Unable to delete unwanted category in outlook app and outlook on the web, after deletion the unwanted category reappear

Question

Unable to delete unwanted category in outlook app and outlook on the web, after deletion the unwanted category reappear

J-3804 1,601

Hi Team,

We are unable to delete unwanted categories in the outlook app and outlook on the web, after deletion the unwanted category reappear. We tried to fully purge and remove them from everywhere from the mail, calendar and contacts then went to the category list selected the unwanted, and remove but after some time it reappear.

Do you have any suggestions on how to remove unwanted categories?

Thank you for your help,

Gonzalez-Daugherty, Sandra 0 Reputation points

2023-04-04T14:40:10.6233333+00:00

I am having the same issue. I cannot change or delete the categories in Outlook (web). When I change them, it works for a day, but tomorrow they change back to its original state.
granny su su 5 Reputation points

2023-08-08T18:05:19.3733333+00:00

Hi,
I'm trying to change a group of emails (within the same email chain) and I cannot delete the categories. I can change the color of the category but not delete the category color.

For context, I have one color that I apply when waiting for contact to complete something.

I have an other color in which I need to complete something. Sometimes, I can delete, sometimes I can't.

2 answers

Your answer

Gonzalez-Daugherty, Sandra 0 Reputation points

2023-04-04T14:40:10.6233333+00:00

I am having the same issue. I cannot change or delete the categories in Outlook (web). When I change them, it works for a day, but tomorrow they change back to its original state.
granny su su 5 Reputation points

2023-08-08T18:05:19.3733333+00:00

Hi,
I'm trying to change a group of emails (within the same email chain) and I cannot delete the categories. I can change the color of the category but not delete the category color.

For context, I have one color that I apply when waiting for contact to complete something.

I have an other color in which I need to complete something. Sometimes, I can delete, sometimes I can't.

Answer 1

ChristyZhang-MSFT 26,126 Microsoft External Staff

Hi @J-3804 ,

Welcome to our forum!

Does this issue occur with specific emails with a category or all the emails with a category?
How were these emails categorized and how did you delete the category?
And do other users around you encounter the same issue?

Through my test on Outlook 365 client(version is as shown in the below figure), I can clear the category of emails & contacts successfully(right click the email>Categorize>Clear all Categories) and the email is the same on web mail without any categories, which doesn't reproduce your issue. What's the version of your Outlook? (File > Office Account > About Outlook). please make sure you have upgraded your Outlook to the latest version.

Considering the data file or profile may be damaged in Outlook client, it's suggested that you could create a new profile(control panel>mail>show profile>add) and add the account to check if there are some differences.

In addition, as I know, it will also be affected when the outlook program itself is damaged. It is recommended that you try to fix the Office application.

If the above doesn't work, please provide more information about the questions at the beginning of the reply for our better research.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".
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ChristyZhang-MSFT 26,126 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2021-12-10T09:50:46.657+00:00

Hi @J-3804 ,

Just checking in to see if above information was helpful. If you have any further updates on this issue, please feel free to post back. If you think my reply is helpful to you, please remember to mark it as an answer. Warm thanks.
J-3804 1,601 Reputation points

2021-12-11T01:25:41.16+00:00

Hi Christy,

Thank you for your help, The issue is still not solved, unfortunately. We did what you suggested in your first email (recreate the outlook profile, uninstall then reinstall office from click and run. But did not help.
I suspected some hidden rules created on the user mailbox as after we deleted the unwanted category it disappeared but once the user received certain emails, the email is automatically categorized with the one that we deleted.
We have checked user mailbox rules but none of them are related.

Hope you can help with this.

Thank you again
ChristyZhang-MSFT 26,126 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2021-12-13T07:53:47.447+00:00
Hi @J-3804 ,

Thanks for your reply!

Would you mind providing more information about the questions mentioned in my last reply?

Does this issue occur with specific emails with a category or all the emails with a category?

How were these emails categorized and how did you delete the category?

And do other users around you encounter the same issue?
J-3804 1,601 Reputation points

2021-12-13T14:28:16.237+00:00

Hi Christy,

Here are the responses to your questions

Does this issue occur with specific emails with a category or all the emails with a category? specific emails with a category (customize category)

How were these emails categorized and how did you delete the category? there are categorized automatically we purged and removed them from everywhere from the mail, calendar and contacts then went to the category list selected the unwanted, and removed but will reappear once user receive new email

And do other users around you encounter the same issue? Only one user is affected

Thank you for your help
ChristyZhang-MSFT 26,126 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2021-12-15T07:54:04.18+00:00

Hi @J-3804 ,

Thanks for your reply!

I noticed that the emails are categorized automatically, how did you categorize the emails automatically? Considering the impact of this, it's suggested that you could stop categorizing and check if there're any differences.

In addition, i noticed that the issue is occurred with one user, please check if there're any differences between his computer and other's computer, such as running some scripts. Also you could try to perform a clean boot for windows and check if the issue still occur.
ChristyZhang-MSFT 26,126 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2021-12-22T05:38:49.847+00:00

Hi @J-3804 ,

I am writing to see how everything is going on with this thread. Should you need more help on this, you can feel free to post back.
Yosi Kossowsky 0 Reputation points

2023-02-10T14:08:39.1633333+00:00

Hi MS Team,
I am having this issue as well.
I have 4 different Microsoft 365 accounts. Via Outlook Web, I delete all the categories in each account and within a day they just show up again.
How can i permanently delete the Outlook categories?
Julie 0 Reputation points

2023-04-18T19:02:22.98+00:00

Mine has been doing this since my company upgraded, too. What used to be a very helpful feature is now a huge source of frustration.

Answer 2

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Unable to delete unwanted category in outlook app and outlook on the web, after deletion the unwanted category reappear

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