Outlook Inbox Completely Empty After Alias Change — New Mail Still Works

Rosie Corson 0 Reputation points
2026-05-16T04:56:43.3233333+00:00

I’m hoping someone can help because I’m really confused about what’s happened to my Outlook inbox.

I temporarily changed my primary alias/email address on my Microsoft account, then later changed it back to my original email address. Around the same time, I had email forwarding turned on, but I realised I wasn’t actually receiving the forwarded emails properly. Now:

  • my Sent Items are all still there
  • new incoming emails are arriving normally
  • my original email address is back as the primary alias
  • forwarding is turned off

But all of my old inbox emails have disappeared completely. They are not in Inbox, Archive, Deleted, Junk, or Recover Deleted Items, and they are not appearing in search either. I’ve already tried:

  • logging out/in
  • different browsers
  • checking rules and forwarding
  • checking aliases
  • turning Focused Inbox off
  • searching all Outlook items

Has anyone experienced this after changing aliases or forwarding settings? Is this likely to be a mailbox sync/indexing issue on Microsoft’s side, and is there any way to recover the missing inbox emails?

Thanks so much.

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Email

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  1. AI answer

    2026-05-16T04:56:56.65+00:00

    This behavior cannot be fully diagnosed or reversed using only the available information. The next step is to contact Outlook.com support so the service team can check the mailbox on the server side and confirm whether the missing items still exist in any hidden or server-only folders.

    To do this in Outlook.com:

    1. Sign in to Outlook.com in a browser.
    2. Select Help on the menu bar.
    3. Enter a brief description such as “Inbox messages missing after alias change; new mail OK.”
    4. When self-help suggestions appear, scroll down to Still need help? and select Yes to open a support request.

    If sign-in is not possible, use the alternate contact entry point provided in the same support article.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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