My ability to send or receive email from my account stopped 3 days ago. I have a subscription to 365.

Dear Craig Meredith,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum.

I completely understand how frustrating it is when your emails suddenly stop working, especially when you've paid for the service. Not being able to send emails or receive them for three days is a major disruption.

Here are the most common reasons this happens, and how we can quickly check and fix them.

1. The Two Quickest Fixes

Before diving into settings, let's check the two things that cause a complete send/receive block for paid users:

A. Your Mailbox Storage is Full

This is the #1 reason people stop receiving emails. Even with a paid subscription, there is a storage cap for your mailbox and your OneDrive cloud space.

• Check: Please log into your Microsoft account through a web browser (go to Outlook.com or the Microsoft 365 portal).
• The Fix: Look for a notice about your storage being near or at its limit. If it's full, you must delete large items, especially attachments and old emails in your Sent Items and Deleted Items folders. Once you clear space, service should resume quickly.

B. Account Verification or Password Issue

Sometimes, Microsoft flags unusual activity and temporarily puts your account on hold until you verify it.

• The Check: Try signing into your Microsoft account on the web again.
• The Fix: If you are immediately prompted to verify your identity or enter a new password (if you changed it recently), follow those steps. This often "unblocks" the account and fixes the sync issue with the servers.

2. Troubleshooting Sending and Receiving

If the steps above didn't work, let's look at the specific application settings.

For Sending Problems (Emails Not Showing as Sent)

1. Check the Outbox: Open your Outlook desktop app and look at the Outbox folder. If there is a very large email or an old, stuck message there, it can prevent all subsequent emails from leaving. Delete or move that stuck email, and then try sending a simple test message.
2. Verify Online Mode: On the Send/Receive tab in the Outlook application, make sure the button that says Work Offline is not selected or highlighted.

For Receiving Problems (No Emails for 3 Days)

1. Check Webmail: Can you see new emails on the web version of Outlook that aren't showing up in your desktop app?
   • If Yes: The problem is the desktop app. Try repairing your account (File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Repair).
   • If No: The problem is with the core Microsoft service. Proceed to the final step below.
2. Look in Junk and Filters: While on the web, check your Junk Email folder and review your Rules to ensure no automated process is accidentally deleting or moving new incoming messages.

Final Option: Professional Support

Since you are a paying subscriber, if none of the above fixes work, the issue requires a deeper look at the server status of your specific mailbox.

Your next best step is to directly contact Microsoft 365 Technical Support. They can run diagnostics on your account that we can't access, confirm your paid license is active, and reset your connection to the mail servers, which is often the final step needed for these comprehensive service outages.

Please let me know how these suggestions work for you, or if you'd like assistance in navigating Microsoft's support channels.

Warm regards, 

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