email issues can't receive outlook emails

MARK TABAK 0 Reputation points
2026-10-30T17:27:00.1733333+00:00

I can send emails on microsoft 365 but Outlook has stopped receiving emails

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For home
0 comments

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Vikki-T 13,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-10-31T10:39:39.8033333+00:00

    Hi MARK TABAK,

    Since you can still send messages, the next step is to determine whether incoming mail is being rejected before reaching the mailbox or delivered somewhere other than the Inbox.

    Could you please confirm:

    • Is this a work or school Microsoft 365 account, or a personal Outlook.com/Hotmail account?
    • Are emails missing from every sender, or only from certain addresses or domains?
    • When someone sends you a new test message, do they receive a non-delivery report or error code?
    • Does the test message appear anywhere in Outlook on the web, including Junk Email, Other, Archive, or Deleted Items?

    If this is a work or school account and a new message does not appear anywhere on the web, please ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to check Service health and run a message trace for one affected message. The trace can help determine whether Microsoft 365 received, rejected, quarantined, or redirected it.

    Please share the results without posting your full email address or any other personal information publicly. Thank you so much for your understanding.     

    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.

    Was this answer helpful?

  2. AI answer

    2026-10-30T17:28:01.99+00:00

    Sign in to Outlook on the web first and check whether new messages appear there; this determines whether the problem is limited to the Outlook application or affects the mailbox itself.^1^

    If messages appear on the web

    The mailbox is receiving mail, so troubleshoot synchronization in the Outlook application:

    1. New Outlook for Windows: Select View → Sync. A synchronization status should appear at the bottom of the message list.
    2. Classic Outlook for Windows: Check the status bar for Working Offline, Disconnected, or Trying to connect. If Working Offline appears, select Send/Receive → Work Offline to return online, then select Send/Receive.
    3. If the account password changed recently, select the account when Outlook prompts for authentication, choose Continue, and sign in with the current password.
    4. If classic Outlook still does not receive messages, repair its profile. Microsoft documents profile repair as the next deeper step after connection and authentication checks.^2^
    5. For classic Outlook only, run a Microsoft Classic Outlook troubleshooter. These troubleshooters do not apply when the New Outlook toggle is enabled.^3^

    If messages do not appear on the web

    The issue is mailbox-wide rather than an Outlook desktop synchronization problem:

    1. Check Junk Email and review inbox Rules for anything moving or deleting incoming messages.
    2. Check mailbox/cloud storage. A full Microsoft cloud mailbox can prevent both sending and receiving. Because sending still works, this is less likely, but it remains a quick check.^2^
    3. If storage is full, archive or delete large, unneeded messages—especially those with attachments. Review or export anything important before emptying Deleted Items, because permanently deleted messages might not be recoverable.
    4. Send a test message to the affected address from another account. Record whether the sender receives a non-delivery report and its exact error text; that information identifies whether delivery is being rejected, redirected, or delayed.

    If webmail still receives nothing:

    • Work or school Microsoft 365 account: Contact the organization’s Microsoft 365 administrator so they can investigate the affected mailbox and service.
    • Personal Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com account: Contact Microsoft Support directly.

    References

    1. how do I get my outlook email account to receive email? - Microsoft Q&A
    2. I can't send or receive messages in Outlook | Microsoft Support
    3. Issues sending and receiving email | Microsoft Support
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

    Was this answer helpful?

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.