Sending, receiving, and organizing email in Outlook.com
Open Outlook.com’s Help pane, select Still need help? → Yes, and include your existing case number to reconnect with Outlook.com support while the deletion is still occurring.
Reopen the support request
On a computer:
- Sign in to Outlook.com.
- Select Help in the top menu.
- Enter “Emails are being deleted automatically—existing case” and press Enter.
- If the suggested articles do not help, scroll to Still need help? and select Yes.
- Provide:
- Your existing case number.
- Approximately when the deletions happen.
- Whether messages appear in Deleted Items, disappear completely, or affect only one folder.
- Whether Outlook is connected to any phone, desktop program, or third-party mail application.
If Still need help? is missing after opening an article, select the back arrow in the Help pane. Outlook.com provides support through this in-product route, normally by email rather than a guaranteed telephone call.^1^
Since signing out everywhere did not resolve it, do not repeat that step. Check the settings and connected applications that can continue moving or deleting mail.
Stop further deletions
Use Outlook.com on a computer:
- Go to Settings → Mail → Rules.
- Delete or disable any rule that moves or deletes messages unexpectedly.
- Rules must be viewed and edited from a computer.^2^
- Check Settings → Mail → Forwarding.
- Turn off forwarding if you did not configure it.
- If the account is connected to another email application, check whether that application is deleting messages during synchronization.
- If you do not use POP or IMAP, disable them under the relevant Outlook.com synchronization settings. Microsoft notes that active POP or IMAP connections can cause issues with connected applications.^3^
- Review the Microsoft account Recent activity page. It shows sign-ins from the previous 30 days, including available device or application details. Mark any activity you do not recognize.^2^
If you find unknown sign-ins or settings, treat the account as compromised:
- Run a full malware scan on the computer first.
- Change the Microsoft account password to a new, unique password.
- Check forwarding, connected accounts, and automatic replies.
- Enable two-step verification.
Microsoft’s compromised-account helper may also offer an opportunity to contact an agent after gathering the account details.^4^
Recover recently deleted messages
On a PC or Mac:
- Open Deleted Items.
- Restore any messages found there.
- If they are absent, select Recover items deleted from this folder above the message list.
- Select the messages and choose Restore.
For Outlook.com, messages are automatically removed from Deleted Items after 30 days, and items removed from that folder remain recoverable for 30 days. The recoverable-items area cannot be accessed from a mobile browser.^5^
If messages deleted months ago no longer appear there, the documented recovery period has probably expired. Still report those messages under the existing support case, but include examples of recent deletions that support can investigate while they are happening.
References
- How to get support for Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
- Email is missing from your Outlook.com inbox | Microsoft Support
- Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
- How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account | Microsoft Support
- [Web](https://support.microsoft.com/outlook/mail/recover-and-restore-deleted-items-in-outlook)