New Outlook for Android does not show any emails

MW5679 20 Reputation points
2026-09-01T18:39:17.0066667+00:00

Hi,

I have recently upgraded my Android phone (everything worked on my old phone) and transferred everything over to my new phone (Galaxy S23). Unfortunately, Outlook will not display my any emails. It just says 'All done for the day'. However, if I search for emails it displays them. The counter for unread emails also increments correctly. Using the 'reset account' option does nothing usefull. Uninstalling Outlook and re-installing it makes no difference.

Does anyone have any suggestions?.

Outlook | Outlook for mobile | Outlook for Android | For home
Answer accepted by question author

AI answer

2026-09-01T18:39:37.4766667+00:00

Try these steps in order for Outlook for Android on the new Galaxy S23:

  1. Force close and reopen Outlook. If the app is showing incomplete or incorrect data, a full close and reopen is the first recommended refresh step.
  2. Reset the account again from inside Outlook. Go to Outlook > Settings > select the affected email account > Reset Account. Since this was already tried and did not help, continue to the next step.
  3. Delete the account from Outlook and add it back. Go to Settings > tap the affected account > Delete Account > Delete From This Device. Then add the account again in Outlook for Android.
  4. Check whether the account was added as Exchange and not IMAP. On Android, go to Settings > Accounts and tap the Outlook/Exchange account. Make sure it is an Exchange account. If it shows IMAP, calendar and contacts will not sync correctly, and the account may have been added incorrectly. Remove it and add it again.
  5. Check Android sync settings for the account. Go to Settings > Accounts > Exchange > tap the email account and make sure sync is enabled.
  6. If the phone is restricting Outlook in the background, remove that restriction. On Android 9, Outlook alerts and background activity can be blocked by battery restrictions. The documented path is: Outlook notification > View Settings > Manage Battery Usage > Outlook > Battery Usage or Use Details > disable Background Restriction / allow Background Activity. On newer Android devices, the menu names can vary, but the goal is to allow Outlook to run in the background.
  7. If Microsoft Authenticator or Company Portal is installed, open that app first, then open Outlook. Some Android devices can have Outlook add/sync issues when another Microsoft app is installed. Also disable power optimization for Authenticator or Company Portal so it can keep running in the background.
  8. If mail works on a computer or in Outlook on the web, the mailbox itself is likely fine and the issue is with the mobile app/device sync state. In that case, remove the mobile device partnership for the mailbox, restart the phone completely, and sync again. In Outlook.com / Outlook on the web / New Outlook, go to Settings > General > Mobile devices, select the device, delete the device partnership, select Save, power off the phone, restart it, and sync again.
  9. If the inbox is actually empty, Outlook’s widget/app can show All done for the day or a similar empty-state message even when mail exists in other folders. Open View Inbox or check other folders to confirm whether the issue is only with Inbox view.

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  1. Hendrix-V 18,510 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-02T06:45:56.66+00:00

    Hi MW5679,

    Thanks for providing those details. Since email search works and unread counts are updating correctly, the mailbox appears to be syncing, but Outlook may not be rendering the message list correctly on the new device.

    As an additional troubleshooting step that wasn't mentioned above, try checking whether Outlook is using a filtered or customized view:

    1. Open Outlook and tap the filter icon at the top of the message list.
    2. Ensure options such as Unread, Flagged, or other filters are turned off.
    3. From the account list, temporarily switch to another folder (such as Sent Items) and then back to Inbox.
    4. If Focused Inbox is enabled, toggle Focused Inbox off under Settings > Mail and check whether messages reappear.

    You may also want to compare the Inbox on Outlook for Android with Outlook on the web to confirm that messages are appearing in the expected folder and are not being automatically categorized into another view.

    Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

    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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