Sending, receiving, and organizing email in Outlook.com
Since the account was hacked and can now send mail but not receive inbox mail, use this order:
- Check storage first. If Microsoft cloud storage or mailbox storage is full, Outlook.com cannot send or receive email, and messages sent while storage was full can bounce back and be unrecoverable.
- Check Outlook.com on the web for mailbox settings that commonly get changed after a compromise:
- Mail > Rules: remove any rule that deletes messages, moves them to another folder, or redirects them.
- Mail > Forwarding: make sure forwarding is not enabled.
- Check Junk Email settings and the Junk Email folder.
- Check the Other tab, Archive, and Deleted Items.
- Check message sorting: Filter > Sort > Date.
- Review account security after the hack:
- Run a full malware scan on the PC before changing the password again: Windows Security > Virus and threat protection > Scan options > Full scan > Scan now.
- Then change the password again if needed.
- Check account settings that are often reset or changed after compromise, including connected accounts, forwarding, and automatic replies.
- Review recent sign-in activity on the Microsoft account.
- If the account was temporarily blocked because of unusual sign-in activity, use the sign-in helper to unblock it: Sign-in Helper
- If mail still does not arrive in Outlook on the web after rules, forwarding, junk, archive, sorting, storage, and security checks, Microsoft Support needs to check for a mailbox-level issue such as an inbound mail restriction or unauthorized forwarding left behind after the compromise. In Outlook.com, select Help on the menu bar, enter the issue, and if self-help does not solve it, scroll to Still need help? and select Yes. If sign-in is a problem, use the support option provided for that case.