Email attachments disappear

Dana L 0 Reputation points
2026-02-05T18:48:43.2233333+00:00

I am using Office 365 Outlook. After replying to an email containing and attachment, the attachment disappears. I can see the email but the attachments are no longer there.

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For business

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  1. Kai-L 18,725 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-02-05T22:40:11.4766667+00:00

    Dear @Dana L,

    Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum.

    I understand you're experiencing an issue where attachments are missing after replying to an email in Outlook. As a forum moderator, I genuinely wish I could directly access your account or delve into the backend systems to fix this for you. However, our role here is limited to providing general guidance and solutions that can be applied by users.

    From my research, Microsoft Outlook is designed to strip attachments from "Reply" or "Reply All" emails to keep message threads from becoming excessively large. The idea is to prevent the same large file from being sent back and forth repeatedly, which could clutter both your inbox and the recipient's storage. When you choose Reply/Reply All, Outlook assumes that both you and the recipient already have the original file, and starts a "clean" message with just the text.

    If you have Group messages by Conversations enabled, your reply will be grouped with the original email. It may appear as though the attachments are missing from the conversation, but they are actually still attached to the original incoming message further down in the thread.

    If you want the attachment to stay visible or be sent back with your reply, here are a few methods you can use:

    1.Use "Forward" Instead of "Reply"

    If your goal is to send the file back with your comments, click Forward instead of Reply, and then type the recipient's name in the "To" field. This ensures that the attachments stay attached.

    2.Add Attachments to an Existing Reply

    If you’ve already started a reply and realize you need the original attachment:

    Open your reply in a separate window by clicking Open in new window in the top right of your email.

    Go back to the original email in your main Outlook window.

    Click and drag the attachment from the original email directly into your reply window.

    I hope this information helps clarify the situation and provides you with workable solutions. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments so I can continue to support you. We're always here to help. Have a wonderful day! 

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. 

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 

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  2. AI answer

    2026-02-05T18:48:51.52+00:00

    When using Office 365 Outlook, if attachments disappear after replying to an email, it could be due to a few reasons. One common issue is related to filters or view settings in Outlook that may hide attachments. If a filter has been applied to the folder where the email is stored, it might cause attachments to not display properly.

    To troubleshoot this issue, you can check the following:

    1. View Settings: Ensure that no filters are set that might be hiding attachments. You can do this by going to the View tab, selecting View Settings, and checking the filter options.
    2. Email Threading: Sometimes, when replying to emails, the original message and its attachments may not be included in the reply. Ensure that you are checking the original email thread to see if the attachments are still present there.
    3. Outlook Updates: Ensure that your Outlook application is up to date, as updates may fix bugs related to attachments.

    If the problem persists, consider reaching out to Microsoft support for further assistance.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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