Unblock a Sender in Outlook 2016 and Find Their Email

To unblock someone in Outlook 2016 for Windows, open Home > Junk > Junk E-mail Options, select the Blocked Senders tab, choose the sender’s address or domain, and click Remove. Click Apply and OK, then check your Junk Email folder for messages that arrived while the sender was blocked.

What You’ll Need

Outlook 2016 for Windows, open to the mail account where you want to change the setting.
The sender’s email address, or the domain shown after the @ symbol if an entire domain was blocked. If you do not know the exact entry, you can inspect the Blocked Senders list.
Access to the account’s settings. If the account is managed by an organization, some filtering may be controlled by an administrator rather than by Outlook on your computer.

These steps are for the classic Outlook 2016 desktop program, not Outlook on the web or the newer Outlook for Windows. The labels and menu layout can differ slightly depending on your ribbon arrangement and updates, but the Blocked Senders list is part of Outlook’s Junk E-mail Options.

Step-by-Step

Open the correct mailbox. Start Outlook 2016 and look at the folder pane to confirm that the account receiving the sender’s mail is the one you intend to change. If Outlook has several accounts, select the relevant account or one of its mail folders. This helps avoid changing a list associated with a different account or Outlook profile.
Open Junk E-mail Options. Select the Home tab. In the Delete area of the ribbon, open the Junk menu and choose Junk E-mail Options. If the ribbon is minimized or the window is narrow, expand the ribbon or widen the Outlook window so you can see the Junk menu. You can also right-click a message and open its Junk submenu, but the options dialog is the clearest route for reviewing the full list.
Go to the blocked list. In the Junk E-mail Options window, select the Blocked Senders tab. Outlook displays entries that its junk email filter treats as blocked. An entry may be a full address, such as person@example.com, or a domain, such as example.com. A domain entry can affect mail from multiple addresses at that domain, so read the entry carefully before removing it.
Find the entry for the sender. Look through the list for the sender’s complete email address. If you do not see it, check for the domain only if you are sure the domain entry is the one you want to change. Do not remove a similarly named address just because it looks close; small differences in spelling or in the domain can mean it belongs to someone else.
Remove the selected entry. Click the exact address or domain once so it is highlighted, then select Remove. If the list is long, scroll through it rather than selecting a nearby entry by mistake. Removing an address only changes the blocked-sender list; it does not delete messages already in Junk Email or automatically move old messages back to the Inbox.
Save the change. Select Apply, then OK to close the dialog and keep the change. If Apply is unavailable, the selection may not have been changed; check that the intended item was selected and removed. Close and reopen Junk E-mail Options if you want to confirm that the entry no longer appears in the Blocked Senders tab.
Check for existing messages. In the folder pane, open Junk Email and look for messages from the sender. If you find one that you want to keep, select it and use Home > Junk > Not Junk, or right-click the message and choose the equivalent Not Junk option. If Outlook asks whether to trust the sender, review the prompt before confirming. Move the message to the Inbox if it remains in Junk Email.
Test with a new message. Ask the sender to send a brief test email, or wait for their next expected message. Check the Inbox and Junk Email folders. If the new message still does not appear, continue to Troubleshooting below: the block may be in another filter, a rule may be moving the mail, or the sender’s service may not be delivering it.

Quick alternative for a message already in Outlook: Select the message, then use Home > Junk > Never Block Sender, or right-click it and choose Junk > Never Block Sender. This is convenient when you have a genuine message from the person. To exempt a whole domain, Outlook may offer Never Block Sender’s Domain; use that only if you want messages from every address at that domain treated as not blocked. The Blocked Senders tab remains the better choice when you want to see and remove a particular existing entry.

Common Mistakes

Removing the wrong entry. A sender may be blocked as a domain rather than as an individual address. Conversely, removing a domain can affect more senders than intended. Compare the entry with the sender’s actual address before clicking Remove.
Assuming unblocking restores old mail. Removing a block changes how Outlook handles future messages; it does not retrieve, restore, or relocate email already in Junk Email or Deleted Items. Search those folders and move any wanted messages yourself.
Looking only in the Blocked Senders tab. Outlook rules, a separate account’s junk settings, a webmail block list, or an organization’s mail filtering can also divert or reject email. The sender may not be in this particular list at all.
Trusting a sender without checking the message. A display name can be forged, and an email that appears to come from a familiar person may be malicious. Confirm the actual address and context before using Never Block Sender or opening links and attachments.
Closing the options window without saving. Use Apply and OK after making the change. Then verify the entry has disappeared if you are uncertain whether Outlook accepted the removal.

Tips

Copy the address from a reliable message. If you have a legitimate message from the sender, open it and inspect the actual email address rather than relying only on the display name. This reduces the chance of removing a look-alike entry or trusting a spoofed name.
Search Junk Email before concluding mail is missing. Use Outlook’s search box with the sender’s address or a distinctive subject. Search results can help locate messages in the current mailbox, but check the search scope if Outlook is searching only the selected folder.
Prefer a single address over a whole domain when possible. Blocking or allowing a domain affects multiple addresses. If only one person should be unblocked, remove their exact address and leave broader domain entries unchanged unless you know they are responsible for the filtering.
Keep the account type in mind. Outlook 2016 may connect to a Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, IMAP, or POP account. A setting changed in the desktop app may not be the only filtering layer, and web-based settings can be separate. Check the same mailbox through its official webmail service if desktop changes do not solve the issue.
On Outlook 2016 for Mac, expect a different route. The Windows ribbon path above does not apply to the Mac interface. Look for the Junk settings in Outlook’s preferences or menus; available options can depend on the Mac build and account type. The steps in this guide specifically describe Outlook 2016 for Windows.

Troubleshooting

The sender is not listed under Blocked Senders. First check whether a domain entry, rather than the complete address, is listed. If neither appears, inspect the Junk Email folder and your Inbox rules: select Home > Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts and review rules that move, delete, or redirect messages. Check any other Outlook account separately. If the mailbox is hosted by a workplace or school, ask the administrator whether a server-side block or quarantine policy is affecting the message.

The sender remains in Junk Email after removal. The message may have been classified as junk before you changed the list, or another filter may have moved it. Mark the specific message Not Junk and move it to the Inbox. Then check whether the sender is on the Safe Senders tab if you want to add an explicit trusted address. Safe Senders can help Outlook’s local junk filter, but it does not override every rule, server policy, or security control.

New messages still do not arrive. Confirm the sender is using the right address and ask them to check for a nondelivery report or bounce message. Look in Junk Email, Deleted Items, Archive, and any folders named in your rules. If you use webmail, compare its inbox and blocked-sender settings with Outlook’s. For a work account, check the quarantine or message-trace options available to you, or contact IT. A message that was rejected before reaching the mailbox cannot be recovered by removing an Outlook desktop entry.

The Junk menu or options dialog is missing. Make sure you are in the Mail view and have a message or mail folder selected, then select the Home tab. Expand the ribbon if it is collapsed. If the menus still differ, confirm that you are using Outlook 2016 classic for Windows rather than Outlook on the web or the newer Outlook app; those products have different settings interfaces.

You cannot change the setting. Close the options window and try again after confirming that Outlook is online and the correct profile is open. In a managed organization, policy may prevent changes or a server-side filtering rule may reapply them. Contact your administrator rather than repeatedly deleting the same entry. If the entry disappears but returns, another synchronized or centrally managed setting may be responsible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does removing a sender from Blocked Senders move their old email back to my Inbox?
No. It changes the block list for future filtering. Find existing messages in Junk Email or another folder and move wanted messages to the Inbox yourself.

Can I unblock someone from a message in Junk Email?
Yes. Select the message and choose Home > Junk > Not Junk. You can also use the message’s right-click Junk menu. This marks that message as not junk and may offer to trust the sender, but check the address before confirming.

What is the difference between removing an address and removing a domain?
An address entry applies to that particular email address. A domain entry can apply to many addresses sharing the same text after the @ symbol. Remove only the entry that matches your intended scope.

Will unblocking the sender guarantee their messages reach me?
No. Outlook rules, account-provider filters, spam controls, quarantine, delivery problems, and organization policies can still affect mail. Unblocking removes one possible cause; check the other filtering locations if messages remain missing.

Do I need to restart Outlook after unblocking someone?
Usually not. Apply the change and close the dialog; Outlook should use the updated list. If the setting does not appear to take effect, reopen the dialog to confirm the entry was removed, then restart Outlook and check for other filtering rules.

Can I undo the change?
You can add the address or domain to Blocked Senders again through Junk E-mail Options > Blocked Senders > Add. Enter the exact address or domain, then apply the change. Be cautious with domains because a domain-level block can affect multiple senders.

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