Recently some emails not received in Hotmail/Outlook.com

Question

Recently some emails not received in Hotmail/Outlook.com

Glenn 5

Please help here, suddenly and recently over last few weeks some emails are not arriving in my hotmail .com account. This is my main hotmail.com account which has worked for many years.

Nothing else has changed and i have checked all usual checks such as filters, junk, blocked senders, also added email domains i know were missed to safe senders list. I am now accessing and viewing my email account direct on outlook web so this must be issue at backend server in outlook/microsoft. Also viewing in outlook claasic on pc and outlook app on mobile, it is same population of emails on all platforms.

I have missed critical emails including medical related, and need help to resolve. I now do not know what emails i am missing but do seem to be gradually receiving less emails. It is from range of senders so far eg. Electricity Company, other snall companies, also personal email accounts, there is no pattern some have attachments others do not. Senders are receiving no bounce back or message

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3 answers

Answer 1

It sounds like you're experiencing a frustrating issue with missing emails in your Hotmail/Outlook.com account. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot this problem:

Check for Filters and Rules: Even though you've mentioned checking filters, ensure that there are no hidden rules that might be diverting your emails to other folders.
Review Junk and Spam Folders: Sometimes, legitimate emails can end up in the junk or spam folders. Make sure to check these folders thoroughly.
Safe Senders List: Since you've added domains to your safe senders list, ensure that the specific email addresses of the senders are also included, as sometimes domain-level settings may not suffice.
Use Outlook on the Web: Since you are already using Outlook on the web, verify if the emails are missing there as well. If they are present in the web version but not in the desktop or mobile apps, the issue may be related to those specific applications.
Run Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant: This tool can help identify and fix issues with Outlook. It can check for problems with your account settings and configurations that might be causing the issue.
Check Active Directory Attributes: If you are part of an organization, sometimes special characters in the Active Directory attributes can cause issues with email delivery. Ensure that there are no special characters in your profile that could be affecting email delivery.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, it may be necessary to contact Microsoft support for further assistance, especially since you are missing critical emails.

References:

Answer 2

Victor1-V 13,040 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Glenn,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I understand how disruptive it is when important emails stop arriving, especially when this has been ongoing for several weeks.

Based on what you’ve shared, the checks suggested by Q&A Assist (rules, Junk Email, Safe Senders) are reasonable first steps, but some items mentioned there - such as Azure DevOps or Active Directory attributes - apply only to work or school accounts and are not relevant to a personal Hotmail/Outlook.com account.

In addition to the storage and Junk Email checks already mentioned, if messages are still missing across Outlook.com on the web and all apps, the next supported step is to contact Microsoft Support so they can review the mailbox status in context. Since moderators and contributors (including Microsoft external staffs) do not have access to internal mail‑flow systems, delivery logs, or account‑level filtering controls. We’re only able to provide guidance based on documented features and user‑accessible settings.

You can contact a live chat agent for a personal Microsoft account as follows:

Visit the Microsoft Support contact page: Contact - Microsoft Support
In the search bar provided on the page, type "Email not receiving messages" and press Enter.
Click on the "Get Help" button that appears.
Scroll down the page until you see and click on the "Contact Support" option.
When prompted to select your product or service, choose "Other Products".
For the category, choose "Outlook".
Look for and click on "Chat with a support agent in your web browser".
When prompted, provide a valid contact email where Microsoft can reach you regarding your case.
Explain your situation clearly: Be concise but provide all the relevant details.

I hope this clarifies what can and cannot be done from the forum and helps set the right expectations moving forward.

Deleted

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Mark 5 Reputation points

2026-09-30T16:51:16.3766667+00:00

I am having the same problem. Navigating the online help options is a nightmare. I did get to a chat with a person, who told me to disable ALL my email rules (which I had to do by hand and took ~15 minutes), reset my junk mail rules to "standard" (which it already was) and the problem would be resolved 100% of the time. I did all that and the problem was not solved. And when I tried again using the checklist above, I could no longer find the option to chat with a human. I suspect I met my quota of human help.
Mark 5 Reputation points

2026-09-30T16:55:43.62+00:00

I am having the same problem. I wrote a comment but that comment was deleted because it supposedly violated the code of conduct, so I'm trying again.

I eventually reached a human, who gave me instructions on how to fix the problem. Those instructions were not too complicated but took a long time. I had to manually disable my rules and reset my junk mail settings to "standard."

After completing those steps, the problem is not solved, and it appears that I can no longer reach a human.
Hornblower409 16,200 Reputation points

2026-10-01T05:46:03.2933333+00:00
@Mark said

I am having the same problem

I understand that you have the same or similar issue to the one discussed in this thread. But you will not get any help by adding to an old post. You need to start a new thread using the "Ask a question" button at the top of this page to create a new Question and include the details for your specific problem and what steps you have already tried to fix it.

After completing [Support Guidence] the problem is not solved, and it appears that I can no longer reach a human.

Have you tried the Outlook Web In-App Support route?

From the main menu: Help -> ? Help

{This should open the Help side panel}

Search Help -> {Your problem} and press Enter

Still need help? [Yes]

If you get "We're here to help": Tell us your problem -> {Your problem, again} [Get Help]

[Sign In] {Use any Outlook/Microsoft account}

Choose a support option -> Chat with a support agent in your web browser

Answer 3

Glenn 5

Thanks for prevoous reply, i did respond but it was deleted. Your answer was useful as i was able to get to a live person but as soon as they heard i was having same problem on web outlook and likely to be backend server issue they said i had to contact outlook.com support.

The support details they gave me did not work, there was never an option to contact support using those instructions, i have pasted the instructions below. It jept going back toboutlook login.I went back to the same support chat several times and they gave same answer and closed the chat.

So still stuck not able to get anyone to check my missing emails

Open your browser (Safari, Chrome, etc.) and go to https://outlook.com.

Sign in to your Microsoft account.In the top-right corner, click the question mark icon (?) or go to Settings > Help.

A Help pane will open on the right side.

Scroll down and click “Contact Support” or “Get more help”.

You’ll be redirected to the Microsoft Support page.

Select Outlook.com as the product.

Choose your issue from the list or type it in manually.

Scroll down to the “Still need help?” section.

Click “Yes” to open chat options.

Choose “Chat with a support agent

Victor1-V 13,040 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-04T14:41:19.61+00:00

Hello Glenn,

Thank you for sharing this further update - it’s understandably discouraging to experience the same loop after making the effort to contact Support.

I have to clarify expectations from the forum side, contributors and moderators here don’t have visibility into Microsoft’s internal mail‑flow processing or delivery checks, so it isn’t possible to see why certain messages never reached the mailbox.

Since you’re seeing the same behavior in Outlook on the web, the Windows app, and the mobile app, the next step really does need to be Microsoft Support reviewing the account directly. If you’re able to reach them again, it can help to try different symptom keywords in the Support page search box - for example “Email recovery” or “Need help with my Outlook email” - and then be sure to select “Outlook” as the product/category so the request stays routed correctly. It may also help to open the chat with a brief summary like: “Emails are missing across web, desktop, and mobile. Junk, blocked senders, and rules have already been checked.” This helps frame it as an account‑level delivery investigation rather than a device or app issue.

I know the support channel can be challenging to navigate - especially when you’re waiting on important messages - but unfortunately, it’s the only path available when emails appear to be missing before delivery. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Glenn 5 Reputation points

2026-02-10T21:31:01.85+00:00

Thanks for the further advice. Unfortunately it seems impossible to get chat with Outlook.com

Have tried further was only able to get the Outlook support chat and after appealing for them not just to give me a link to Outlook.com support help and Close the window

The support agent did a remote connection, but seemed waste of time, they looked a Windows updates, did not really do anything on my PC

Thene suddenly said oh go to the Outlook help panel in an Incognito browser session, no explanation why, and it made no difference

Steps tried repeatedly:

Through the Microsoft support page

Selecting Other Products each time

Then Outlook.com/Hotmail

Always gives page with this link which seems to be the right place

Outlook.com app support

but it always asks me to login, then once logged again it opens outlook Inbox with Help panel opening

searching in that inbox panel just gives various help links and if I search for something that not found I can then click the Still Need Help option

But that just goes back to ask me to login again then back to same help panel

So this is just a loop that you get into either going through Microsoft Support or Outlook Inbox

When go back to the Microsoft Support page, but this time after selecting Other Products, select Outlook

It sometimes does that same thing and goes into the login loop

But if keep trying it does eventually give the “Chat with a support agent in your web browser” option

This is where I got to before and even once do the chat it tells me to go to Outlook.com support

Which would be going back into the login loop again

I can never get the option to Chat to Agent after selecting Outlook.com

Seems fairly clear they have switched that off or has just low availability the options never appears
Victor1-V 13,040 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-11T12:44:20.7566667+00:00

Hi Glenn,

I understand how frustrating this has been, especially after repeatedly trying to reach Outlook.com support and being caught in what feels like a login loop.

Please follow the steps below to start a live chat session from Outlook.com. This is the supported way to connect with Outlook.com support for personal accounts.

1, Go to https://outlook.com and sign in to your account.

2, Once signed in, click the Help icon (the question mark) in the top-right corner.

3, In the Help pane, type a brief description of your issue, for example: “Cannot receive emails”, then press Enter.

4, Scroll down in the Help results until you see “Still need help?”, then click Yes.

5, Select “Chat with a support agent in your web browser.”

6, Review the issue description and confirm an email address you can currently access (this does not have to be the affected Outlook.com address).

7, Click Confirm, then select Start chat to connect with a support agent.

I know this has been a difficult experience, and I hope these steps help you finally connect with a live agent who can assist further.