How to Fix Outlook Not Receiving Emails [2023 Updated]

Jason

By Jason

Update on

outlook not receiving emails

Are you struggling with Outlook not receiving emails? Discover the ins and outs of troubleshooting the issue and restoring your email flow with this comprehensive guide.

Introduction

Emails might be seen as a thing of the past, but they still have their place in communications. For students and teachers, it’s an easy way to discuss assignments and other school-related matters.

Business executives can use emails to arrange meetings and clear up anything that isn’t important enough for a meeting. Sure, some people are moving from emailing to using apps like WhatsApp, but this isn’t always appropriate.

Outlook is one of the top email providers for personal and business use, and in recent years, there has been a rise in complaints about Outlook not receiving emails.

Troubleshooting this issue to find out what causes it can be a long and tedious task, so we’ve taken care of it for you.

Below are some of the best ways we discovered to fix various versions of Outlook whenever your inbox isn’t receiving emails.

First Thing to Do to Fix Outlook Not Receiving Emails

Regardless of your Outlook version, you should check the Outlook status page. Every so often, this service experiences server problems, which, as a result, leads to Outlook not receiving emails.

If there’s a fault shown on this page, you can take a breath – it’s a problem on Microsoft’s end, not yours! Just be patient and check every so often to see if the service is online again.

Things to Check on Outlook 2010 to 2019

This first section will focus on Outlook 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019. If you are using a Windows computer, these are the solutions.

Besides, for people facing issues with Outlook loading profiles stuck, here are the top solutions for you.

1. Look in Other Email Folders

This first thing is obvious – check all your email folders, not just your inbox. Whenever you receive a new email, your service will put it through a spam filter before it’s sent to your inbox. If there are any indications of the email being spam, it’ll be put in the “Junk” folder.

Usually, this only applies to emails from email addresses that you haven’t received any emails from before.

However, a legitimate email could get caught in the filter every so often. If ‘Outlook not receiving emails,’ this is a strong possibility.

2. Check Your Internet Connection to Fix Outlook Not Receiving Emails

Depending on where you are trying to view your emails from, the network connection could occur by why you aren’t able to receive emails. If you are certain that you have an active connection, use the steps below to ensure that Outlook is online.

  • #1 – Open the Outlook program and glance at the bottom-right of the screen.
  • #2 – If you see “Working Offline,” “Trying to Connect,” or something similar, you have a connection problem.
  • #3 – Select the “Send/Receive” option and the below preferences from the ribbon menu, and click on “Work Offline” to toggle the setting.
  • #4 – Within the next few seconds, you should see “Connected to Server” or a similar message at the bottom-right of your monitor.
  • #5 – Next, press “Send/Receive All Folders.” Now check your inbox and see if you have the missing emails.

Outlook’s “Work Offline” feature is useful for several reasons. Since the Outlook client downloads emails, you can view everything you’ve received up until you enable the offline mode. If you forget to disable this, it’ll cause Outlook not to receive emails.

3. Add a New Outlook Profile

Create a new outlook profile to repair Outlook Not Receiving Emails

There’s also the possibility that your Outlook profile has somehow become corrupt. If this happens, there can be errors that affect the functionality of your emails. Creating a new Outlook profile is very simple:

  • #1 – On the Outlook program, click on “File > Account Settings > Manage Profiles.”
  • #2 – Next, go ahead and click “Show Profiles” and press the “Add” button.
  • #3 – Enter a profile name, and once you press “Ok,” enter your email account details.
  • #4 – Restart Outlook, and once more, click the “File” menu and go to “Account Settings > Change Profile.”
  • #5 – Outlook will restart again, but this time, it will ask you to select a profile. Choose your new profile, and Outlook will then set it up for you to access.

This doesn’t mean you’ll be using a different email address. You’ll simply create a new profile within the Outlook program, resetting your preferences and clearing any errors.

Doing this when Outlook does not receive emails will not delete any of the emails on your account. Your emails will download again after you create the new profile!

Also, let’s discover how to set out of the office in Teams with our comprehensive guide, including tips and FAQs to ensure your time away from the office goes smoothly.

Things to Check on Outlook 2011 and 2016 for Mac

Mac users can try a couple of other methods to fix Outlook not receiving emails. Try the two guides below if this is a problem you are encountering on your Mac computer.

1. Enable SMTP Authentication

When you sign in to an email account, your details have to be authenticated before you can view your emails. If there is an authentication problem, this will prevent you from seeing new emails.

  • #1 – On the Outlook program, head to “Tools > Accounts,” and choose your account.
  • #2 – Next, below the “Outgoing Server” heading, select “More Options.”
  • #3 – A list of authentication options will appear; select SMTP and enter your account details when prompted.

After following these steps, the mail client will re-establish your connection with the servers. Wait a few moments to find out if this resolves your problem.

2. Check Your Internet Connection to Fix Outlook Not Receiving Emails

Just like Windows users, you should check your network connection if you’re on a Mac computer. If there is a connection issue, this will prevent you from receiving new emails.

  • Disconnect from the Wi-Fi and reconnect.
  • Check if you have “Work Offline” enabled.
  • Connect to a different Wi-Fi network.

Try each of these possible fixes; if the issue is network-related, one will do the trick.

Fix Outlook Not Receiving Emails Online

In this final section, we will look at Outlook’s online platform. Many people prefer accessing their email accounts through a web browser; if you fall into this category, try this last set of solutions.

1. Clear Out Your Inbox

Clear Inbox to fix Outlook Not Receiving Emails

Like all free email services, Outlook has a storage limit. For that reason, to avoid Outlook not receiving emails, you need to maintain a tidy inbox.

There are a few ways of managing your email storage:

  • Right-click on your “Junk Mail” folder and press “Empty.”
  • Delete emails that you don’t need from your inbox folder.
  • Organize your emails weekly to avoid a backlog.

If the issue is storage, then this will fix the problem immediately.

2. Check if Forwarding is Enabled

Email forwarding is a feature that allows users to send emails to another account. If you enable this, the emails you receive will be sent to a different email account instead.

  • #1 – Sign in to your Outlook account and go to the “Settings” menu.
  • #2 – Click on “View All Outlook Settings” and select “Mail” from the left menu.
  • #3 – Click the “Forwarding” option and then on “Stop Forwarding.” Press the save button to confirm this setting change.

As useful as email forwarding can be, if you forget to disable it, you won’t receive any new emails.

3. Check Account’s Email Rules

Finally, if you’ve set up any email rules on your account, these could divert your new emails elsewhere. Perhaps you have a rule which automatically deletes emails from a specific address, or maybe a rule which organizes emails into appropriate folders.

  • #1 – Go to Outlook.com and press the “Settings” button, then on “View Full Settings.”
  • #2 – Select the “Mail” option and from the panel on the right, click on “Rules.”
  • #3 – This will list all the rules you’ve set up on your account. Remove any which might affect which emails are shown in your inbox.
  • #4 – After making any changes, click “Save” or delete a rule; simply click on it and press “Delete.”

Rules are certainly one of the most useful tools for managing your email folders. This aspect of automation makes it easier to have a clean inbox; however, if you aren’t receiving emails, rules could be a problematic factor.

FAQs

1. Why is Outlook not receiving my emails?

Outlook may not receive emails due to various reasons, such as incorrect account settings, poor internet connection, antivirus or firewall blocking, corrupted data files, conflicting add-ins, or misconfigured rules and filters.

2. How can I fix Outlook not receiving emails on my iPhone?

To fix Outlook not receiving emails on an iPhone, you can try troubleshooting steps such as checking internet connection, verifying account settings, disabling antivirus or firewall, clearing the Outbox, repairing data files, disabling add-ins, updating Outlook, and reviewing rules and filters.

3. Will repairing Outlook data files delete my emails?

No, repairing Outlook data files should not delete your emails. The repair process aims to fix any corruption in the data files while preserving your existing emails and other mailbox items.

4. Can outdated Outlook versions cause email reception issues?

Yes, outdated versions of Outlook may have compatibility issues that can affect the reception of emails. It’s recommended to keep Outlook updated to the latest version to avoid such problems.

5. Why should I contact my email service provider if Outlook is not receiving emails?

Contacting your email service provider is necessary if the issue persists after trying the troubleshooting steps. They can investigate the problem on their servers and help you resolve it.

To Conclude

Accessing an important email and not being able to view it is nearly infuriating. By following each of the solutions above until you find one that works, you’ll quickly fix Outlook not receiving emails.

If all else fails, consider using your smartphone to access your email account. This is just a temporary measure but will hopefully let you receive new emails while you figure out why you can’t receive them on Outlook.

Jason
Jason

Skilled software testing specialist with expertise in comparisons and research, passionate about blogging, reviews, and creating video tutorials.

THERE’S MORE TO READ.