Summary: A freelance designer is not receiving any project updates or invoices in the Hotmail account. After checking everything, she found that the Hotmail account not receiving emails. Now, to help such users, we have written this blog that will guide you through different methods to fix it. Also, for users who prefer taking a backup, we will introduce a professional Hotmail Backup Tool. Now, let’s head to the blog to explore various troubleshooting steps to resolve this issue. Without any delay, let’s begin.
Factors Causing Hotmail Address Not Receiving Emails
Not receiving emails in your Hotmail account can disrupt personal communication and business workflows, leading to missed opportunities and delays. Given below are the common factors that may have caused this issue:
- Hotmail Inbox Full – Incoming emails are rejected when your storage reaches its maximum capacity.
- Incorrect Mail Rules – Filters or rules may redirect, delete, or archive emails automatically.
- Forwarding Configuration – You might have accidentally enabled email forwarding, sending all mail to another address.
- Junk Email Handling – Overactive spam filters could be marking legitimate messages as junk.
- Configuration Errors – Outdated IMAP/POP configuration stops proper email delivery.
- Microsoft Outlook/Hotmail Server Outage – Microsoft’s mail servers may be down, delaying the delivery of messages.
- Account Security Restriction – Microsoft may limit emails if suspicious activity is detected.
Different Methods to Fix Hotmail Account Not Receiving Emails
Method 01: Clear Mailbox Storage
One of the most common reasons Hotmail doesn’t receive emails is due to a full mailbox. Delete the old and unnecessary emails, especially those with large attachments. After deleting them, also empty your “Deleted Items” and “Junk Email” folders.
Use the following steps to delete/clear Hotmail mailbox storage:
- Log in to your Hotmail account.
- Then, select the unnecessary emails with large attachments.
- After that, select those emails and delete them.
- Now, go to the Deleted Items folder and click on Empty Folder to delete/empty the folder completely.
- Similarly, go to the Junk Email folder, select the emails, and click on Empty Folder.
Method 02: Check and Verify Junk/Spam Folders
Is your Hotmail account not receiving emails with attachments? Emails from trusted senders mistakenly end up in the Junk or Spam folder due to filtering rules. To avoid missing important messages, regularly check your Junk Email folder for any legitimate emails that were incorrectly flagged.
These are the steps to begin reviewing the folders:
- First, log in to your Hotmail account and navigate to the Junk Email folder.
- Then, look through the messages to see if any emails were flagged as spam.
- Open the email you want to keep, or select multiple emails at once if needed.
- Next, click “Not Junk” or choose “Move to Inbox.”
- This will restore the message to your inbox.
Method 03: Review Email Filters and Rules
Email filters and rules in Hotmail help to organize the inbox. It automatically moves, categorizes, forwards, or deletes messages based on certain conditions. However, if Hotmail issues not receiving emails, then the rules are set incorrectly. They might send important emails to the wrong folder or even delete them.
Here’s a step-by-step process to check the filters and rules:
- Start by logging in with your Hotmail account.
- After that, head to Settings > Mail > Rules/Inbox Rules.
- Then, check and review all the active rules set for your emails.
- Now, identify rules that may be filtering the important email messages.
- Next, edit or delete those incorrect rules.
- Finally, save the changes and close the Settings tab.
Method 04: Automated Method to Fix Hotmail Account Not Receiving Emails
The Hotmail Backup Tool is a comprehensive utility built to simplify the process of backing up and migrating Hotmail data. You can save backup emails in formats like PDF, PST, etc, or directly migrate Hotmail Email to Office 365, Yahoo, and more. To maintain data accuracy, it offers a feature to remove duplicate mail items during migration. In addition to this, it even lets you exclude attachments if you only need the email data. Additionally, it allows saving attachments separately into a dedicated folder or even converting attachments into PDF format.
Simplified steps to:
- Start by downloading and launching the tool on your PC.
- Then, sign in with your Hotmail credentials and select the folders you wish to back up.
- Hit Next, choose a desired file format under the Save in File Format options.
- After that, apply any filters if necessary. Then, select a destination folder using the Save Path option.
- Click Download to start backing up your Hotmail emails.
Conclusion
By now, you should fully understand why Hotmail account not receiving emails and how to troubleshoot the issue. Quick fixes like refreshing your browser, verifying your network connection, reviewing filters, and clearing up mailbox storage often resolve the problem. However, manual methods aren’t always foolproof and may not completely fix the issue. Therefore, to safeguard your important emails and avoid losing data, use our powerful Hotmail Backup Tool. It ensures that your data remains secure no matter what.
You May Also Read: Backup Hotmail Emails to Hard Drive
Frequently Asked Questions
Q- Could email filters or rules be preventing emails from arriving?
Ans- Yes. Check your Hotmail settings for any active rules or filters that may redirect incoming messages to other folders or delete them automatically.
Q- How can I fix Hotmail not receiving emails?
Ans- Try the following steps: refresh your inbox or log out and back in, check filters, rules, and blocked senders, clear mailbox storage, and update your email client.