How to get help from outlook.com customer service

How do people feel about their calls to Microsoft support?

There seems to be a variety of opinions about the effectiveness of Microsoft technical support. In many cases, it seems that tech support reps are pretty good at troubleshooting and technical issues. Where they sometimes fail at work is when they are faced with issues with subscriptions, billing, and proper responses to complex customer issues.

Some customers report that Microsoft simply ignores their cases, which can be incredibly frustrating. Third-party consumer advocates have reported that even their efforts have failed when trying to deal with a serious violation of customer service etiquette by Microsoft technical support.

What kind of problems can Microsoft technical support solve?

Microsoft technical support can help with most consumer problems, including answering questions about configuring products and services, updating products and services, and their correct operation.

In addition, technical support can run diagnostics on systems and software and inform consumers if they will need to return an item or send it to an authorized repair center.

Microsoft Customer Service can also help with issues related to purchasing products and services, including subscriptions to Microsoft software products.

Problem solving

This section provides troubleshooting information for senders who are having trouble communicating with Outlook.com users via email. If you are an Outlook.com user seeking assistance with your account, please visit our end user support page.

If you're having trouble sending email to Outlook.com, first make sure you've met all the requirements found on our Policies and Guidelines page.

Common problems

Are you managing your IP and domain sending reputation?

Microsoft Smart Screen technology is designed to provide anti-spam filtering innovations for Outlook.com, as well as other Microsoft products such as Exchange Server, Microsoft Office Outlook, and Windows Live Mail. We also leverage SPF, a mail authentication technology protocol email that helps address the problem of spoofing and phishing by verifying that the domain sending the email is authorized to do so. SmartScreen® email filters are influenced by a number of factors related to sending IP, domain, authentication, list accuracy, complaint rates, content, and more. Of these, one of the main factors that reduce a sender's reputation and deliverability is their spam complaint rate.

Are you sending emails from new IP addresses?

IP addresses that have not previously been used to send email generally do not have a built-up reputation in our systems. As a result, emails from new IP addresses are more likely to experience delivery problems. Once the IP has built a reputation for not spamming, Outlook.com will generally allow for a better email delivery experience.

New IP addresses that are added for domains that authenticate with existing SPF records typically experience the additional benefit of inheriting part of the domain's sending reputation. If the domain has a good reputation for sending new IP addresses, you may experience a faster ramp-up time. A new IP can be expected to be fully ramped up in a couple of weeks or sooner, depending on volume, listing accuracy, and as long as spam complaint rates are kept to a minimum.

Note: Don't forget to update your Junk Email Reporting Program (JMRP) account with the new IP addresses. To update or set up a JMRP account, click here.