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
    2016-01-13T20:12:32+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.

    Yes, I do know that. I actually was being facetious.

    I said earlier. "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."

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-01-13T21:55:10+00:00

    I said earlier. "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."

    I agree.

    And it is my opinion that not even the staff of the front-end nor the back-end can solve the problem in itself, because it is a bug in the server code, on which only people of the responsible team can put their hands on, of course.

    What we can hope for, is that the staff at the back-end can restore the functionality of our account, simply eliminating any filter rules.

    And we also have to hope that the problem does not recur again, waiting for the development team be able to identify and eliminate the bugs.

    If and when we lose hope, it will be time to leave outlook...

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-01-14T02:31:43+00:00

    What we can hope for, is that the staff at the back-end can restore the functionality of our account, simply eliminating any filter rules.

    And we also have to hope that the problem does not recur again, waiting for the development team be able to identify and eliminate the bugs.

    If and when we lose hope, it will be time to leave outlook...

    Elimination of all the rules is not the best we can hope for!  That drastic approach could open the door for recurrence because the cause would go undiscovered.  It would be better to expand the exception handlers on the backend, only deleting rules that cause a problem ... and sending them to an exception file along with the users' folder and category lists for examination by the development team.

    As far as I know, my rules are still working.  I just can't get in to delete or modify them.  I can still create new rules from the category list only.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-01-14T04:02:00+00:00

    Hi Rijkstra and All, good news!

    In my account, the access to rules has just now resumed normal operation.

    Now I can see the list, edit and delete rules or add new ones. Everything seems to work fine.

    All rules are still in place, except those related to non existent folders or categories, which apparently have been selectively removed from the back end as requested them by me for my account.

    I hope that even all other accounts have been restored as well or will be very soon.

    PS @Rijkstra: obviously I meant "simply eliminating any inconsistent filter rules", not all indiscriminately.

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-01-14T05:47:10+00:00

    Hi Rijkstra and All, good news!

    In my account, the access to rules has just now resumed normal operation.

    Now I can see the list, edit and delete rules or add new ones. Everything seems to work fine.

    All rules are still in place, except those related to non existent folders or categories, which apparently have been selectively removed from the back end as requested them by me for my account.

    I hope that even all other accounts have been restored as well or will be very soon.

    PS @Rijkstra: obviously I meant "simply eliminating any inconsistent filter rules", not all indiscriminately.

    Thanks for the heads up. I just checked and can confirm that the issue is resolved for my account and working normally now. All existing rules are there but the new ones I tried to create after this problem started are not there. So probably have to create those rules again.

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