Email saved as msg shows system characters

Eitan Caspi 6 Reputation points
2026-06-01T02:30:08.17+00:00

Hi,

I'm using the latest office 365 version - Microsoft® Outlook® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2605 Build 16.0.20026.20076) 64-bit. I use Outlook classic.

Recently it started to have a problem that when saving an email object or dragging it to be saved on the file system, as .msg file - some Hebrew characters are changed to HTML numeric character references and sometimes some words are duplicated.
These are emails that I created from scratch by me in outlook and I wrote the text, nothing pasted or added.

Sample:

Good:
מעולה, המון תודה רבה לכן/ם על אחלה של שירות!

Bad:
מעולהצ#1492;מון תודהצ#1512;בה לכןםעל אחלהצ#1513;לצ#1513;ירות/ם על אחלה של שירות!

Saving the object as html or mht - does not show this issue.

My default outlook encoding is utf8.

See attached images - to source that is OK and the saved msg which is damaged.

Sent Items - Outlook - good

Sent Items - Outlook - bad

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For education
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  1. AI answer

    2026-06-01T02:30:27.2233333+00:00

    The behavior matches a known issue in classic Outlook where accented and extended (non‑ASCII) characters are mishandled and converted to other symbols or sequences when messages are saved or processed. This is reported for Outlook for Microsoft 365 starting with recent builds and affects characters such as non‑Latin scripts and other extended symbols.

    To mitigate the problem until the fix in newer builds is installed, use one of these approaches:

    1. Use New Outlook or Outlook on the web (OWA) when composing and saving messages that contain Hebrew or other extended characters. These clients are listed as workarounds while the classic Outlook issue is being addressed.
    2. In classic Outlook, adjust the international/encoding options:
      1. Select File > Options > Advanced.
      2. Under International Options, clear Automatically select encoding for outgoing messages.
      3. Optionally, under Preferred encoding for outgoing messages, choose Unicode (UTF‑8) and test saving messages again.
    3. If it is necessary to continue using the previous behavior of classic Outlook and the above workarounds are not acceptable, revert Office to a prior version that does not exhibit the issue:
      1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
      2. Run the Click‑to‑Run rollback command provided in the article (for example, to revert to Version 2512 Build 19530.20184).
      3. Temporarily disable automatic updates in File > Office Account > Update Options > Disable Updates, and re‑enable them after the fix date mentioned in the article.

    The issue is marked as fixed in later builds (2601+ specific fixed builds are listed). Installing the Office build that includes the fix, once available in the update channel in use, is the long‑term resolution.

    References:

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

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  2. Eitan Caspi 6 Reputation points
    2026-06-01T02:33:27.1666667+00:00

    Regarding the AI suggested solutions:

    I cannot use suggested solution 1.

    I tried solution 2 and it didn't help.

    I don't wish to revert to older version as it will bring other issues.

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  3. Darren-Ng 12,765 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-06-01T03:56:39.4733333+00:00

    Dear @Eitan Caspi,

    Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

    Based on your description, when saving or dragging emails to the file system as .msg files in Outlook Classic (Microsoft 365), Hebrew characters are converted into HTML numeric references and some words are duplicated, while the original email and HTML/MHT exports display correctly. 

    Since the original message renders correctly and the issue only occurs in the .msg file, the problem is related to how Outlook serializes message content into the MSG format rather than your encoding settings.

    Currently, there is no confirmed permanent fix, but you can try some following suggestions:

    Check and enforce encoding settings

    Go to File > Options > Advanced Under International options: Uncheck Automatically select encoding for outgoing messages Set Preferred encoding to Unicode (UTF‑8) Restart Outlook and test again

    User's image

    (Note: This may not fully resolve the issue, but helps rule out misconfiguration)

    Test in a clean profile

    Create a new Outlook profile and reproduce the issue: Control panel > search Mail in search box > Click Show Profiles > Click Add… Enter a name for the new profile (e.g., TestProfile) > Click OK.

    User's image

    Then Enter your email address and follow the prompts to sign in > Complete the setup > Under When starting Microsoft Outlook, use this profile: Select Prompt for a profile to be used

    Open Outlook again > Choose the new profile you created

    This helps determine if the issue is profile-specific or a product bug.

    Please also try to check the issue in Outlook on the web and New Outlook, so I can better understand where the issue is coming from.

    Use alternative formats when possible

    If you need correct character preservation, save emails as .HTML or .MHT This is the most reliable workaround at the moment

    In case you have tried all the methods above, but the issue still persists. I recommend you should contact to Microsoft Support team. The Microsoft Online Support Team has higher permission than us moderators to remotely assist you and collect background logs for the root cause. This is a more efficient and direct way in recovering this scenario for you.

    If you are user, you can contact to your IT/administrator of your school. They can follow these steps as the link: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin to help you submit support ticket.

    And if you're unsure who your Global Admin is, this guide may help How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support   

    If you are an Admin, you can use this link to find the appropriate contact number: Global Customer Service phone numbers - Microsoft Support   

    Or you can raise support ticket: https://admin.microsoft.com/#/support/requests In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Support > Help & Support.

    Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.

    Note: Please understand that as forum moderator, my primary goal is to provide helpful guidance and support through general troubleshooting steps. While I don’t have access to internal systems or test devices required to resolve backend issues, I truly appreciate your understanding of these limitations. I genuinely hope the information I share helps guide you in the right direction, and I'm always here to assist as much as I can within my scope.   

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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