Softpedia
 

NEWS CATEGORIES:



NEWS ARCHIVE >>
SOFTPEDIA REVIEWS >>
MEET THE EDITORS >>
Home > News > Microsoft > Windows Live

January 3rd, 2011, 14:31 GMT · By

Windows Live Hotmail Emails Go Missing

SHARE:

Adjust text size:


Windows Live Hotmail
Enlarge picture
The end of 2010 and the start of 2011 brought with it a nasty surprise for some Windows Live Hotmail users that found their inboxes blank.

A number of people owning Hotmail accounts started complaining about their messages and customizations having gone missing just a few days ahead of the end of 2010.

Microsoft confirmed the issues at the debut of 2011, and noted that it was hard at work attempting to restore inboxes to affected users.

However, the software giant did not reveal just how widespread the problem was, or the number of accounts that were affected.

Considering the volume of feedback related to Hotmail inbox content being deleted, the problem is bound to have affected only a limited number of users, although, it’s impossible to say just how many.

“We have identified the source of the issue and are working to restore email access to those who have been affected.

“We expect the process to take several hours and will post an update as soon as it is complete. We sincerely apologize and thank you for your… continued patience,” revealed Windows Live Corporate Vice President Chris Jones (via LiveSide).

PCMag quoted one user claiming that Hotmail delivered the experience for a newly created email when signing into an account dating back to the past century, with all the email, custom folders, etc. having been removed without warning.

Obviously, this is more the case of a bug than a premeditated act from the software giant, which as a general rule, doesn’t “clean” users’ inboxes uninvited.

No additional details on the issue are available at this point in time, but some users started reporting that they had gotten their emails restored.

Microsoft has yet to provide an official statement or explanation for what has happened to Windows Live Hotmail inboxes.

UPDATE: Emails Restored to 17,355 Windows Live Hotmail Empty Inboxes

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:

4,954 hits · 4 comments · Link to this article · Print article · Send to friend · Subscribe to news

MUST-READ RELATED ARTICLES:


Boost Your Hotmail Security with HTTPS Data Encryption

Windows Live Hotmail Evolution: Interactive and Dynamic Email with Active Views

Office Web Apps Now Available in 26 Countries

Free Microsoft MMORPG: Neosaurs

December Office 2007 Update Riddled with Problems

READER COMMENTS:


Comment #1 by: Alicia on 03 Jan 2011, 16:24 UTC reply to this comment

So I was one of the people effected, all my sent to, inbox, folders of saved emails, were gone! Only one new email was there welcoming me to windows live hotmail as if I had JUST opened the account. Although I go to account settings and it says it was opened back in 2003....so I really hope we do get all our emails back and restored to our acct. I mean saved passwords and important account information was in there, not to mention family pictures....ughhh....any word on progress? Has anyone gotten it back? Is there anything I need to do?

Comment #1.1 by: Marius Oiaga on 04 Jan 2011, 09:37 GMT

Microsoft says the issue was fixed - http://news.softpedia.com/news/Emails-Restored-to-17-355-Windows-Live-Hotmail-Empty-Inboxes-175902.shtml


Comment #2 by: TOMxEU on 03 Jan 2011, 17:34 UTC reply to this comment

I stopped using Hotmail, because it blocked some emails from various forums and webpages without reason. They were not in junk, nor there was any explanation. I found it out too late, so I missed many important emails, but I am glad, I moved to 100% working Gmail. :)


Comment #3 by: sadia on 11 Jan 2011, 13:40 UTC reply to this comment

improve by adding games

Copyright © 2001-2012 Softpedia. Contact/Tip us at

WindowsGamesDriversMacLinuxScriptsMobileHandheldNews

SUBMIT PROGRAM   |   ADVERTISE   |   GET HELP   |   SEND US FEEDBACK   |   RSS FEEDS   |   UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE   |   ROMANIAN FORUM