archive, and account activity) to ensure nothing else is relocating or hiding the messages.

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References:

• Sometimes emails do not appear in Cached mode Inbox even if they were synchronized down from mailbox
• Email is missing from your Outlook.com inbox