OutLook emails

Question

All incomig emails go to my junk folder and it freezes when trying to move them back to inbox.

Answer 1

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

I noticed you posted this under Outlook Classic. To help narrow down the issue:

Please try opening Outlook in Safe Mode first to check if an add-in is causing the freezing issue.

• Press Windows + R, then type this outlook.exe /safe and press Enter.
• Once Outlook opens, try moving one email from Junk back to Inbox.

Also, please let me know:

1. Does every email go to Junk or only certain senders?
2. When Outlook freezes, does it eventually recover or do you need to force close it?
3. Are you using a POP, IMAP, or Microsoft Exchange account?

Answer 2

Follow these steps to address both issues: messages going to Junk and Outlook freezing when moving them.

1. Check if Outlook is permanently deleting or aggressively handling junk
   1. In Outlook, on the Home tab, select Junk > Junk E-mail Options.
   2. On the Options tab, make sure Permanently delete suspected junk e-mail instead of moving it to the Junk E-mail folder is not selected. If it is selected, clear it and select OK.
   3. While in Junk E-mail Options, review the Safe Senders, Safe Recipients, and Blocked Senders tabs to ensure legitimate senders or domains are not incorrectly blocked.
2. Check for external filters or devices moving mail to Junk
   • If the account is also configured on a mobile device (for example, a Samsung phone using its default mail app), that device may be classifying mail as spam and creating or using a Junk or Unwanted folder in the mailbox.
   • On such a device:
     1. Open the email app.
     2. Go to Settings > General Settings.
     3. Open Spam addresses and remove any addresses or domains that should not be treated as spam (for example, a corporate domain or common senders).
   • Also check any webmail or provider-side filters (for example, the mailbox provider’s web interface) for rules that move everything to Junk.
3. Address Outlook freezing when moving messages
   • If the account is POP and Outlook recently started freezing or hanging when working with messages (including moving them from Junk to Inbox), this may be related to a known issue with POP profiles after a recent Windows 11 update.
   • The documented temporary fix is to uninstall the problematic Windows update (KB5074109) from Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates. Removing that update has been reported to stop Outlook from hanging and freezing with POP accounts.
   • After uninstalling the update, restart Windows and test Outlook again.
4. If issues persist
   • After the above, test by sending a message to the account from another address and see whether it still lands in Junk and whether moving it still freezes Outlook.
   • If the problem continues, use the provider’s webmail to verify where new messages arrive (Inbox vs Junk). If they arrive in Junk in webmail as well, adjust junk/spam settings there; Outlook will only reflect what the server is doing.

---

References:

• Junk e-mail messages are permanently deleted
• New email messages automatically move to the Junk folder in Microsoft Outlook
• Outlook Freezing and Not Responding and Not saving changes when ending the task - Microsoft Q&A
• Outlook keeps crashing - Microsoft Q&A