How to Unblock an Email in Outlook (and Rescue Missed Mail)

Blocking a sender in Outlook is easy, sometimes too easy. One wrong click on a client's email, or blocking a whole domain to stop one annoying contact, and suddenly messages you need are disappearing. Unblocking takes a minute once you know where Outlook keeps its blocked list. Here's how to do it in every version, and how to rescue the emails that went missing while they were blocked.

What blocking does in Outlook

Microsoft explains that when you add an email address or domain to your blocked senders list, Outlook moves messages from that sender to the Junk Email folder. So emails from a blocked sender aren't bounced back; they're quietly filed as junk. That matters, because it means recent ones may still be sitting there.

Unblock a sender in new Outlook or Outlook on the web

1. Select Settings.
2. Go to Mail, then Junk email.
3. Under the blocked senders and domains list, find the address or domain.
4. Select the bin icon next to it to remove it, then select Save.

If you have more than one account in new Outlook, choose the right account first, because each has its own lists.

Unblock a sender in classic Outlook

1. On the Home tab, in the Delete group, select Block (sometimes labelled Junk).
2. Choose Junk E-mail Options.
3. Open the Blocked Senders tab.
4. Click the address or domain you want to unblock, then click Remove.
5. Click OK.

Rescue emails that went to junk

Now go and find what you missed. Open the Junk Email folder, select the message and choose Report, then Not junk, which moves it back to your inbox and helps Outlook learn. Act quickly: Microsoft says that in new Outlook, email is automatically removed from the Junk Email folder after 14 days and can't be recovered after that.

Unblock and make sure it doesn't happen again

Removing someone from the blocked list stops Outlook treating them as junk on purpose, but the junk filter might still catch them on its own. If the sender matters, add them to your safe senders list too, so their emails always reach your inbox. I've written a separate guide to whitelisting an email in Outlook that walks through it.

Quick guide to the two lists

List	What it does	Where to find it
Blocked senders	Sends their email to Junk	Settings, Mail, Junk email (or Junk E-mail Options in classic)
Safe senders	Keeps their email out of Junk	Same place, on the safe senders tab

Microsoft says you can have up to 10,000 addresses or domains across the blocked and safe senders lists, so there's plenty of room. If you're near that, block domains instead of individual addresses.

Blocked a whole domain by mistake?

This is a common one. If you blocked something like an entire company domain to stop marketing emails, every person at that company is blocked too, including your actual contact there. Check the list for entries that start with @ or are just a domain name, and remove them. Then block the specific marketing address instead, if you still want to.

Using Gmail, Yahoo or iCloud in Outlook?

Here's the catch many people hit. Microsoft says new Outlook doesn't support blocking senders for third-party accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud, and you need to manage blocking through those providers. So if you added a Gmail account to Outlook and someone seems blocked, check the blocked list in Gmail itself, not just in Outlook.

Work accounts

On a work account, your organisation may filter email before it reaches you, so a message can be held up even when your own lists look clean. Microsoft also notes that on Exchange accounts, people in your organisation's address book are automatically considered safe and can't be blocked. If a colleague's emails are missing, it's a job for IT rather than your junk settings.

Still not getting their emails?

• Search your whole mailbox for their address; a rule might be filing their emails into a folder.
• Check you unblocked the exact address they're using.
• Ask them to send a test and watch Junk as well as your inbox.
• Add them to safe senders so the filter leaves them alone.

If you send email to clients yourself and worry about landing in their junk folder, my welcome sequence swipe file helps new subscribers recognise you, and my roundup of AI email marketing tools covers platforms that handle deliverability for you.

My verdict

Settings, Mail, Junk email and remove the address in new Outlook, or Junk E-mail Options and the Blocked Senders tab in classic Outlook. Then rescue anything in Junk within 14 days and add the sender to safe senders. If they use a Gmail or iCloud account added to Outlook, check the block there instead.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the blocked senders list in Outlook?

In new Outlook and Outlook on the web, it's under Settings, Mail, Junk email. In classic Outlook, it's in Junk E-mail Options on the Blocked Senders tab.

What happens to emails from a blocked sender in Outlook?

Outlook moves them to the Junk Email folder rather than your inbox.

Can I get back emails that went to junk while someone was blocked?

Yes, if they're still there. In new Outlook, junk email is removed after 14 days and can't be recovered after that.

Why can't I block or unblock a Gmail sender in new Outlook?

Microsoft says new Outlook doesn't support blocking for third-party accounts like Gmail. Manage it in Gmail itself.

How many addresses can I block in Outlook?

Up to 10,000 addresses or domains across the blocked senders and safe senders lists.