Outlook Email Rules Not Working – Easy Steps

Summary: As we know, in this era, Microsoft Outlook is a well-known email service provider for businesses. Many times, the users may face problems like Outlook email rules not working or other issues while using Outlook and, it also affects a bad impact on user experience. Outlook rules are not supported for this account is one of the most common issues reported by Outlook users.

However, the rules play an important phase in automating the operation of Outlook because it provides step-by-step instructions on what to do with the emails of users. There could also be various reasons why the Outlook rules dont work correctly.

Although, you can easily resolve the issue by following some simple guidelines of this article. Further, I shared with you some reasons why Outlook filters not working or Outlook search not working ? I hope you will get all your queries answers in this blog.

Why Does Outlook Email Rules Not Working

The following reasons are listed below for why Outlook email rules not working:

• The rule function’s rule quota has been transcended (merge similar rules).
• The SRS file is renamed or reset by the users.
• There could be a corruption crisis when using an IMAP or POP3 account.
• The rules should be repealed.
• In Outlook, repair the data file.
• The rule function is disabled.

Manual Answers to Fix Outlook Email Rules Not Working

If the Outlook rules are permitted and do not refer to a deleted folder, this may indicate a problem with the rules or the send/receive settings file. So, in this case, further, some useful techniques are discussed. If your Shared mailbox not updating automatically you can also read this post.

You can try the listed solutions to determine the Outlook rules not working on existing emails problems.

• Way to Reset the SRS File
• Work on Space by Using Inbox Rules
• Way to Delete/Create Rules from the Scratch

Guide 1: Way to Reset the SRS File

If the SRS file is corrupted in Outlook, then it may occur an issue of Outlook email rules not working. To make the rules work properly, you can easily reset the SRS file by accomplishing the steps:

1. First, Navigate to C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook.
2. Now, rename the file Outlook.srs to Outlook.srs.old.
3. At last, restart Outlook, and the SRS file will be recreated.

Guide 2: Work on Space by Using Inbox Rules

In Exchange 2010 and 2007, the standard size for Outlook Inbox rules supports 64 KB, while in Exchange 2003 it is 32 KB. If the size of the formed rules exceeds the quota, you will be unable to create new rules and the current rules may also not function properly. Instead of this, you can also manually expand the size of this quota and the maximum limit is 256 KB. Always, keep in mind that the rules size limit in Exchange Server 2003 can be increased.

What to do if the quota size limit is already high?

If the quota limit exceeds 256 KB, you can simply reduce the space taken by the rules. The quantity of space used by Outlook rules is determined by factors such as the number of conditions shaped in a rule, the length of the rule’s name, and so on. However, you can reduce the amount of space occupied by the rules by following steps:

1. Getting rid of old rules that are no longer needed.
2. Shorten the names of the rules that include lengthy and complex names.
3. Combine identical rules.

Guide 3: Way to Delete/Create Rules from the Scratch

If none of the previously mentioned solutions work, it means that the rules have been impaired and you will need to delete and recreate them. You can accomplish it by following the listed steps:

1. Firstly, close Outlook and then go to the Start Menu.
2. Enter ‘exe/cleanrules‘ in the search box and wait for the system to find it.
3. When the system locates the command line, press Enter to delete all existing rules.
4. Next, the Rules Wizard assists you in creating the rules.

Note: If you can’t find Outlook.exe/cleanrules, you can delete it by following these steps also:

1. First, Hold down the Windows + R keys at the same time.
2. Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\outlook.exe., and then click on the OK button.

If only some of the rules are problematic, you can delete them individually rather than all of them. You can do it by following outlined steps:

1. First, Launch Outlook and Go to the File menu bar.
2. Press on Manage Rules and Alerts.
3. Now, open the box, and choose the rules to be deleted.
4. Finally, hit the Delete button.

Guide 4: Delete the OST File

1. Before proceeding, close the Outlook application and ensure no other programs related to Outlook are running in the background.
2. Press the Window + Q key, type the Control Panel in the search bar, and open the Control panel.
3. Here, go to User Accounts and click Mail.
4. Go to the Email Accounts, and then click on the Account Settings. Locate the Data Files tab.
5. Now, choose a problematic account and click on the Open File Location.
6. Close all other windows and minimize the Outlook folder window.
7. Furthermore, you can switch to the Outlook folder window and delete the OST file.
8. Finally, restart the Outlook and sync with the server, and check whether the Outlook rule not working is fixed.

Final Say

In the last, as we earlier told you, there are multiple techniques of Outlook email rules not working. To facilitate the situation of Outlook email forwarding not working, we have introduced manual procedures in this blog. First, we discussed the manual ways with their reasons. After that, we introduced other techniques also of “how to change rules in Outlook“. I hope your issue regarding how to reset Outlook email rules is fixed now.