I am unable to receive email

If the address was used to message contacts asking for gift cards, treat the account as compromised and check both account security and Outlook settings.

1. Secure the account immediately.
   • Change the password to a strong, unique password.
   • Turn on multi-factor authentication or two-step verification.
   • If the account is blocked because of unusual sign-in activity, use the Sign-in Helper to unblock it.
2. Check whether the mailbox or cloud storage is full.
   • If Microsoft cloud storage or the Outlook.com mailbox is full, email cannot be sent or received.
   • Messages sent while storage was full are bounced back to the sender and are unrecoverable.
3. In Outlook on the web, inspect settings that attackers commonly change.
   • Go to Settings > Mail > Rules and delete any rule not created intentionally.
   • Check Forwarding and remove any forwarding not recognized.
   • Check IMAP-related settings if present and remove anything suspicious.
4. Review account sign-in and recovery details.
   • Check aliases and remove any that are not recognized.
   • Check security/contact information and remove anything unfamiliar.
   • Remove existing app passwords if they are present.
   • Remove devices that are not recognized.
   • Use Sign out everywhere to end active sessions. One accepted resolution notes this can take up to 24 hours to take effect.
5. Check where incoming mail may be going.
   • Look in Inbox, Junk Email, Deleted Items, Archive, and Other if Focused Inbox is enabled.
   • If suspicious messages are not in Sent Items, that can indicate spoofing rather than mail sent from the actual mailbox.
6. Watch for phishing and spoofing.
   • Do not click links or open attachments in suspicious messages.
   • Mark unwanted messages as junk or phishing to help improve filtering.
   • If blocked senders still reach the Inbox, the sender may be changing addresses or hiding the real address. Checking message headers can help identify the real sender address.
7. If mail still does not arrive after the account is secured and settings are cleaned up:
   • Use the Microsoft account sign-in helper if sign-in problems continue.
   • If only one device is affected, remove the device partnership with the mailbox to fix sync issues.

• Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com
• Help protect your Outlook.com email account
• Unblock my Outlook.com account
• What to do if your email address is leaked
• Phishing and suspicious behavior in Outlook
• Receiving email from blocked senders in Outlook.com
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