Windows Live Mail Inbox Disappeared? Follow These Steps

Expert tips to access your emails in a jiffy

4 min. read

Updated onAugust 19, 2024

updated onAugust 19, 2024

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While working with Windows Live Mail, users often face issues, and the problems became more frequent after it was discontinued, though you can stilluse Windows Live Mail. A common problem that seems to affect several users is when the Windows Live Mail inbox is missing.

This makes the situation complicated as you no longer have access to your Inbox emails while all other folders remain intact. Losing emails is one of the dreaded nightmares, so we have compiled a list of solutions that should work for you.

Why is Windows Live Mail not showing emails?

Here are a few reasons your Windows Live Mail emails are missing:

What can I do if Windows Live Mail inbox is missing?

Before we start with the complex changes, here are a few quick things you can try:

If none work, move to the solutions listed next.

1. Help IMAP client to configure itself

Users often describe how entering Inbox as the root folder path works. When prompted to refresh the folder list, it seems to update successfully. The so-called success is for a short while. Right-click your account and selectDownload all folders.

You’ll see once more that Inbox is nowhere to be found. Chances are your IMAP client is no longer able to configure itself accordingly. Explicitly naming the pathsINBOX.foldernamesolves the problem when Windows Live Mail is missing inbox.

2. Enable Compact View to restore Inbox

When theWindows Live Mailinbox is missing even after performing the procedure above, using the Compact View feature might help. This offers access to a list of allWindows Live Mailemail folders on your computer, so choose the missingInboxand restore it.

3. Use the import feature from the default directory

When Windows Live Mail inbox is missing, it’s likely that the folder is stored inAppDataand can always be imported to the email client. The process, though a bit complex, has worked for a lot of users.

4. Re-add the account

If the previous solutions didn’t work, re-adding the problematic email address should work when the Windows Live Mail inbox is missing.

Also, if you are looking for an alternative, check our curated list of thebest email clients for Windows.

Tell us which fix worked for you in the comments section below.

Windows Live Mail Inbox Disappeared? Follow These Steps#

Why is Windows Live Mail not showing emails?#

What can I do if Windows Live Mail inbox is missing?#

1. Help IMAP client to configure itself#

2. Enable Compact View to restore Inbox#

3. Use the import feature from the default directory#

4. Re-add the account#