emails are not receiving both inbound and outbound

Check Microsoft 365 admin center → Health → Service health → Exchange Online first; this tenant-specific dashboard confirms whether the simultaneous inbound and outbound failure is a Microsoft incident affecting your organization.^1^

If an Exchange Online incident is listed

1. Open the incident under Active issues Microsoft is working on.
2. Check User impact, Status, Affected services, and All updates.
3. Continue monitoring that incident for mitigation and restoration updates. Microsoft is already investigating listed incidents, so a separate support request is normally unnecessary.^2^
4. For planned work, check Health → Message center and filter for Plan for change. Planned maintenance is published in Message center rather than Service health.^3^

A recent Microsoft Q&A report indicates a Microsoft 365 service incident was being investigated on November 13, 2026, but only your tenant’s Service health page can confirm whether your organization is included.^4^

If you cannot sign in to the admin center, use the public Microsoft service-status page linked from Microsoft’s service-health documentation.^1^

If no incident is listed

Run a controlled test and trace both directions:

1. Send one message from an Exchange Online mailbox to an external address.
2. Send another message from that external address back to the Exchange Online mailbox.
3. Record the sender, recipient, UTC time, subject, and any non-delivery report.
4. Open Exchange admin center → Mail flow → Message trace.
5. Set the date range around the tests, add the relevant sender or recipient, and select Search.
6. Open each result and review Status, Details, and How to fix it. Trace data can take from approximately 10 minutes to one hour to appear.^2^

Interpret the results as follows:

• Delivered: Exchange Online accepted and delivered the message; investigate mailbox rules, quarantine, junk filtering, or the client.
• Failed or filtered: Open the trace details and follow the reported remediation.
• Pending: Delivery is delayed; retain the message ID and timestamp.
• No inbound trace: The message did not reach Exchange Online. Check the domain’s MX record and any inbound gateway or connector.
• No outbound trace: Check the sending application, mailbox state, and outbound connector.

Also run Diag: Troubleshoot Email Delivery in the Microsoft 365 admin center, entering the test sender and recipient. This diagnostic requires a Microsoft 365 administrator and is unavailable in Microsoft 365 Government, 21Vianet, and Microsoft 365 Germany.^2^

If your organization uses hybrid Exchange, a third-party mail gateway, or custom connectors, validate the connectors in the Exchange admin center. Incorrect connectors or MX records can interrupt mail flow.^5^

Escalation

If Service health shows no incident and the diagnostic does not resolve the problem, select Report an issue on the Service health page or open a Microsoft 365 support request. Include:

• When the problem began, in UTC
• Whether every user and domain is affected
• Inbound and outbound test addresses
• Message IDs and trace results
• Complete non-delivery report text
• Whether mail routes through connectors, hybrid Exchange, or a third-party gateway

References

1. How to check Microsoft 365 service health
2. Find and fix email delivery issues as a Microsoft 365 for business admin
3. Service health and continuity
4. IS OUTLOOK EXCHANGE STILL DOWN - Microsoft Q&A
5. Troubleshoot mail flow in Exchange Online