Send & Receive Issues

Fix: Released Email from Microsoft 365 Quarantine Not in Inbox

Algirdas Jasaitis Oct 1, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user released an email from the Microsoft 365 quarantine, but the message is missing and has not appeared in their primary inbox.

How to Find a Released Email from Microsoft 365 Quarantine Not Appearing in Inbox

Product: Microsoft 365
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Attempting to retrieve a legitimate email that was previously intercepted and quarantined by Microsoft 365 security filters.
Observed behavior: The released email does not arrive in the inbox; it may have been routed to a secondary folder like Junk/Spam, or blocked by backend server issues.

Before you start

Ensure you have waited at least 5 to 10 minutes after releasing the email, as server processing times and network delays can occasionally slow down delivery.

Solution 1Recommended

Search Alternate Mailbox Folders

Use this solution to locate the released email if local email client rules or secondary spam filters have redirected it away from your primary inbox.

Even after being released from the Microsoft 365 quarantine, an email can still be caught by personal Outlook settings, custom inbox rules, or local Junk Email filters.

Check the Junk Email folder

Open Outlook or Outlook on the web. In the left-hand navigation pane, click on the 'Junk Email' or 'Spam' folder and search for the sender's address.

Review the Deleted Items folder

Click on the 'Deleted Items' folder to ensure the message wasn't accidentally deleted by an automated rule upon delivery.

Search all mailbox items

Click the search bar at the top of Outlook, select 'All Mailboxes' or 'Current Mailbox' from the dropdown, and type the subject line or sender address to locate the missing email.

Check Custom Rules: Navigate to File > Manage Rules & Alerts in Outlook to see if any custom rules might be automatically moving emails from this specific sender into a subfolder.

Solution 2

Contact Your Microsoft 365 Administrator

If the email is still missing after checking all folders, backend logs must be reviewed by an administrator to trace the message.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it usually take for a quarantined email to arrive after being released?

In most cases, a released email should arrive in your mailbox within a few minutes. However, depending on server loads and Microsoft 365 routing conditions, it can occasionally take up to an hour.

Can I perform a message trace on my own missing email?

No, standard users do not have the required permissions to run a full backend message trace. You must ask your organization's Microsoft 365 Global Administrator or Exchange Administrator to perform this action.

Why would an email I specifically released go straight to the Junk folder?

While releasing the email clears it from the server's quarantine, your personal Outlook Junk Email settings or local anti-spam integrations may independently classify the sender as spam. Adding the sender to your 'Safe Senders' list in Outlook can prevent this.

Outlook & Email Problems