I am not receiving all emails sent to me

Lesley Walton 0 Reputation points
2026-08-07T08:58:37.6366667+00:00

I know some emails have been sent to my Hotmail Account have not been received. They are not in Junk, nor have I Blocked the sender. What could be the problem? Also my version of Outlook on Mac is different to a version I see on iPhone. Can you help, please?

Outlook | MacOS | New Outlook for Mac | For home
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  1. AI answer

    2026-08-07T08:58:58.6+00:00

    Possible causes depend on whether the missing mail is in the Hotmail/Outlook.com mailbox itself or only missing in Outlook for Mac.

    For a Hotmail/Outlook.com account, check these first in Outlook.com on the web:

    1. Check Filter and set it to All.
      • Messages can be hidden by the current filter.
    2. Check the Other tab.
      • Some messages may be separated there.
    3. Check Rules.
      • A rule may be moving messages out of the Inbox.
    4. Check whether email forwarding is enabled.
      • Messages may be sent to another address instead of staying in the mailbox.
    5. Check the Archive folder.
      • Archived messages do not appear in the Inbox.
    6. Check Junk Email settings and the Junk Email folder.
      • If a message is there, mark it as not junk.
    7. Check Recent activity for the Microsoft account.
      • Unexpected sign-ins can indicate account activity affecting mail flow.
    8. Check mailbox/cloud storage.
      • If Microsoft cloud storage is full, Outlook.com cannot send or receive email, and messages sent during that time can bounce back to the sender.

    If mail is missing only in Outlook for Mac, check the Mac app connection:

    1. In Outlook for Mac, on the Outlook menu, make sure Work Offline is not checked.
    2. On the Tools ribbon, choose Accounts and inspect the account status.
      • If the Exchange account indicator is orange, there is a connection problem.
    3. Try signing in to the same mailbox in Outlook on the web.
      • If messages appear there but not in Outlook for Mac, the issue is likely with the Mac app sync.
    4. If the account is an Exchange account, empty the affected folder cache in Outlook for Mac:
      • Connect to the Exchange server.
      • In the navigation pane, right-click the Exchange folder.
      • Select Properties.
      • On the General tab, choose Empty Cache.
      • Caution: this deletes information not synchronized with the Exchange server, including contacts' mail certificates. Afterward, Outlook re-downloads the folder from the server.

    If only certain senders are affected, the sender may be getting a bounce or rejection. In that case, ask the sender for the full non-delivery report. One documented cause is sender authentication failure, where Microsoft blocks the message before it reaches the mailbox. In that situation, the sender must correct their email authentication settings. Adding them to Safe Senders may not help if the message is rejected before delivery.

    About Outlook on Mac looking different from iPhone: that is expected. Outlook for Mac and Outlook on iPhone are different apps and can have different layouts and features.

    If the issue continues, use the Outlook for Mac guided support tool and test from another account by sending a message to the Hotmail address to see whether a bounce-back error is returned.

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

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