Can't add new rules, can't access page to manage rules

Anonymous
2015-12-19T22:59:43+00:00

I started adding a lot of rules to my account on Outlook.com. The rules I have set up are working fine. But now when trying to add any new rules it's failing and when I go to Settings>Manage Rules I go to a blank page with an error message.

Details:

Adding new rule. Right-click on a message>Create Rule. Dialog comes up, I'm able to fill in all fields and click Apply/Okay:

    - I get a message at the top of the screen stating "Sorry, Outlook.com wasn’t able to complete this request." at some point while filling in the fields.

    - When clicking on Apply/Okay I then get red text at the bottom of the dialog stating "Unable to cast object of type ‘Microsoft.Msn.Hotmail.FDCommon.Data.Xfs.XfsException’ to type ‘Microsoft.Msn.Hotmail.InboundMail.MailRules’."

Going to Settings>Manage Rules:

    - I get to the settings page, but none of my rules (The ones that still function normally when receiving mails) are present and there's a message at the top of the screen stating "Something happened at our end. Please refresh your browser or close it and sign in again."

   - When trying to create a new rule within this page, I get the same error as when on the main page stating "Unable to cast object of type ‘Microsoft.Msn.Hotmail.FDCommon.Data.Xfs.XfsException’ to type ‘Microsoft.Msn.Hotmail.InboundMail.MailRules’."

Have I hit some limit on the amount of rules Outlook is able to process? I have created a lot of them, over a page of rules, all of them just moving stuff into folders based on sender name.

Is there a way to clear my rules so I can start again?

Have tried this on the following operating systems and browsers: Windows 7 Professional, OSX 10.11.2, Safari 9.0.2, Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 43.0.1 (and at least one earlier version), adblockers and virus/malware checkers all disabled at some point in case that was an issue.

Also, tried the above steps on my girlfriend's account (which has no rules set up yet) and it works fine. Can create new rules, and access the manage rules page fine.

What can I do?

If I can't access the Mange Rules page to delete some rules that might be causing this, then I need someone from Outlook.com support to do something right?

Cheers.

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Settings

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-01-08T09:32:42+00:00

    My rules are all under three months old.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-01-08T08:21:54+00:00

    I suspect there may be a problem with rules in the old format that we cannot edit.  I've left some of them be, because they have no equivalent in the functionality of the new rules.  Are most of us with the problem long-time users?  I've had my Hotmail account since 1996.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-01-08T07:56:53+00:00

    Seems that someone said that remove all existing rules might solve this problem?

    But how can I remove the existing rules without entering the rules panel?

    It should be a global issue and you guys cannot expect everybody share their email account/password to you so that you clear the rules from the backend.

    You read it, but you read it incorrectly.

    "Removal of the Rules" was requested to moderator or Microsoft staff member, if he/she can do it from their backend. Of course on the frontend, we can not delete them because that's the reason we are all here.

    As the moderator (Rohit) has replied to the request in negative, he indeed requires permissions to access our accounts to troubleshoot the problems as this problem is not effecting all accounts but only a set of accounts like ours. 

    If you have not received a private message from Rohit, you can request here again to proceed with some resolution.

    About providing credentials to someone (Forum Moderator only), Microsoft has provided some key elements to note. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook\_com/forum/oaccount-omyinfo/what-should-i-do-before-i-grant-access-to-my/8505ccc3-54d0-4cdc-9b63-ffd97a7c7828

    At the end, it all depends on us if we want to provide the credentials or not. 

    PS: It's correct that Microsoft must have some backend solution to operate on an account without requesting the username/password of the individual's account.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-01-08T05:48:42+00:00

    Just interested to know how many people have had this issue resolved? And if so, do they know what was done?

    I've been searching for an answer for this issue, and this thread seems to be the only one I could find that looks promising.

    Hoping to get this sorted soon. I just wish there was a simple way to contact Microsoft, and one that didn't involve having to jump through all the lower level tech hoops first. I don't have 2 hours of my time to waste on getting nowhere.

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-01-08T02:28:06+00:00

    Seems that someone said that remove all existing rules might solve this problem?

    But how can I remove the existing rules without entering the rules panel?

    It should be a global issue and you guys cannot expect everybody share their email account/password to you so that you clear the rules from the backend.

    Was this answer helpful?

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