I am not receiving emails through Outlook

Sonia Turkovic 0 Reputation points
2026-10-12T02:00:30.19+00:00

I was previously subscribed to a Business Microsoft licence, which is expiring at the end of this month. On 8 October I purchased a Microsoft 365 Family licence. However, my Outlook emails are no longer coming through. How can I fix that? Also, I've tried linking my husband's emails address on his phone, but have not been able to do that either.

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

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Francisco Montilla 31,185 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-10-12T05:39:18.2433333+00:00

    Hello,

    To get a better idea of what is happening here we need to know what kind of email addresses you and your husband are using.

    Are they custom domains like something at yourcompany.com or are they standard Microsoft addresses like at outlook.com or at hotmail.com? Moving from a Business license to a Family license completely changes how emails are hosted on the backend. The Family subscription actually does not include custom email hosting for custom domains like the Business plans do.

    Let me know what comes after the @ symbol for both emails so we can figure out exactly what is broken here.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments

  2. AI answer

    2026-10-12T02:00:44.8066667+00:00

    For a home Outlook.com mailbox, the Microsoft 365 Family subscription itself does not activate Outlook.com benefits unless the subscription is associated with an Outlook.com account. Those benefits apply only to Outlook.com mailboxes ending in @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com, or @msn.com.

    To troubleshoot mail not arriving, use this order:

    1. In Outlook.com, check whether cloud storage or mailbox storage is full. If Microsoft cloud storage is full, mail cannot be sent or received, and messages sent while storage was full are bounced back to the sender and are unrecoverable.
    2. If the password was changed recently, update it. A changed password can stop mail flow until Outlook has the current password.
    3. Check whether the account is temporarily blocked because of unusual sign-in activity, and unblock it if needed.
    4. In Outlook.com, check the Other tab, Junk Email folder, and make sure the message list is sorted by Filter > Sort > Date.
    5. Check whether email forwarding is enabled or whether any email rules are moving or hiding messages.
    6. If using a third-party mail service in Outlook, it must support modern authentication and IMAP to work correctly with Outlook Mobile and Desktop. If IMAP or POP are active, disable IMAP and POP and try again.

    For classic Outlook on Windows specifically, also check:

    1. Look at the bottom of the Outlook window for Working Offline.
    2. If it appears, go to Send/Receive and select Work Offline to turn offline mode off.
    3. Verify the internet connection in a web browser.
    4. Check the account settings against the correct POP/IMAP server settings.

    For adding the husband's email address on a phone, if that address is from a third-party provider, the account must support modern authentication and IMAP for Outlook Mobile and Desktop to work correctly.

    If Outlook still does not receive mail after these checks, use the Outlook troubleshooters for classic Outlook. If that does not help, contact support.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found 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.