I am only receiving spam in my outlook account

Terry Dailey 0 Reputation points
2026-10-16T12:46:09.7833333+00:00

I stopped receiving emails in my inbox in my Hotmail account around 4 pm yesterday. Spam emails still come into my spam folder.

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Email
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  1. GsN5034 - IA 78,870 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-10-16T13:28:32.25+00:00

    Hello,

    Can you send emails?

    What is the exact error message the sender receives when they try to email your Personal Microsoft domain address?

    Try sending a test email from one of your Microsoft accounts to the affected email address. If you receive any bounce-back error message, share the complete error message here.

    Alternatively,

    ● Check your Email forwarding rules: https://outlook.live.com/mail/0/options/mail/forwarding

    Check that your incoming emails aren't being forwarded to another address.

    ● Check your Email Rules: https://outlook.live.com/mail/0/options/mail/rules

    If you have created any rules that move all of your inbox emails to another folder, delete the rule.

    ● Check your Outlook email storage: https://outlook.live.com/mail/0/options/accounts-category/storage

    If you've exceeded the 5GB Storage limit (OneDrive) or 15GB (Outlook) email storage, you will no longer be able to send or receive emails.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-10-16T12:46:26.18+00:00

    Since spam is still arriving but normal mail is not, the issue is likely mailbox-side rather than the Outlook app itself.

    Check these items in Outlook.com:

    1. Junk Email folder
      • Open Junk Email and look for messages that were misclassified.
      • If a message should not be there, select it and choose Mark as not junk.
    2. Blocked senders and safe senders
      • Go to Settings > Mail > Junk email.
      • Review Blocked senders and domains and remove any address or domain that should not be blocked.
      • Under Safe senders and domains, add trusted senders or domains so their messages do not go to Junk.
    3. Rules and forwarding
      • Check whether any inbox rules are moving, deleting, or redirecting incoming mail.
      • Check whether forwarding is enabled and turn it off if it should not be active.
    4. Other folders and sort order
      • Check Other, Archive, Deleted Items, and Junk Email.
      • Set the message list to Filter > Sort > Date so recent mail is easier to find.
    5. Send a test message
      • Send a test email from another account.
      • If it does not appear anywhere in Outlook.com, ask the sender whether they received a non-delivery report.
    6. If mail is still missing
      • In Outlook.com, select Help, search for the issue, scroll to Still need help?, and choose the support option to contact Outlook.com support.

    Also note:

    • Messages in the Junk Email folder are automatically deleted after 30 days in Outlook.com support guidance, and some Outlook web guidance states 14 days for web/new Outlook scenarios.
    • If a third-party mail app is connected, messages can sometimes be marked as junk by that app.
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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