Shared Calendars No Longer Visible
For years, I've shared Outlook calendars between my Outlook accounts and with my husband's, without any issues. However, since mid-June the shared calendars have disappeared for no apparent reason. The sharing permissions are still in place, but the calendars are no longer visible or available to add on Android, in the Outlook desktop app, or on Outlook on the web. I've spent hours Googling and tried all the usual troubleshooting steps, but nothing has worked! As a workaround, I now have to invite all @outlook.com accounts to calendar events just so everyone can see them and avoid double bookings. Has anyone come across this before and found a fix that isn't one of the standard "how-to" suggestions? Note: these are personal paid Microsoft accounts.
Search Folder Creation Issue
I've been using the new version of Outlook for around a year and a half without any issues. However, today I've noticed that I can no longer create Search Folders that filter emails by category. When I go through the process, I can name the Search Folder and choose the folder type without any problems. The issue occurs when I try to select the email categories. The category list appears, but clicking on a category doesn't actually select it. Because of this, I get the message "Select at least one category", even though I've clicked on one. This happens in both the desktop app and Outlook on the web, so it doesn't seem to be specific to my laptop. Is anyone else aware of this issue, and if so are there any workarounds?
Outlook on Windows 11: when local sync re‑contaminates global settings
Introduction I want to share a finding that I believe is concerning: the Outlook client on Windows 11 can act as a vector of “re‑contamination” of local data, reactivating settings that were already disabled in the cloud. While this is not malware in the strict sense, the behavior is contradictory enough that it undermines privacy and user trust. Context of the issue To avoid any doubt, I disabled the Expanded People Suggestions option in all three possible places: Outlook client on Windows 11. Outlook Web. Global Privacy settings in my Microsoft Account. In every case, the option was disabled and the exported configuration file appeared empty, confirming that the deletion had been applied correctly. Cross‑account contamination → when another account was added to the Outlook client, the contaminated suggestions were transferred and appeared in that account as well, even though those addresses had never been used there. Evidence observed Empty file in the cloud → confirms that the deletion was effective. Desktop client re‑sync → uploads obsolete local data and reactivates the option. Result → the global configuration once again shows suggestions that had already been disabled. Injected email addresses → the suggestions included addresses that I have never used or contacted. These appear to have been introduced by third parties or internal contamination, not by my own activity. Cross‑account contamination → when another account was added to the Outlook client, the contaminated suggestions were transferred and appeared there too. Implications The Outlook client does not respect privacy preferences set in the cloud. Local data takes precedence over global settings, which contradicts modern synchronization logic. The presence of never‑used, injected email addresses raises serious concerns about data integrity and possible external contamination. This may affect many users, not just an isolated case. Reflection This behavior creates the perception that the client acts like intrusive software: even if the user deletes data in the cloud, the client “resurrects” it from its local cache. In practical terms, it is a form of re‑contamination that compromises confidence in synchronization between client and server. The fact that injected addresses appear in suggestions makes the issue even more problematic, as it suggests external influence beyond the user’s own history. Conclusion The cloud should be the source of truth. If a user disables data in Outlook Web and in the global Microsoft Account settings, no local client should have the ability to reactivate it. This finding deserves attention because it directly affects privacy, data integrity, and the coherence of the Microsoft ecosystem. Invitation Has anyone else observed this behavior in Outlook for Windows 11? Have you seen deleted cloud settings reappear after reinstalling or re‑synchronizing the client, or injected email addresses that were never used showing up in suggestions?
Auto selecting first email not working
Within the past few days, something changed in Outlook web mail where it no longer automatically selects the first email in whatever folder I'm in, and instead forces me to select something manually. I've always just opened webmail and it defaults to the inbox and auto-selects the first email listed, and I have the reading pane set to show on bottom. Something changed in the past couple days to where that no longer works. No matter what folder I go to, nothing is selected, forcing me to manually select the first email in each folder. I looked through the entire settings area, and I don't see anything to adjust this. Searching online, I see options of "What do you want to happen when you open Outlook", but that may be part of the classic layout options because in the new UI, I don't see anywhere to adjust this. All I want is to have it go back to the previous behavior of auto-selecting the first email in the folder (inbox or any others) when I select the folder. How to I set it back to that behavior? Also to note - in Outlook desktop, it works like it always did (when I open the desktop client, it defaults to the inbox and has the first email auto-selected so I can view it in the pane below), so this appears to only be in webmail. I've tried re-sync, cleared browser cache, and even across multiple browsers, but they all do the same and won't auto-select the first message, so it appears to be some setting in O365 on the web/cloud side, I just can't figure out how to change it.
new mail-account automatically forwards external mails to internal address
Hi, last week I created a new mail-account to our outlook-users and added a mail-license. Only internal mails was received in the new inbox and after troubleshooting and using mail-trace I discovered that the mails was forwarded to another internal inbox. This is not something that is configured anywhere in the mentioned settings when trying to troubleshoot forwarding-issues. How do I turn this off, so that my new employee can receive external e-mails. We don't have any policies or rules set up, that should trigger this behavior. Regards Lars
Cannot reset account password
I created an email address for RSVP purposes. I do not remember the password, and cannot find what I wrote it down on, and have never sent an email from it so I cannot provide enough information to recover the account. I have phoned support and all the bot does is refer me to the website reset which does not work. How can I talk to a real person or recover this account?What is the best way to conduct surveys through Outlook?
We want our employees to receive regular employee engagement surveys through Outlook. What would be the best way to set up this automation? We would also like to build these surveys in a detailed manner with enps and rating questions, and would like to be able to analyze results in detail. Any recommendations?
You’ve tried to sign in too many attempts with incorrect password or account .
For 3 weeks now every time I try to sign in I get that message but account and password is correct, I have reached out to chat support every day for a fix have even done all trouble shooting steps multiple times a week. I recently got told that it is a known issue with the server and it is at Microsoft ends but there is no time line to fix it. It’s know become a joke that I’ve been locked out for 3 weeks with no help .
