Troubleshoot missing or delayed Outlook email
Check the mailbox view and gather details for a delivery investigation.
Check whether the message is missing everywhere
Compare Outlook in the browser with the affected desktop or mobile application. Search by sender and a distinctive subject phrase, and inspect Junk Email and other folders. If the message exists in the browser but not one app, tell support which client differs.
Check the visible conditions
- Confirm that you are viewing the intended mailbox.
- Record any connection, offline, or storage warning.
- Check whether a known rule moved the message to another folder.
- Ask the sender whether they received a delivery-failure notice.
- Record one example with sender, recipient, and approximate time.
Do not disable organization-wide filtering or forwarding controls as a quick fix. An unexpected rule or forwarding destination should be reviewed, particularly if it may expose mail.
Provide delivery evidence
Send the message subject, sender and recipient addresses, timestamp with time zone, and a redacted failure notice. These details help an authorized administrator investigate delivery. Avoid forwarding unrelated confidential message contents.
Distinguish application and service problems
If several users or external senders are affected, say so and describe the common pattern. A client synchronization issue and a server-side delivery issue need different investigation. For Microsoft's current client guidance, see troubleshooting sending and receiving in Outlook.
Include this guide and what you tried in your ticket so we can pick up from there.
Contact support