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Sent emails showing in the Drafts folder but not in Sent

MARSHALL, Louise 0 Reputation points
2026-06-03T08:55:37.6633333+00:00

Hi, there is an issue whereby some emails stay in the Drafts folder even though they've been sent successfully. However on checking the Sent folder, they aren't showing meaning there isn't an audit trail for the emails.

This only happens intermittently and only when emails are being replied to.

Any ideas?

Many thanks

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For business
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  1. Rin-L 20,845 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-06-03T11:59:55.5966667+00:00

    Hi @MARSHALL, Louise,

    I am happy to look into this with you. To help narrow this down and better understand what’s happening in your case, I’d like to check a few details with you:

    • Is this happening on your primary mailbox, or are you working with a shared mailbox when the issue occurs?
    • Could you please try to reproduce the issue in Outlook on the web (browser) and see if the same behavior happens there? This will help determine whether it’s client-related.
    • Are you using any mailbox rules? If yes, could you check whether any of them involve the Drafts or Sent Items folders? A quick screenshot of your rules would be really helpful if possible.
    • Just to confirm, when you send a completely new email (not a reply), does it always appear correctly in the Sent Items folder?
    • Have you noticed if anyone else in your organization is experiencing the same issue?

    Whenever you have a moment, please feel free to reply with the details above by leaving a comment under this post. This is the best way for me to receive notifications and follow up with you promptly. Your answers will help me understand your situation more clearly and gather the right information to assist you more effectively.

    Thank you again for taking time and I am looking forward to your reply.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.  

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  2. AI answer

    2026-06-03T08:56:13.31+00:00

    The described behavior matches known issues where sent messages are incorrectly left in Drafts and do not appear in Sent Items. These issues are typically caused by client or server bugs rather than configuration.

    For Outlook/Exchange-based scenarios, Microsoft has addressed several draft/sent-item defects through updates and hotfixes. The recommended remediation is:

    1. Ensure Outlook and the underlying service (Exchange/Exchange Online or other mail backend) are fully updated.
    2. If the environment uses on-premises Exchange (2010/2013), verify that current cumulative updates or rollups are installed, as multiple fixes related to Drafts/Sent behavior have been shipped via rollups and cumulative updates.
    3. If the issue persists only for specific users or intermittently, collect examples (message IDs, timestamps, affected accounts) and open a support case so the appropriate hotfix or service-side fix can be applied. Microsoft explicitly recommends contacting Support when sent messages are misfiled in Drafts instead of Sent Items in Mac/Exchange-related scenarios, and the same approach applies when the behavior appears intermittently in other Outlook clients.

    Because the problem is intermittent and only on replies, it is unlikely to be a user setting (such as “Save copies of messages in the Sent Items folder”) and more likely a client/server defect that requires an update or support-provided fix.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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