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
    2016-01-12T19:39:28+00:00

    I dont know how long they are going to take to sort this out.

    Regards

    I believe we may be waiting until one of two things happens:

    1. A high-ranking Microsoft executive's account is affected.
    2. A programmer directly involved with Outlook.com's backend is affected.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-01-13T07:06:55+00:00

    I am not able to set rules which has affected my productivity. Can't they understand the seriousness of this issue? It has been one month and I am already regretting my decision of moving from Gmail to Outlook.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-01-13T14:48:37+00:00

    Hi Jayvijay,

    Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft community.

    I understand your concern and will certainly help you with the issue.

    To assist you better,please answer the questions below:

    1. Do you receive any error message while trying to set a rule?
    2. What is the procedure you are following to set a rules?
    3. Did you make any changes in settings prior to the issue?

    Please get back to us with the answers for the above asked questions in order to assist you accordingly.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-01-13T19:10:54+00:00

    I am not able to set rules which has affected my productivity. Can't they understand the seriousness of this issue? It has been one month and I am already regretting my decision of moving from Gmail to Outlook.

    Me too.

    I forward my emails from gmail. It's easy enough to go back, it would just take an adjustment period but I am beginning to think it would be worth it.

    I'm tired of my rules not working.

    This is from my other thread.

    I cannot access my rules.

    If I go to Settings>Manage Rules get and error and the page never loads.

    Something happened on our end. Please refresh your browser or close it and sign in again.

    I've tried Firefox, I've tried Chrome, both to no avail. I've logged out and back in.

    I did get a reply from a moderator.

    Kindly reply:

    1. Since when are you facing this issue?
    2. Could you click on this link: https://portal.office.com/servicestatus and check the status of your Outlook.com account?
    3. Could you press Ctrl + Shift + PKey to open InPrivate browser, login to your account through the In-Private browser and check if the issue persists?

    Also, I would suggest you to check if the issue persists after attempting the following steps. (Try using Internet Explorer)

    Method 1: Clear Browsing history and Caches.

    Follow the link below and clear browsing history.

    View and delete your browsing history

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/manage-delete-browsing-history-internet-explorer#ie=ie-11

    Method 2: No Add-ons.

    I would suggest you to first check if your system works well in no add-ons mode:

    Follow the steps below to open Internet Explorer in no add-ons mode:

    1. Press Windows key + R to open the run Command.
    2. Type iexplore -extoffand press Enter. 

    If IE works fine in no add-ons mode then I would suggest you disable add-ons from the following link 

    Manage add-ons in Internet Explorer:

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/manage-add-ons#ie=ie-11

    I did reply and got no response. But regardless, none of this helps as I don't believe that this is something I can correct on my end.

    1. Since when are you facing this issue?

    It has been going on a few weeks now. 

    1. Could you click on this link: https://portal.office.com/servicestatus and check the status of your Outlook.com account?

    Everything is up and running.

    1. Could you press Ctrl + Shift + PKey to open InPrivate browser, login to your account through the In-Private browser and check if the issue persists?

    Logging in as incognito does not help.

    Method 2: No Add-ons.

    I do not use internet explorer nor edge. With that said, I logged in on a new, clean Edge browser. I have never used this browser and it did not work. I still cannot access my rules.

    How can I correct this?

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-01-13T19:30:10+00:00

    How can I correct this?

    It should be fairly obvious from the content of this thread that there is nothing the user can do to fix the problem.  We need someone at Microsoft to work from the backend.  I have all the problems described in this thread and in addition am unable to delete categories even if they are unreferenced by any mail items or rules.  There doesn't even appear to be a link behind the trash can.  I believe there is probably a link between rule and category problems.

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