Outlook is constantly sending legitimate emails to the junk folder. These are usually from new senders, so I can't fix it by adding their addresses—I don't know who they are ahead of time. I have tried to create rules to move things out of the junk folder automatically, or prevent emails with attachments from going to that folder, but they have no effect.
I don't mind checking the junk folder, but the problem is the Microsoft deletes junk emails after 10 days. Can I either get rid of the junk email folder (I'm happy to sort the emails myself), or have this time extended? This unwanted, unnecessary feature causes many more problems than it solves.
April 10, 2025
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January 15, 2025
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Legitimate emails going to junk
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Hi ALMGS, Thanks for contacting us and sorry for the inconveniences, - To stop Outlook from deleting junk emails after 10 days, you can change the retention policy for the Junk Email folder. To do this, right-click on the Junk Email folder and select Properties. Then, go to the Policy tab and select a different option from the drop-down menu under Move items older than. You can choose to keep the items for a longer period, such as 30 days or 6 months, or never delete them. You can also choose to archive them instead of deleting them. Click OK to save the changes. - To prevent Outlook from sending legitimate emails to the junk folder, you can adjust the junk email filter level or add the senders to your safe senders list. To change the filter level, go to the Home tab and click Junk > Junk E-mail Options. Then, select a different option from the list under Choose the level of junk e-mail protection you want. You can choose No Automatic Filtering if you want to turn off the junk email filter completely, or Low if you want to filter only the most obvious junk emails. Click OK to save the changes. To add a sender to your safe senders list, open their email and click Junk > Never Block Sender or Never Block Sender's Domain. You can also go to Junk > Junk E-mail Options > Safe Senders and add their email address or domain manually. - To move emails out of the junk folder automatically, you can create a rule that applies to messages in that folder. To do this, right-click on the Junk Email folder and select Create Rule. Then, check the box next to In Folder and click Advanced Options. Next, select the conditions and actions that you want for your rule, such as moving the messages to a different folder or marking them as read. You can also add exceptions if you want to exclude certain messages from the rule. Click Next until you finish creating the rule and give it a name. Click OK to save the rule and run it on your existing messages in the Junk Email folder. I hope this helps! Regards, Sola
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Hi ALMGS, Thanks for contacting us and sorry for the inconveniences, - To stop Outlook from deleting junk emails after 10 days, you can change the retention policy for the Junk Email folder. To do this, right-click on the Junk Email folder and select Properties. Then, go to the Policy tab and select a different option from the drop-down menu under Move items older than. You can choose to keep the items for a longer period, such as 30 days or 6 months, or never delete them. You can also choose to archive them instead of deleting them. Click OK to save the changes. - To prevent Outlook from sending legitimate emails to the junk folder, you can adjust the junk email filter level or add the senders to your safe senders list. To change the filter level, go to the Home tab and click Junk > Junk E-mail Options. Then, select a different option from the list under Choose the level of junk e-mail protection you want. You can choose No Automatic Filtering if you want to turn off the junk email filter completely, or Low if you want to filter only the most obvious junk emails. Click OK to save the changes. To add a sender to your safe senders list, open their email and click Junk > Never Block Sender or Never Block Sender's Domain. You can also go to Junk > Junk E-mail Options > Safe Senders and add their email address or domain manually. - To move emails out of the junk folder automatically, you can create a rule that applies to messages in that folder. To do this, right-click on the Junk Email folder and select Create Rule. Then, check the box next to In Folder and click Advanced Options. Next, select the conditions and actions that you want for your rule, such as moving the messages to a different folder or marking them as read. You can also add exceptions if you want to exclude certain messages from the rule. Click Next until you finish creating the rule and give it a name. Click OK to save the rule and run it on your existing messages in the Junk Email folder. I hope this helps! Regards, Sola
The advice above doesn't work. I've repeatedly marked selected emails as "not junk", moved them to inbox, and added them to "safe senders". But no matter how many times I do that new emails from those senders continue to go to junk.
Additionally, many legitimate emails that used to go to "other" (as opposed to "focused") still go to junk.
I think this was the result of update or upgrade from MS that went bad, because it only started a few days ago (mid-Saturday 1/6/24).
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I have tried to add the email address to my contacts as well as to the junk folder tab as safe. It's still landing in my junk folder.
Its my own email campaign so it has my company domain and it still goes to junk. I am on Office 365 online.
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Thank you very much it helped =)
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Nah, it's been going on longer than that. I've had the exact same problem for years at this point, and it never gets fixed.
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Is there a Samsung Smartphone in this picture anywhere?
Broadcast Engineer/IT Pro
MVP-Outlook - WA7BGX
www.rolandschorr.com
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Nah, it's been going on longer than that. I've had the exact same problem for years at this point, and it never gets fixed.
Ok that does it. I'm switching to gmail.
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this is not related to my phone; the same things happen on my laptop; so it's coming from MS' servers, not localized.
I'll keep the account a while but in the meantime telling all my contacts to reach me via Gmail.
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Hey guys - same issue with me - we have a notify me box on our site and I need emails from those submissions to be pushed into our inbox. They just keep going to our Junk mail. I can't even add the emails to my safe sender list in the Junk mail settings. Any help will be appreciated?
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Hey guys - same issue with me - we have a notify me box on our site and I need emails from those submissions to be pushed into our inbox. They just keep going to our Junk mail. I can't even add the emails to my safe sender list in the Junk mail settings. Any help will be appreciated?
This is a lost cause. Outlook.com has gotten horribly messed up, and the usual settings advice does nothing to alleviate the situation. Reluctantly I've mostly switched to Gmail for almost everything.
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Last updated April 23, 2025 Views 13,380 Applies to: