How to Fix Outlook When It's Not Receiving Emails

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A complete guide to troubleshooting your Outlook email issues

Co-authored by Glenn Carreau Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: January 28, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Ways to Fix Outlook Not Receiving Emails
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• Causes
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• Fixing Emails That Won't Send
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• Video

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Have you encountered a problem with your Outlook account, but aren’t sure what’s causing it? We can help! Several different factors could cause Outlook to not stop receiving emails the way it should. So, in this guide, we’ll outline those causes and how to fix them—from simple solutions like checking your internet connection and Outlook filters to the more in-depth fixes like clearing Outlook’s cache. Don’t worry: we’ll get your Outlook account running smoothly again in no time.

Fixes for When Outlook Won't Get Emails

• Check your internet connection and make sure it’s working.
• Make sure that Outlook isn’t currently in Work Offline mode. If it is, select Go Online.
• Open the Junk Email folder and see if any emails have been flagged as spam.
• Check the Other tab and set any miscategorized emails to Move to Focused.
• Clear Outlook’s cache. Go to %localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook\RoamCache in Windows, then delete the files in RoamCache.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Ways to Fix Outlook Not Receiving Emails

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1. 
   1
   Make sure you’re connected to the internet. It might seem obvious, but it’s worth checking! If the internet is down for whatever reason, or you just aren’t connected, Outlook won’t be able to reach its email servers or refresh (and sync new emails).

   • You can check your computer’s WiFi connection, or even just try loading a website in your web browser to see if it works.
2. 
   2
   Make sure you aren’t in offline mode. Outlook has a Work Offline mode that lets you disconnect from Outlook’s server. It’s helpful if you need to work without distraction or take a break from work altogether, but leaving it enabled will stop new emails from arriving. If you’re still in offline mode, click the Go Online option that’ll be visible at the top of the screen.

   • It might take a couple of minutes for Outlook to load new emails once Offline mode is turned off.
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   Check Microsoft’s servers to see if Outlook is down. If you aren’t receiving emails in Outlook, it might not be your problem at all—rather, Microsoft’s servers for Outlook might be temporarily down. Go to the Microsoft 365 Service Status page and check under Microsoft consumer products for Outlook.com’s current status.

   • If you see a red or yellow circle next to Outlook.com, that means there’s an issue with the server (and Microsoft is currently working on it).
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   Close and restart Outlook. It’s possible that Outlook’s email client just isn’t working, for no discernible reason. Try closing Outlook and then re-opening the application to see if that clears up the issue!

   • You can close Outlook by clicking the X at the top-right corner of the screen, or select File → Exit.
5. 
   5
   Check your junk folder in Outlook. In Outlook, select the Junk Email option from the menu on the left side of the screen and take a look at your junk mail to see if any important emails have been delivered there. It’s possible that an email triggered Outlook’s spam filters and got moved there automatically, making it seem like Outlook didn’t receive the email.

   • If you find an email in your junk folder that isn’t spam, open it and select Mark as Not Spam. This will ensure that similar emails aren’t flagged as spam either.
6. 
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   See if there are emails in the “Other” tab. Outlook now has a “Focused inbox” feature that separates your inbox into two tabs—Focused (where important messages are sent) and Other (where lower-priority emails are sent). So, click on the Other tab to find out whether Outlook has simply made a mistake and sent some important emails to the wrong place.

   • If you find an email that shouldn’t be in Other, right-click on it and select Move to Focused.
   • You can also ensure that every message from a particular sender will go to the Focused tab by selecting Always Move to Focused.
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   Clear Outlook’s cache to remove corrupted files. If Outlook’s cache has corrupted files, it might be stopping you from getting new emails. So, save any work you have in progress, and then clear the cache to see if that fixes the problem. Here’s how to do it:

   • Windows:
     • In the Start menu (from the Windows taskbar), open Run.
     • Paste %localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook\RoamCache into the box in the Run window and click OK.
     • In the RoamCache folder, select all the files (using the Ctrl + A shortcut).
     • Right-click and select Delete to remove all the files (and confirm the deletion if prompted).
   • Mac:
     • In Outlook, navigate to Tools → Accounts.
     • Select the account that needs to be reset from the left-side menu.
     • Click the gear icon (at the bottom-left corner of the window), then select Reset Account.
8. 
   8
   Disable your antivirus and firewall. Security software on your computer might be blocking Outlook’s connection to the server, preventing emails from coming through. If you have it, disable your antivirus software or firewall and see if you start getting emails in Outlook. If it works, you’ll need to change your security software’s settings to ensure Outlook keeps working in the future.
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   Update to the latest version of Outlook. If you aren’t using the latest version of the Outlook app, it might be the cause of your email issues! In Outlook, navigate to File → Office Account and look under Update Options to check for updates (and apply them, if they’re available). Office will tell you when it’s fully up to date, and then you can check Outlook to see if it’s working properly.
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    Change your Outlook filter settings. You might have filters currently enabled for Outlook that are causing too many emails to be deleted, archived, or sent to the junk folder. Navigate to Settings → Rules to review the filters currently in place. If any filters seem unnecessary or too extreme, go ahead and deactivate them.
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    Check your Outlook account’s storage limit. Though most users don’t hit it, Outlook does have a storage limit of 100GB per mailbox. To check your current storage in Outlook, select Settings at the top of the window and navigate to Accounts → Storage. There, you’ll see a complete breakdown of how much space you’re using. Outlook can’t receive new emails if your storage is already at capacity!

    • If you’ve hit the 100GB limit, consider deleting unwanted files from your account or saving bigger files to OneDrive.
    • For a quick fix, you can also try emptying the Deleted Items folder (since deleted messages aren’t permanently erased right away).
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    Check your list of blocked senders. If you aren’t getting an email (or emails) from a specific sender, try checking to see if they’ve been blocked. Navigate to Settings → Junk Email → Blocked senders and domains. If you see the sender’s email address there (and don’t want to block them anymore), remove it; then, you should start seeing their messages in your inbox.

    • Emails from a blocked sender automatically go to your Junk Folder.
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    Update your password in Outlook. If you use Outlook with an email address from a third-party provider, and changed that email address’s password on the provider’s site, you’ll need to update Outlook with that new password, too. Otherwise, Outlook won’t be able to sync and download new emails!

    • To update your password, go to File → Account Settings → Email Accounts → Change.
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    Make sure your server settings are correct. If Outlook’s server settings are incorrect, that can definitely cause email deliveries to fail. Go to File → Account Settings → Change and select More Settings. There, you can check the incoming mail server information.

    • Firstly, make sure the server’s name matches the one given by your email provider.
    • Then, take a look at the port number and encryption method. These should also match the provider’s specifications! Typically, port numbers are:
      • IMAP SSL: 993
      • POP3 SSL: 995
    • Additionally, you can check out the outgoing server’s port settings to make sure those are correct, too. They’re typically:
      • SMTP SSL: 465
      • SMTP STARTTLS: 587
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    Use Outlook’s Sender Support if you aren’t getting a specific email. Once again, if you aren’t getting mail from a specific person, you can reach out to that person and ask them to take a look at Sender Support for Outlook. There, they’ll find some troubleshooting tips to follow!
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    Make a new Outlook profile. Finally, this is a last resort option—because, if nothing else is working, there might be a problem with your Outlook profile. When that happens, the best course of action is simply to create a new Outlook profile and delete the old one. Here’s how:

    • Hold down the Shift key while opening Outlook to open the profile picker box.
    • Select Options >> from the profile picker box.
    • Select New to create a new profile.
    • Enter a name for the profile, then click OK.
    • Enter an email address to connect with the profile (as prompted), then click Connect.
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Section 2 of 3:

What causes Outlook to stop receiving emails?

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1. 
   Ultimately, there are quite a few reasons why you might not be receiving emails in Outlook—some that you can fix quickly, and others that might be outside your control (but temporary). If Outlook just isn’t loading new emails as it should be, here are some of the most common causes:

   • The emails are going to a different folder (like Other or Junk Email)
   • Microsoft’s servers for Outlook are currently down
   • Your internet connection is slow or not working
   • Outlook is set to offline mode
   • Your password hasn’t been updated yet
   • Certain senders are blocked
   • Outlook’s cache has corrupted data
   • Your Outlook profile is corrupted

Section 3 of 3:

How to Fix Outlook Not Sending Emails

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1. 
   1
   Make sure the email isn’t too big. On the other hand, if you’re having problems sending mail in Outlook, there are some fixes for that, too. The first is simple: unattach any files larger than 25 MB included in your message, because Outlook can’t send files that big.

   • You might be able to downsize a file, or break it down into smaller chunks and send them separately.
   • We have guides on reducing the size of Word documents, PDFs, and pictures!
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   Double-check the recipient’s email address. The next troubleshooting tip is just as simple, yet crucial: look over the recipient’s email address and make sure it’s correct. Even a tiny misspelling can prevent the email from being sent properly—so it’s worth the check. If you’re positive that you used the correct email address but still got back a non-delivery receipt, there are a few possible reasons:

   • The address is invalid - You may have accidentally been given an address that doesn’t exist.
   • The recipient’s mailbox is full - If their mailbox’s storage is full, no new messages can get through until they make space.
   • The recipient’s server is down - Even if your server is working fine, a problem on the recipient’s end can prevent a message from going through.
   • The message was flagged as spam - Even if you haven’t been blocked personally, spam filters can sometimes flag messages anyway and block them (even when they aren’t actually spam).
3. 
   3
   Check your sending limit in Outlook. Outlook does, in fact, have sending limits for its users—but the maximum is very high at 5,000 daily recipients (with 500 maximum recipients per message). However, if your Outlook account is brand new, there’s actually a temporary sending limit; it’ll go up to the maximum limit once your account gains some credibility within Microsoft’s system.

   • If you hit the sending limit on the newer account, that might be the reason your email isn’t going through (in which case, you’ll have to wait for the next day to send it).
4. 
   4
   Remove your signature from the email (if you have one). Sometimes, signatures can cause glitches or errors that prevent messages from being sent properly. If you have a signature enabled for your account, try deleting it from the email and then re-sending it.
5. 
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   Have the recipient add you to their safe senders list. “Safe senders” are basically email accounts or domains that you can manually mark as “safe,” so Outlook doesn’t mark them as spam and send them to the junk folder. To do this:

   • Go to Settings → Mail → Junk email and scroll down to Safe senders and domains.
   • Click + Add safe sender.
   • Type in their email address or domain, then click OK → Save.
6. 
   6
   Add the recipient to your Outlook contacts. If you’re having trouble emailing someone who isn’t added to your Contacts yet, try adding them and then re-sending the message. Simply select People → New contact and enter their name and information into the fields provided. Then, click Save to finalize and add the contact!
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