Hotmail can send email but cannot receive new email

Question

Hotmail can send email but cannot receive new email

diane tomlin 100

My account was compromised and the unauthorized person sent emails from my account. I immediately changed my password after discovering this. Since then, I can send email, but I cannot receive any new messages.I have tested this by sending an email to my Hotmail address from another email account. There is no bounce-back or delivery error, but the message never arrives.

I have checked:

Inbox

Junk Email

Deleted Items

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Your answer

diane tomlin 100 Reputation points

2026-09-15T01:58:58.61+00:00

My Hotmail account was compromised and the attacker sent emails from it. I immediately changed my password. Since then, I can send emails but cannot receive any new emails. Incoming test messages do not arrive even in Outlook on the web. There are no rules or blocked senders, storage is only 49%, and the Forwarding settings page will not open even in a private browser window. Please check whether there is an inbound mail restriction or forwarding setting on the mailbox as a result of the compromise.
Hornblower409 15,140 Reputation points

2026-09-16T04:30:54.01+00:00

@diane tomlin said

Please check whether there is an inbound mail restriction or forwarding setting on the mailbox as a result of the compromise.

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Answer 1

The most likely causes in this scenario are:

A hidden inbox rule or forwarding setting left behind after the compromise Attackers commonly create rules that delete, move, or redirect incoming mail. Since mail is missing in Outlook on the web as well, this points to a mailbox-level setting rather than an iPhone or Mac sync issue.
A temporary inbound restriction after suspicious activity After an account is compromised and used to send unauthorized mail, incoming delivery can be temporarily affected even after the password is changed.
A mailbox setting that is moving mail out of view In Outlook.com, also check:
- the Other tab
- whether Filter > Sort > Date needs to be restored
- whether any email rules are still preventing messages from appearing
Junk or blocked handling is not the only place mail can be diverted Even if Inbox, Junk Email, Deleted Items, Archive, blocked senders, and storage all look normal, mail can still be redirected by rules or forwarding.

Because the issue happens in Outlook on the web, the strongest next checks are:

Re-check Mail > Rules and remove anything unfamiliar, especially rules that delete messages, move them to another folder, or forward mail.
Re-check Mail > Forwarding and confirm forwarding is off. If that page still will not open, that remains a strong indicator to resolve because forwarding is a known cause of missing incoming mail after compromise.
Check the Other tab, Junk Email settings, and confirm there are no filters or sort settings hiding messages.
If no suspicious rules or forwarding are found, allow some time for the account to settle after the security event. Community guidance in similar cases notes this can take up to 48 hours.
If mail still does not arrive, use Outlook.com support from the Help menu or the support contact option, because a service-side restriction may still be in place and cannot be cleared from mailbox settings alone.