A non-functioning Rule

Chetz Berkovich 0 Reputation points
2026-10-07T15:24:39.6766667+00:00

I wrote rule in outlook which forward inbound email to specific 2 persons and move the email to specific folder. somehow the inbound email send to another email address within my organization. what can be the reason?

Outlook | Web | Outlook on the web for business | Settings

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  1. Ryan-N 16,125 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-10-07T15:47:12.97+00:00

    Hi Chetz,

    Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

    Based on your description, I understand that your email is being forwarded to an email address other than the ones you configured in the rule.

    Please help me check the following:

    1/ Check for other rules

    Please check whether there are any other rules, besides the one you configured, that may be forwarding your emails to that email address.

    2/ Perform a Message Trace

    If you have checked and confirmed that there are no other rules causing this behavior, I recommend performing a Message Trace in the Exchange Admin Center to review additional details about the email and determine why it was forwarded to another email address.

    Note: A Message Trace needs to be performed by your tenant administrator. If you are not an administrator, please contact your organization's administrator, typically your IT department or the person who provided you with this account, for assistance.

    Once you have contacted your administrator, please provide them with the following documentation for instructions on how to perform a Message Trace:

     Message trace in the new EAC in Exchange Online | Microsoft Learn

    I hope this information is helpful.

    If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

    I look forward to continuing the conversation.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes" and kindly upvote it.

    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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  2. AI answer

    2026-10-07T15:24:56.6066667+00:00

    Likely causes are:

    1. A forwarding or redirect rule already exists on the mailbox. Attackers or accidental configuration can create hidden or unexpected forwarding rules that send mail to another internal or external address.
    2. Mailbox-level forwarding is enabled. If mailbox forwarding is configured on the mailbox, Inbox rules that redirect messages do not work as expected. This behavior is by design. Check this in Exchange Online PowerShell: 
         Get-Mailbox <user ID> | FL ForwardingAddress,ForwardingSmtpAddress,DeliverToMailboxAndForward
      If a forwarding address is set and DeliverToMailboxAndForward is True, mailbox forwarding is enabled.
    3. Another rule is being applied first. Rules run in order. If a different rule processes the message before the intended rule, the message can be forwarded or moved somewhere unexpected. Changing the rule order can fix this.
    4. The rule mixes actions that may not run the same way across Outlook clients. New Outlook, Outlook on the web, and Outlook.com support only server-side rules. A rule that forwards mail and moves it to a folder should use server-side supported actions only. If a rule depends on unsupported client-side behavior, results can appear inconsistent.
    5. The rule has too many recipients. Exchange Online supports up to 10 individual recipients in a forward or redirect Inbox rule. That does not apply to a rule with only 2 recipients, so this is not the cause in this case.

    What to check:

    1. In Outlook on the web, review Mail > Rules and remove or disable any unexpected forwarding or redirect rules.
    2. Check Mail > Forwarding and make sure mailbox forwarding is not enabled to the wrong address.
    3. Reorder rules so the intended rule runs before broader rules.
    4. If the rule forwards and moves mail, make sure the destination folder is a mailbox folder supported by server-side rules.
    5. If this behavior was not intentionally configured, treat it as suspicious and review for unauthorized forwarding activity.
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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