Majority of emails sent to junk

Hi Warren Bright

I understand that most incoming messages in Outlook.com are being delivered to Junk, and that using “Not junk” plus changing your Junk options to avoid sending mail to Junk has not changed the behavior. Could you confirm:

• Are you using any other mail app/device signed into the same Outlook.com account (iOS Mail, Samsung Email, etc.)?
• Does this happen to all senders or mainly specific domains?

Please also follow these steps:

1) Confirm it’s Outlook.com filtering, not another app moving mail to Junk

• Sign in to Outlook.com on the web and confirm the same messages are arriving in Junk Email there.
• If you also use any non-Microsoft mail app, temporarily remove the Outlook.com account from that app and test again. Other email apps can mistakenly mark messages as junk and move them to the Junk Email folder, please use a Microsoft mail app to avoid that behavior.

2) Rebuild your allow-list in Outlook.com web settings

Even if you added “safe senders” elsewhere, make sure the allow-list is set in Outlook.com web:

• Go to Settings (gear) > Mail > Junk email.
• Under Safe senders and domains, add the key senders/domains (and mailing lists if applicable), then Save.
• In the same area, check Blocked senders and domains and remove any entries that match legitimate senders, since blocked entries are routed to Junk.

3) Check for Inbox rules that keep moving mail to Junk (or elsewhere)

Rules can continue to move messages even after you mark items “Not junk.”

• In Outlook.com, go to Settings > Mail > Rules.
• Disable or delete any rules that move messages (by sender/keyword) to Junk Email or another folder.

Please tell me how it goes. If the problem persists, please don’t hesitate to reply to this thread and I will be happy to help. Have a lovely day!  

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Perform the following checks and adjustments in Outlook.com and Outlook on the web to stop legitimate mail going to Junk:

1. Remove any incorrect blocked entries
   • Open Outlook.com.
   • Go to Settings > Mail > Junk email.
   • Under Blocked senders and domains, remove any senders or domains that should not be blocked.
2. Add trusted senders and domains to Safe Senders
   • In the same Junk email settings page, under Safe senders and domains, add the email addresses or domains that should always be delivered (for example, contoso.com or ******@contoso.com).
   • Select Save.
   • Messages from any email address or domain in this list are never sent to the Junk Email folder.
3. Check Safe Recipients and strict junk handling
   • In Options > Junk Email, under Safe Recipients List, add any distribution lists or group addresses that should always be allowed.
   • Make sure Treat all email as junk unless it comes from someone in my Safe Senders or Safe Recipients lists, or from senders in my organization is not enabled, unless that behavior is explicitly desired. If it is enabled, most messages from outside those lists will be treated as junk.
4. Review Inbox rules
   • In Outlook.com, go to Settings > Mail > Rules (or Inbox rules).
   • Check for any rules that move messages to Junk Email or Deleted Items based on sender or keywords and disable or delete them if they are misclassifying messages.
5. Mark messages as Not junk and adjust per-client filters
   • Open the Junk Email folder in Outlook.com.
   • Select messages that should not be junk and choose It’s not junk. This moves them back to the Inbox and helps improve filtering.
   • If using Outlook 2016 for Mac or another client, also mark those messages as Not Junk via Home > Junk > Not Junk so they are moved back to the Inbox.
6. Reset junk handling if behavior persists
   • In Outlook.com, temporarily set Incoming mail handling (under Junk email options) to a stricter setting, save, sign out, then sign back in and set it back to the desired level, then save again. Allow some hours for changes to take effect.

If, after these steps, most legitimate mail still goes to Junk, contact Outlook.com support so the mailbox-level filtering configuration can be checked server-side.

References:

• Mail goes to the Junk folder by mistake
• Block or allow (junk email settings)
• Options > Junk Email
• Outlook.com doesn't send any emails to junk folder - Microsoft Q&A
• Label a message as "junk" or "not junk"