Emails missing on all Personal Folders

Lindsey Hunter 0 Reputation points
2026-11-09T12:52:26.16+00:00

I have an old MSN account which is now managed through Outlook. I usually access my email via Apple's mail app on my MacBook, iPAD and iPhone. I use Personal Folders to organise my emails. This has worked perfectly for a number of years. However, around 2 weeks ago, I noticed that all my personal folders (around 20 in total) no longer contained any emails.

I am positive that I have not deleted them or changed any settings/rules. I have tried all the suggested fixes/tips (recovering from deleted emails, reviewed security and logins for suspicious activity, searching all emails) without success.

The same issue appears in mail app on all my Apple devices and also when using outlook.live via Safari. The folders are all listed but with no contents.

I have also tried Microsoft's live chat but every time I get to the front of the queue the chat/case is closed. I am assuming that you need a support contract or business account to receive this.

Some of these missing emails are important. This is my last hope. Does anyone have any ideas on what has happened and/or how to resolve?

Outlook | MacOS | Legacy Outlook for Mac | For home
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  1. Chloe-V 15,330 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-11-10T04:06:53.0566667+00:00

    Hi @Lindsey Hunter

    I’m sorry to hear that the emails in all your personal folders have disappeared, especially since some of them are important.

    Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas only.

    Since the folders are empty not only in Mail on all your devices but also when accessing Outlook.com directly, this does not appear to be an issue with your Mac, iPad, iPhone, or Legacy Outlook for Mac. The messages may no longer be available in the server mailbox.

    As you have already checked the recovery options, rules, searches, and recent account activity, the next step is to contact Outlook Support and request a mailbox-level investigation:

    • Open Contact Us - Microsoft Support.
    • Select Show expanded list of products.
    • Select Outlook > Get Home support.
    • Enter Outlook live chat, then select Get Help > Contact Support.
    • Sign in with the affected account. If you cannot, use another Microsoft account to access the available support options.
    • In the Support Assistant, enter Talk to a live chat agent, then select Contact Support.
    • Under Products and services, select Other products > Outlook, then choose Chat with a support agent in your web browser.

    When contacting support, provide the approximate date the emails disappeared and examples of missing senders, subjects, and dates.

    Important: Chat support is available only during certain working hours, generally Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. If the chat option is unavailable, try again during those hours or request a callback by providing your phone number.

    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.  

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