question marks instead of quotation marks in Outlook after upgrading to version 19628.20150

Question

question marks instead of quotation marks in Outlook after upgrading to version 19628.20150

Yermek K 40

Hello.

After updating Microsoft Office to version 2601 on January 27 (build 19628.20150), when sending emails via Outlook, ?? is sent instead of "" (Shift+2 on the Russian layout).

If you reinstall the old version of Office, then there is no such problem.

The issue affects both versions of Office 2010/2024 Home and Business.

The encoding used is the same everywhere. :

Cyrillic alphabet (KOI8-R) and Cyrillic Alphabet (Windows).

The language used when sending is Russian.

Let me clarify once again, everything is fine on the old version!

This problem is observed on all PCs of the company.

sent

received

Steve Irwin 0 Reputation points

2026-02-16T15:09:47.49+00:00

I am using build 19628.20204 and we are getting the issue even after changing the Encoding to UTF-8
da_tobi 75 Reputation points

2026-02-17T10:44:27.97+00:00

same here - UTF-8 encoding didn't solve it. Microsoft is "investigating this issue":

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/classic-outlook-replaces-accented-and-extended-characters-with-question-marks-c1fdb067-38ca-464a-bcb1-bd657a85e1d3

Answer accepted by question author

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Your answer

Steve Irwin 0 Reputation points

2026-02-16T15:09:47.49+00:00

I am using build 19628.20204 and we are getting the issue even after changing the Encoding to UTF-8
da_tobi 75 Reputation points

2026-02-17T10:44:27.97+00:00

same here - UTF-8 encoding didn't solve it. Microsoft is "investigating this issue":

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/classic-outlook-replaces-accented-and-extended-characters-with-question-marks-c1fdb067-38ca-464a-bcb1-bd657a85e1d3

Answer 1

Hin-V 16,830 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Yermek K

Thank you for posting your question in Microsoft Q&A.

I have tested this behavior from my end (my current Classic Outlook version is 2601, Build 19628.20150, same as your app). This issue seems to affect only the Cyrillic (KOI8‑R) encoding, while Cyrillic (KOI8‑U), Cyrillic (Windows) and Unicode (UTF‑8) appear to work as expected.

If possible, you could refer to these approach to troubleshoot it:

Temporarily changing your current encoding to Cyrillic (KOI8‑U), Cyrillic (Windows), or Unicode (UTF‑8).

To change this in Outlook:

Go to File > Options > Advanced.

In the International options section, set Preferred encoding for outgoing messages to Cyrillic (KOI8‑U) or Unicode (UTF‑8) if Cyrillic (Windows) encounters the same behavior.

User's image

Roll Back Office to the Previous Working Version

Since this issue does not occur in the older version, you may consider rolling back to the previous working build and temporarily disable updates. After Microsoft releases a newer update, you can enable updates again and re‑test to confirm whether the issue is still present.

You can refer more via: How to revert to an earlier version of Office - Microsoft Support

Currently, I have not identified any official Microsoft documentation regarding this behavior with Russian encoding yet. Since this relates to a feature concern, I encourage you to share your feedback directly with Microsoft through the Microsoft 365 Feedback Portal. User feedback is highly valuable and plays an important role in shaping future feature development, as well as helping Microsoft engineering teams acknowledge and investigate issues in the current product version.

I hope this helps.

If you have any additional concerns, feel free to comment below. I would be more than happy to assist.

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.

Hin-V 16,830 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-03T10:40:37.3266667+00:00

Hi @Yermek K

I hope you are doing well.

Have you had a chance to check the replies provided?

Any update would be appreciated.

If you want any further support, let me know in the comment section.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Yermek K 40 Reputation points

2026-02-03T10:45:58.2466667+00:00

Hi @Hin-V

Thank you for your help!
In our country, the standard encoding is used, and if I change it, the recipients will see hieroglyphs instead of text.

at the moment, I'm installing the old version of Office 2021/2024 and disabling updates.

hopefully the next version of MS will solve the problem.
Hin-V 16,830 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-03T14:39:13.71+00:00

Hi @Yermek K

Thank you for your response.

I’m hopeful that this issue will be addressed soon in the newest Classic Outlook build so you can enjoy a better product experience. I’ll continue to monitor the situation with Outlook and the Cyrillic (KOI8‑R) encoding, and I’ll let you know as soon as I see any updates or related documentation.

In the meantime, you may also consider submitting feedback through the Microsoft Feedback Portal, as mentioned above. This could help prompt Microsoft to acknowledge the issue and prioritize it for an upcoming update.

If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to comment below. I’m always happy to help.

Warm thanks.

Answer 2

da_tobi 75

Same issue since Update Version 2601 (Build 19628.20150)

Changing the Outllook-Option: "Encoding for outgoing messages" to UTF-8 did solve the problem here.

Also available with GPO.

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