What in the World Is Focused and Other for Outlook Email for Android Phones

Anonymous
2015-06-15T15:45:34+00:00

I use Outlook 2013 for email with Outlook.com because I can't get Gmail to work with my Office 365 Outlook 2013 application. Setting it up with Outlook.com was easy, but unlike Gmail and Yahoo email, I don't see all of my messages. Outlook for Android has some apparently strange categories called "FOCUSED" and "OTHER". Some of my messages are in "focused" and different messages are in "other". I have to click one category and then the other to see all of my messages. Why?

With Gmail and Yahoo on my Android Phone, when I go to my inbox I see ALL of my messages. But with Outlook they are broken up into 2 different apparently useless categories labeled Focused and Other. I went to settings and selected "All" but that didn't help. Can someone please explain:

  • What does "Focused" mean?
  • What does "Other" mean?
  • Can I get rid of the Focused and Other categories so I can see ALL of my email in one inbo x?

Thanks,

RTBT

***Post moved by the moderator to the appropriate forum category.***

Outlook | Outlook for mobile | Outlook for Android | For business

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Anonymous
2015-06-16T13:48:53+00:00

Hello Ram Kumar, thanks for your help. 

I read the other thread and couldn't agree more with the author. In my opinion, the idea of dividing the inbox into two categories versus having one inbox is pretty dumb. If MS believes there are people who want multiple inboxes, I think they should make it an  OPTION as opposed to the default.

Thankfully, I found the option to turn off Focused and use one inbox. For now it appears to be working as I only have 1 Inbox but I'm afraid those silly, confusing categories of Focused and Other will return.

Ram Kumar, thanks so much for your time and assistance.

RTBT

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Anonymous
2015-06-16T05:27:07+00:00

Hi,

You may refer to the following thread which discusses about similar issue and see if it helps.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook\_com/forum/oemail-oapps/outlook-app-focused-not-wanted/227a4693-3341-43ee-8f4e-583b158fe073

For more information on Focused and Other inbox, refer to the following article.

https://blogs.office.com/2015/01/29/deeper-look-outlook-ios-android/

I look forward to your reply to assist you further.

Thank you.

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Anonymous
2017-05-12T16:32:48+00:00

Hi Cheryl,

Focused Inbox helps you identify what's most important. To turn off Focused Inbox, follow the steps provided on this link.

Please update us with the status. We will be glad to assist you.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-06-23T16:05:59+00:00

    So I just got a new desktop computer because my old one upgraded to Windows 10 and the upgrade did not install right.  I got tired of trying to find the fixes for it (plus the old computer is about 8 years old).  With the new Windows 10 I see my "Outlook" mail in the app and had the "focused" and "other" categories.  

    To get rid of the categories:

    1.  Go to the "Settings" cog on the bottom left, a Settings dialog box opens on the right

    2.  Cursor down to "Reading" and click on it.

    3.  Cursor down to "Focused Inbox" and right under that title turn off the sort by focused and other.

    Hope this helps.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-06-02T14:34:44+00:00

    You can turn it off in the settings menu under account settings,

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