Hotmail problems

Question

My Hotmail emails have disappeared

I get a message saying ‘Unable to connect to server’ (for two days now!)

Even the menu has gone. I have no junk, spam, sent, archive, deleted etc.

This problem has affected both my iPhone 15 and iPad Pro.

I have tried resetting network settings. Toggling airplane mode and WiFi

deleting and reinstalling email account

deleting and reinstalling mail app

Turning VPN off.

Nothing has worked!

Answer 1

Hi,

Thank you for sharing your question.I understand how worrying and frustrating it is when all your emails and folders suddenly disappear, and both your iPhone and iPad show ‘Unable to connect to server’ even after you have tried multiple troubleshooting steps. This kind of problem can happen when the Outlook.com service is temporarily unable to sync with Apple Mail, when the account becomes stuck in a failed authentication loop, or when the mailbox is unable to load your folders due to a server‑side issue rather than a device problem.

To resolve this, the most reliable way is to first check the account directly by signing into Outlook.com through a web browser, since this will confirm whether your emails and folders are still on the server. If everything appears normally in the web version, then the issue is limited to the Mail app on your devices, and signing out completely, removing outdated authentication tokens, or re‑adding the account using the Outlook option instead of the generic Mail setup usually restores full access. If the folder list is also missing on the web, then the account may be experiencing a temporary server‑side outage or sync delay, in which case the data typically returns once the connection stabilizes. Installing the Outlook app from the App Store can also help bypass Apple Mail sync problems and restore access to your messages.

Before moving forward, may I ask whether you are able to sign in successfully at Outlook.com and see your emails and folders there? I’m here to continue helping, so please feel free to follow up with what you see on the web and we can walk through the next steps together.”

 

I hope this helps.

 

Best Regards,

Noel

Answer 2

Check via a web browser first. Also, make sure your account storage isn’t full, sometimes if it’s full, email won’t sync. If not, maybe try calling Microsoft Support.