Cannot save Junk Email settings in Outlook.com

Lars Wicktor 0 Reputation points
2026-09-14T07:59:50.39+00:00

I cannot save any changes in Junk Email settings in Outlook.com. I cannot remove blocked senders or add trusted senders/domains. Every attempt results in the error message "Couldn't save changes. Something went wrong. Please try again later." The issue occurs in both Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Email
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-14T08:00:06.49+00:00

    This is a known issue affecting some Outlook.com accounts. Microsoft has confirmed cases where changes to Safe Senders or Blocked Senders fail with "Couldn't save changes. Something went wrong. Please try again later."

    Try these steps in order:

    1. Sign out of Outlook.com and close all browser windows.
    2. Open a private/incognito browser window and sign in again.
    3. In Outlook.com, go to Settings > Mail > Junk email.
    4. If possible, first try removing entries from Safe senders and domains, then select Save.
    5. After that, try removing the address from Blocked senders and domains and save again.
    6. Check Settings > Mail > Rules and disable any rule that could affect junk mail handling, then try saving again.
    7. If the sender is one that should be allowed, add it to Contacts and enable Trust email from my contacts in junk email settings.

    If changes still cannot be saved, use Outlook.com support from a signed-in session:

    1. Sign in to Outlook.com.
    2. Select the ? at the top of the Outlook.com window.
    3. Use the Help pane to contact support.

    Relevant behavior to keep in mind:

    • Blocking a sender in Outlook.com moves mail to the Junk Email folder; it does not stop delivery to the mailbox.
    • Messages in Junk Email are automatically removed after a period, so review that folder before messages expire.
    • Mailbox-side safe sender settings do not override server-side filtering that blocks messages before they reach the mailbox.

    References:

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  2. Lars Wicktor 0 Reputation points
    2026-09-14T08:09:03.8966667+00:00

    I still get the same message: "Couldn't save changes. Something went wrong. Please try again later."

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  3. SD - IA 179.3K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-14T08:42:37.75+00:00

    Hi,

    This is an ongoing issue for certain accounts. Some have been fixed, while others still have the issue.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Outlook/comments/1w67w2t/is_anyone_else_unable_to_block_domains_from_junk/

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5993215/how-to-fix-not-saving-settings-in-undoing-block-se

    Via https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5988478/cannot-save-changes-to-junk-email-safe-or-blocked

    Thank you for your patience, Ed. I have consulted with our Tier 2 team and they confirmed that this is a known issue affecting some Outlook.com users. We have received multiple reports of customers being unable to save changes to their Safe Senders or Blocked Senders lists and receiving the message: "Couldn't save changes. Something went wrong. Please try again later."

    Our engineering team has already identified the root cause and a fix is currently being rolled out to affected accounts.

    Additionally, A workaround is to save the email as a contact and then unblock it.

    Check https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5997432/i-cannot-edit-blocked-senders-list for more help.

    I hope this information helps. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to reach out. Wishing you good luck!

    Standard 3rd party link disclaimer:

    There may be links to non-Microsoft websites that provide accurate and safe information. Watch out for ads on websites frequently classified as PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). There is no need to buy paid products to fix your computers, as they sometimes do more harm than good.

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  4. Hornblower409 15,115 Reputation points
    2026-09-16T07:31:50.8066667+00:00

    @Lars Wicktor said

    I cannot remove blocked senders or add trusted senders/domains. Every attempt results in the error message "Couldn't save changes

    If you only need to get an email off your Blocked list, or add to Safe, but can't save changes:

    Possible Workaround - Add to Contacts. See the Answer by "Hornblower409 Sep 5 2026" in
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5989552/couldnt-save-changes-when-unblocking-an-email

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