Outlook.com mailbox stuck – needs engineering escalation

Question

Outlook.com mailbox stuck – needs engineering escalation

MichaelWiedmer-7655 0

I use Outlook Classic on my desktop; never Outlook Online. Last week I received a message reporting that my mailbox was almost full. When I tried to delete emails on my desktop, I was unsuccessful. When I tried online, I was equally unsuccessful. I worked for many hours (>91 pages of text when copied into Word) with Copilot to resolve the issue with no success. Copilot recommended submitting the following text in a message to Microsoft to resolve the issue.

"My Outlook.com mailbox (@outlook.com) is stuck at 99% full and Deleted Items will not purge. Messages reappear after deletion across Outlook.com web, Outlook Classic (Exchange), Outlook (new), and Thunderbird (IMAP).

This is a server-side corruption issue involving Deleted Items, Recoverable Items, or the mailbox quota index.

Please run a Mailbox Repair / Folder Reindex / Dumpster Purge on my account."

However, after multiple days, Copilot was unable to find any avenue to successfully submit this request to Microsoft. I have purchased more storage, so I now can send and receive emails, but I am still unable to permanently delete emails from any folder, either on my desktop or online. How to I successfully get Microsoft to run the repairs Copilot recommends?

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Answer 1

Chloe-V 13,960 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi MichaelWiedmer-7655

I understand how frustrating this must be, especially after spending several days troubleshooting and purchasing additional storage.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas only.

Since the deleted messages reappear in Outlook.com and the same behavior occurs in Classic Outlook, new Outlook, and Thunderbird, this may indicate an issue with the mailbox rather than with a specific application or Outlook profile. Therefore, additional troubleshooting on the device may not resolve the issue.

At this point, please contact Microsoft Support so they can review the issue and determine whether further investigation is required:

Go to Contact Us: Contact Us - Microsoft Support.
Select Show expanded list of products.
Select Outlook, then select Get Home support.
Type Outlook live chat in the search box, then select Get Help > Contact Support.
If you cannot sign in to the affected account, sign in with a different Microsoft account to access the available support options.
Under Products & Services, select Other Products > Outlook, then choose Chat with a support agent via web browser.

I hope the support team can help investigate this further and move the case toward resolution.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

MichaelWiedmer-7655 0 Reputation points

2026-08-13T21:29:23.9933333+00:00

Unfortunately, this did not resolve the issue. The guidance above led me to a chat that concluded that they were unable to solve the problem and directed me to Outlook.com Support. Outlook.com support froze at an early stage and I was never able to connect and report my original problem.
Chloe-V 13,960 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-16T23:51:35.0933333+00:00

Hi MichaelWiedmer-7655

Thank you for the update. I’m sorry the support chat froze before you could submit the issue.

Since you can still sign in, please try contacting Outlook.com Support directly from Outlook.com: select Help (?), search for the issue, then scroll down and select Still need help? > Yes to submit a support request by email. Please include that deleted messages reappear across Outlook.com and multiple email clients, and that the previous chat could not be completed.

I hope the Outlook.com support team can review the mailbox and help move this toward resolution.
MichaelWiedmer-7655 0 Reputation points

2026-08-17T18:59:51.87+00:00

Chloe-V, this also does not work. I have tried this many times. Currently, I sign in to Outlook.com, click, Help, then ?Help, type in a search phrase such as "Unable to delete emails", scroll down and click "Yes" below Still need help?, and then I receive a message reading: Sign in to see support options for your account" (even though I am already signed in). When I do (re)sign in, the sign in box disappears in a second or two, and returns to the previous screen reading "Sign in to see support options for your account". I am unable to reach the Outlook.com support team.
Chloe-V 13,960 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-17T23:27:47.0366667+00:00

Hi MichaelWiedmer-7655

Thank you for confirming. I’m sorry the support pane keeps returning you to “Sign in to see support options” even though you are already signed in.

This appears to be a sign-in loop within the Outlook.com Help pane. Please try opening the Help pane in an InPrivate or Incognito browser window, temporarily allow third-party cookies and pop-ups, and sign in only with the affected Outlook.com account. You can also try a different browser or device.

If the same loop continues, please send a screenshot of the “Sign in to see support options” screen through a private message. This will help document the incident and determine the next appropriate step.
Chloe-V 13,960 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-18T23:12:36.0266667+00:00

Hi MichaelWiedmer-7655

Is there any update from you?

If yes, please feel free to let us know.
MichaelWiedmer-7655 0 Reputation points

2026-08-20T07:53:13.9966667+00:00

I did as you suggested and the Outlook.live chat bot concluded: "as we have tried all the steps and still issue persist , you need to get in touch with the onedrive.com support team"; followed by "I am helping you with the details for the same", and then not providing any details. I was not able to reach the onedrive.com support team.
Chloe-V 13,960 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-20T23:11:13.52+00:00

Hi MichaelWiedmer-7655

Thank you for the update. I’m sorry the Outlook.com support chat redirected you to the OneDrive.com support team without providing a way to contact them.

Could you please share a screenshot of the final message from the chat through a private message?
MichaelWiedmer-7655 0 Reputation points

2026-08-21T19:01:35.75+00:00

No, I cannot share a screenshot of the final message from the chat. They closed the chat and I cannot retrieve it.
Chloe-V 13,960 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-23T07:12:08.38+00:00

Hi MichaelWiedmer-7655

Thank you for letting me know. I’m sorry the chat was closed before you could save the final message.

Unfortunately, forum moderators do not have access to support chat records and cannot retrieve the closed conversation. I understand how frustrating this is after you followed the suggested steps but were redirected without receiving the contact details.

If you have a reference number from a previous support ticket, please contact Microsoft Support again and provide that ticket number. The support agent may be able to locate the existing case and continue assisting you based on the previous records.
MichaelWiedmer-7655 0 Reputation points

2026-08-23T18:27:17.74+00:00

Chloe-V, none of that helps me. I do not have the reference number from the now irretrievable support ticket. After a month of effort, I just want to know how to successfully get a message to Microsoft to fix what is broken on their side. Again, the message I am trying to get to Microsoft is: My Outlook.com mailbox (@outlook.com) is stuck and Deleted Items will not purge. Messages reappear after deletion across Outlook.com web, Outlook Classic (Exchange), Outlook (new), and Thunderbird (IMAP).

This is a server-side corruption issue involving Deleted Items, Recoverable Items, or the mailbox quota index.

Please run a Mailbox Repair / Folder Reindex / Dumpster Purge on my account.
Chloe-V 13,960 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-23T23:10:05.0633333+00:00

Hi MichaelWiedmer-7655

Thank you for the additional details. I understand how frustrating this has been, especially after spending considerable time trying to reach the appropriate support channel.

Since this is a user-to-user support forum, the only team with access to investigate and, if necessary, perform any mailbox-side actions is Microsoft Support. Even without the previous case number, I recommend contacting Microsoft Support again and providing the detailed description you shared above so a new case can be created and reviewed.

I realize this is not the resolution you were hoping for, but unfortunately the forum does not have a path to directly escalate or perform these mailbox-level operations.

Thank you for your understanding.
MichaelWiedmer-7655 0 Reputation points

2026-08-25T19:38:59.1+00:00

Chloe-V, a recommendation to simply try contacting Microsoft Support once again, after many, many failures, is not helpful unless you specify a different approach.
Chloe-V 13,960 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-26T02:28:22.17+00:00

Hi MichaelWiedmer-7655

I understand, and I’m sorry that the available support options have not been effective. Unfortunately, forum moderators cannot forward requests to the mailbox engineering team, and I do not want to ask you to repeat the same steps again.

Thank you for describing the issue so clearly and thoroughly.