Microsoft Outlook is one of the best email clients with many features for a seamless email exchange. Many Outlook users sometimes encounter one of the chief account issues - an empty inbox! If you are one of them, you may repeatedly restart Outlook, hoping to see at least one work-related email on your account.

However, all you see is an empty inbox staring back at you. Don't worry anymore, as we will explore the reasons and solutions to fix the "emails are not showing in Outlook inbox" issue! Read this blog till the end to know everything!

Why Outlook Doesn't Show Emails in Inbox

There are many reasons for Outlook not displaying your emails in the inbox, some of which are:

1. Internet Connectivity Issues - The first reason for this issue is slow or broken internet connectivity. If your system’s internet connection is slow or unconnectable, you won’t be able to receive and see emails.
   
   
2. Over-sized PST File - An oversized PST file can’t store new emails, leading to this issue. In short, the lack of space for new emails in the PST file won’t display them to you.
   
   
3. Emails Not Synchronized - Another reason for the "emails are not showing in Outlook inbox" issue is that your emails are not synced with the server and can’t get displayed in the inbox.
   
   
4. Corrupt or Damaged PST File - Outlook files can get corrupted or damaged for various reasons like sudden power failure, virus infection, and improper system/Outlook shutdown, ultimately stopping new emails from displaying in your inbox.
   
   
5. Emails Moving to Junk Email Folder - Outlook moves incoming emails to the Junk Emails folder due to its spam-filtering features. Without your knowledge, Outlook sometimes puts your work emails in that folder, thinking that those emails are a waste for you.

These reasons show the importance of rectifying this issue as quickly as possible. We will now discuss the solutions for this issue, so keep reading!

“Emails are not showing in Outlook inbox” Issue - Resolved!

We will now discuss a few solutions to resolve this issue and ensure a smooth workflow on Outlook.

Solution 1: Check the Internet Connection

The first solution to fix this issue is, you guessed it right, checking the internet connection. You should ensure a stable, uninterrupted, and secure internet connection to work effortlessly on Outlook and talk to your internet provider if you face any connectivity issues.

Solution 2: Check the Deleted Items Folder

Another method to resolve this issue is to check the Deleted Items folder. If you have unintentionally removed your emails, don't fret! They get safely stored in this folder for a month, after which they get deleted for good from the server. 

The following points describe the steps to recover deleted emails and resolve the "emails are not showing in Outlook inbox" issue:

1. Open the Outlook application on your computer and go to the Deleted Items folder.
2. Select the emails individually or by clicking Control + A keys.
3. Click Move and select the destination.
4. Your emails get moved to your chosen destination.
5. If your deleted emails are in a folder, the folder gets displayed as a sub-folder in the Deleted Items folder. 
6. Select the folder and click Move to move it to the Inbox, again as a sub-folder.

If your profile has a Trash folder instead of the Deleted Items folder, the steps remain the same for restoring your emails.

Solution 3: Check other Outlook Folders

Now you have checked the Deleted Items folder but can’t find the emails there, so look at the other folders in Outlook, mainly Junk Email, Other and Archive, respectively.

Steps to Find Emails in Junk Email Folder

As we discussed above, Outlook puts your work emails in that folder, thinking that those emails are a waste for you. But sometimes, human error also moves the emails from the Inbox to the Junk folder. Don’t worry! You can recover the emails from the Junk folder and resolve the"emails are not showing in Outlook inbox" issue by following these steps:

1. Open Outlook and go to the Junk Email folder in the Folders pane.
2. Select the emails individually or by using Control + A keys.
3. Right-click and select Move from the menu. Now select Inbox or create a new folder from the dropdown menu.
4. A pop-up shows up, prompting you to avoid future emails from the selected email addresses marked as Spam. Click OK to prevent auto-spam marking of your crucial emails.

Steps to Find Emails in the Other Tab

If you have turned on Focused Inbox for your Outlook inbox, the emails might be in the Other tab. The Focused Inbox feature splits your inbox into two: Focused and Other. Your crucial emails stay on the Focused window, while the others remain in the Others one.

Here are the steps to find emails in the Other tab:

1. Open Outlook and go to the Other tab (if you have selected the Focused Inbox feature).
2. Select the emails important to you, right-click and select Move to Focused Inbox under the Move option.
3. Your emails get moved to the Focused tab.

Solution 4: Repair Corrupted PST Data File

If you can’t still see the emails after using the solutions mentioned above, then it means that your PST data file gets corrupted. To fix the “emails are not showing in Outlook inbox” issue, you must repair the corrupted PST file. And we will discuss two solutions for the same: Microsoft’s Inbox Repair Tool and professional software.

Also Read: Download all attachments from Outlook

Inbox Repair Tool

The Inbox Repair Tool by Microsoft manually repairs the corrupted PST files. It can also rectify the OST data files, has the extension scanpst.exe, and comes pre-packaged with Outlook in the Microsoft Office app bundle. This tool fixes errors in corrupted and damaged data files.

The following points describe the steps for repairing the data file:

1. Go to the Office installation folder in your system (C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficerootOffice) [Office version may differ] and locate the scanpst.exe file.
2. Open the tool, click Browse to add the corrupted file for repair, and click Start to start the file scanning.
3. If you discover errors during the scanning process, click on Repair to repair those errors.
4. Once done, transfer the repaired file to your Outlook profile.

This inbox repair tool is very good at repairing files. Unfortunately, it has drawbacks that discourage many Outlook users from using it, one of them being it can only fix minor PST file corruption.

Automated Tool

Since the Inbox Repair Tool can repair only minor data file corruption, the best way to fix the "emails are not showing in Outlook inbox" issue is by using a professionally reliable automated tool like the SysTools PST Repair Tool. It has a simple interface, and non-technical users can use it easily.

Software Features

1. Repair any level of corruption in the PST file.
2. Export the repaired files to PST, PDF, EML, Office 365 and other formats.
3. Restore the lost or deleted data items.
4. Restore the PST file data in Office 365.

Here’s how to use the tool:

1. Install the tool and use the Add File option to add the corrupted PST file after the installation.
2. There are two scan modes in this tool: Quick and Advance. The Quick mode helps in faster recovery of the files, while the Advance mode gets used when you have to repair a heavily corrupted PST file. 
3. Choose the scan mode according to your choice, and click Add to begin scanning the file. 
4. Click Export or Export Selected to export the entire or selective data, respectively.
5. In the Export Options window, select the export format and the destination for saving the exported data. In this case, choose PST as the export format.
6. Click Browse to select the destination for the repaired PST file. Now start the export process by clicking on Export. The export process will take a few minutes. Once the PST file gets repaired, you can check it in the destination folder.
7. The last step is to open or import it into Outlook.

Conclusion

The “emails are not showing in Outlook inbox” issue happens because of many reasons like over-sized PST file, slow or broken internet connectivity and corrupt/damaged PST file, hampering users’ productivity. We discussed many solutions for fixing this issue, from ensuring a stable, uninterrupted, and secure internet connection to repairing the corrupted PST files, and all the mentioned solutions are perfect for this task.