Outlook 365 New Mail Icon in Task Bar Does Not Turn Off After Running Permanent Delete Rule

Here's the problem:

  1. New mail icon in task bar turns on when mail arrives.
  2. A permanent delete rule executes which deletes the unwanted mail almost instantly.
  3. The new mail icon remains on even though there is no longer any new mail to read.
  4. I can clear the new mail indication by clicking on the first mail item in the Outlook mail list.

I depend heavily on this feature so I don't want to disable it.  I believe this is

December 29th, 2013 2:09am

Have you tried adjusting the rule's actions to "mark it as read" as well as permanently delete the message?

I've tried replicating what you're seeing in normal Outlook but don't get that issue, so it's possible it's somehow specific to 365.

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December 29th, 2013 1:40pm
That was a terrific idea, Keith, but (alas) it didn't work.
December 29th, 2013 9:37pm

Hi,

I created a "permanently delete it" rule on my Outlook 2013, didn't reproduce this issue either.

Please try to create a rule that moves the email to a specific folder, then the second rule that permanently deletes the email. Could this be a workaround?

We can also run Outlook with the /cleanrules switch(please export the rules to backup first: Rules -> Manage Rules & Alerts -> Options -> Export Rules.):

Press Win + R and type outlook.exe /cleanrules in the blank box, then press Enter.

Create the rule again, does the same issue persist?

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

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December 30th, 2013 4:57am
I'll try your suggestions tomorrow, Melon, but let me ask you something.  When your rule executed were there any legitimate unread emails?  In my case, there were about 1/2 dozen emails in my inbox that HAD been read.  Then came in ONE email that was automatically deleted by the rule leaving the 1/2 dozen emails behind as well as the unread icon in the task bar.
December 30th, 2013 5:03am

Hi,

When my rule excuted, there was no unread email at all.

It seems if you have a rule that moves the incoming email to a specific folder, the envelope doesn't show in the Task Bar, that's why I suggested it as a workaround.

Let me know the result.

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

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December 31st, 2013 2:12am
Thanks, Melon.  It works but I hate workarounds.  I believe this to be a bug in the permanently delete rule.  The flag is set when the email comes in but not reset when the rule deletes it.  The rule should check to see if there are no unread messages after the deletion and then reset the flag as necessary.
December 31st, 2013 3:24am

Hi,

Since I didn't reproduce this issue on my Outlook 2013, it may be related to some corrupted rules. Have you tried my suggestion to run Outlook with /cleanrules switch? What was the result?

"We can also run Outlook with the /cleanrules switch(please export the rules to backup first: Rules -> Manage Rules & Alerts -> Options -> Export Rules.):

Press Win + R and type outlook.exe /cleanrules in the blank box, then press Enter."

We can also create a new profile to setup the account, if there's no such issue with the new profile, we can abandon the first profile:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/829918/en-us

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

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January 1st, 2014 1:44am
I started Outlook with /cleanrules as you suggested then recreated the rule.  It is the only rule I have.  Now I have to wait for an offending email to show up.  I'll let you know.
January 1st, 2014 2:37am
The problem was the order in which I inserted the conditions of the rule. I first should have marked the message read and then done the permanent delete.  I still think this is a bug.  Thanks for your help, Melon.
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January 1st, 2014 4:55pm
I take that back.  I thought I'd found the solution.  It made sense, anyway, but I was wrong.  Even with the conditions in the "right" order the new mail flag is still left on.
January 1st, 2014 4:58pm

Hi,

Now I begin to wonder if this "bug" is caused by 3rd-party softwares or add-ins, as Keith and I didn't reproduce it.

Please run Outlook in Safe Mode to test:

Press Win + R and type outlook.exe /safe in the blank box, then press Enter.

If theres no problem in Safe Mode, disable the suspicious add-ins to verify which add-ins caused this issue.

We can also create a new profile to check the result:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/829918/en-us

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

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January 2nd, 2014 5:46am
Running in Safe Mode did not fix the problem.  I then checked the add-ins and the only ones I found were Outlook's.  There were no 3rd-party add-ins listed.  Could it have anything to do with Windows 8.1?  That seems to have been a pretty buggy release.
January 3rd, 2014 2:14am

Hi,

I've seen some Outlook issues which are only seen in Windows 8.1, but currently I can't guarantee it.

You may try it on other Windows 8.1 machines if you have, and I'll try to get how it works in Windows 8.1 on Monday.

Let me know your result and I'll update my test as well.

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

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January 4th, 2014 2:28pm

I've only got the one 8.1 machine, Melon.  I'll add that this was a pristine installation made during November of both 8.1 and Office 365.  Let me know how you make out.  This is clearly a nuisance and not a major problem, but it "bugs" me not to be able to fix it.

Peter

January 6th, 2014 8:14pm

Hi,

I just tested on my Windows 8.1 machine, didn't reproduce the issue either. So it may not be related to Windows 8.1.

Now I suggest you delete this rule in Outlook Client and create the same rule on OWA, this makes sure the rule will not be client-related.

Hopefully this can help.

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

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January 7th, 2014 2:27am
I'll try your latest suggestion tomorrow, Melon.  Just to be sure of something:  Are you running Office 365 on top of Windows 8.1?
January 7th, 2014 3:27am
I can't figure out how to set up an OWA rule.
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January 7th, 2014 4:49am

Hi,

Go to FILE tab -> Right to Account Settings, I suppose you can see Access this account on the web? The link below is the access to OWA.

After you logon OWA, find Options on the top right corner, click on it, choose Create an Inbox Rule.

Then try to create the rule and test if the issue persists on Outlook Client.

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

January 8th, 2014 2:41am

I don't see what you describe.  I found Account Settings by going to FILE -> Account and Social Network Settings -> Account Settings but nothing about OWA under that.  I did a quick search to see if I could find online instructions for how to enable it but had no luck. (I used to run my own Exchange Server and used OWA as supplied there, but can't seem to find how to turn it on here.)

You haven't answered a question I've asked a couple of times yet:  Are you running Office 365 on Windows 8.1?

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January 8th, 2014 6:25am

Hi,

I have Outlook 2013 on my Windows 8.1 (& Windows 8) machine, which should be basically the same as yours. As I mentioned, there's no such issue.

I have Office 365 on my Windows 7 machine, no such issue either.

I suggest we can try to repair Office in Control Panel to check the result.

Please also run Scanpst.exe to repair your Outlook Data File in case it's related:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/272227/en-us

If this issue still exists, I can think of another workaround is to move the emails to Deleted Items instead of permanently deleting them- If it's acceptable.

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

January 8th, 2014 6:39am

There isn't an inbox repair tool for Outlook 365.

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January 8th, 2014 5:49pm

Hi,

This issue should be related to the rule on Office 365, as from my side, I still suggest the workaround "Please try to create a rule that moves the email to a specific folder, then the second rule that permanently deletes the email."

We need to perform 2 rules in this workaround, if you want to realize this in one rule, we can also use a script to merge the move and delete steps.

As I don't have the exact code here, we may ask this question in Office Development Forum:

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/office/en-US/home?category=officedev

Since this issue may be probably related to Office 365 ,we can also refer this question to Office 365 Community for assistance:

http://community.office365.com/en-us/forums/default.aspx

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

January 10th, 2014 7:32am

Hi,

Just checking in to see if the information was helpful. Please let us know if you would like further assistance.

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

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January 14th, 2014 2:32am
Thanks for all of your attempts at helping me but nothing worked.  I think the biggest impediment to a successful resolution to this problem was your inability to test in the same environment I'm working in, specifically Office 365 on top of Windows 8.1.  These are two relatively new Microsoft products.  Trying to replicate the problem using a patchwork of the new and the old is, to my way of thinking, a waste of time.  Still, I appreciate that you tried.
January 14th, 2014 3:09am

Hi,

Thank you for your question.

I am trying to involve someone familiar with this topic to further look at this issue.

Thanks,

Melon Chen

Forum Support

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January 15th, 2014 3:00am

The workaround I suggested earlier in this thread does work: 1) Mark the email as read; 2) permanently delete it. The order is important! Marking it read must precede the deletion. (I still think this is a bug but I can live with this.)

January 16th, 2014 12:12am

Hi,

I am unable to reproduce the issue at my end. Here I would suggest you to open phone support case with Microsoft rather than Forum Support. Since you have O'365 subscriptions, Microsoft provides free phone support to resolve your issues

Please use administrator console to create case with Microsoft so that we can look at the issue and provide resolution to it

Hope this helps

Thanks

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January 17th, 2014 2:06am

If it is any help - I have the same issue in Outlook 2010 with Win 7 Enterprise 32 bit
I cannot change the order of the rule so it is Move to Deleted Items and Mark as Read.

I live with it and Right Click Deleted Items and select "Mark All As Read"

I also think it is a bug.

April 30th, 2014 10:49pm
You know what?  I gave up.  Although I'd marked something as an answer earlier in this thread, I was wrong.  I've tried so many combinations that I, like you, gave up and learned to live with it.  At one point I thought I had it, but then I saw that the delete piece of the rule didn't stop with the items I'd marked to delete but went right ahead and deleted items it shouldn't.  I came to think of it as a timing issue, but I don't think that's right.  I just can't imagine how the programming behind these rules could allow it to happen.  So, I grin and bare it.
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April 30th, 2014 11:28pm

Well it is now July 2015 and I don't expect anyone to read this. However, just in case I wanted to come to Peter's defense and say that I am running Windows 8.1 Pro with Outlook 365 / Outlook 2013 and I'm getting exactly the same issue so there is definitely a bug with Outlook 365 / Outlook client.

Microsoft, you really should put more effort into this as I believe you would be able to replicate this defect if you configured the desired environment.

As Peter stated, I run Outlook with 365. I pick an email that I wish to create a rule for and configure a 'permanently delete' rule. I set it to run when new mail arrives and also ask it to run immediately. When it runs, all relevant new emails are deleted as expected but the icon in the task bar still reports that I have new mails even though I do not. Closing Outlook and restarting it corrects the icon.

My colleague has just had a similar problem with items not refreshing.  He has a folder that all deleted emails go to when a rule runs. From time to time, he empties this folder but when he does so, the item count does not reduce. He also closed Outlook and when he restarted it, the item count was zero as expected.

It appears to me that there is a refresh issue with Outlook 365 and Outlook 2013 as a client.

I believe this issue should be re-opened and investigated more fully using the OS and applications stated above.


July 27th, 2015 10:43am
Hey, Jim.  That's a nice post.  I agree with you except for one thing:  I really think this is an Office 365 BUG. 
"Issue" is too nice a word.  In any event, I suspect that rules are near the bottom of Microsoft's development list so it may be a while before they get to this -- if ever!
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July 27th, 2015 11:47am

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