Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office users can prevent Outlook from saving copies of emails in the Sent Items folder via Outlook Settings, Group Policy or Registry Editor on Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC. In some cases, without user configuration as already stated, you may encounter the issue whereby emails are not saved to the Sent Items folder in Outlook. This post provides solutions to the issue.
You’re most likely to encounter this issue if the Save copies of messages in the Sent Items folder option in Outlook is disabled.
Email not saved to Sent Items folder in Outlook
If emails are not saved to the Sent Items folder in Outlook on your Windows 11/10 PC, you can try our recommended solutions below in no particular order and see if that helps to resolve the issue on your device.
- Run Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant tool
- Enable ‘Save copies of messages in the Sent Items folder’ option
- Repair and/or Reset Outlook
- Uninstall and reinstall Office suite
Let’s take a look at the description of the process involved concerning each of the listed solutions.
1] Run Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant tool
You can begin troubleshooting to fix the emails are not saved to Sent Items folder in Outlook issue on your Windows 11/10 PC by running the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant tool; which if you prefer, you can run the command-line version of Microsoft SaRA tool on your device.
The tool can help you with Outlook if:
- Outlook won’t start
- Can’t setup Office 365 email in Outlook
- Outlook keeps asking for password
- Outlook keeps “Trying to connect…” or gets “Disconnected”
- Shared mailboxes or shared calendars don’t work
- Problems with Calendar
- Outlook not responding, keeps crashing or has stopped working
- Outlook can’t send, receive, or find the email
- Email in Outlook not syncing
Try the next solution if the automated wizard wasn’t helpful.
2] Enable ‘Save copies of messages in the Sent Items folder’ option
This solution requires you to enable the Save copies of messages in the Sent Items folder option. Here’s how:
- Open Outlook.
- Select File on the menu bar.
- Select Options.
- In the Outlook Options dialog, select Mail on the left navigation pane.
- On the right pane, scroll down to the Save messages section.
- Check the option for Save copies of messages in the Sent Items folder.
- Click OK to save changes and exit.
3] Repair and/or Reset Outlook
This solution requires you to repair Microsoft Outlook and see if that helps in resolving the issue in hand. To repair Outlook on your Windows 11/10 PC, do the following:
- Open Control Panel.
- Click Programs and Features.
- Right-click the Office program that you want to repair, and select Change.
- Next, click Repair > Continue. Office will start repairing the apps.
- Restart PC after the repair operation completes.
You can also repair Office Outlook via the Settings app on Windows 11/10. Here’s how:
- Open Settings for Windows 11 or open Settings for Windows 10 (if unable, see Windows Settings not opening or working).
- Select Apps and Features.
- Scroll to find your Microsoft Office installation.
- Click on the entry and click on Modify.
- On the popup dialog, choose Quick Repair or Online Repair.
- Click on the Repair button.
Alternatively, you can reset Outlook.
4] Uninstall and reinstall Office suite
If the issue persists, you can uninstall Office and then reinstall Office suite on your Windows 11/10 computer or if emails were being saved to Sent Items folder in Outlook just fine earlier, then it’s likely your system has undergone some changes you are not aware of – and since you do not know what might have changed that broke the app functionality, you can perform System Restore on your Windows 11/10 device and select a restore point prior to when the issue in view started.
Hope this helps!
Related post: Email is stuck in the Outbox of Gmail.
Why are my sent emails not showing in my Sent folder?
If Outlook isn’t configured to keep a copy of sent items, you might not be able to view your sent email messages. To view your sent email messages, select File > Options > Mail. Scroll down to Save messages and make sure the check box for Save copies of messages in Sent Items folder is checked.
Where are my sent emails in Outlook?
To view the contents of the Sent Items folder in Outlook, do the following:
- Click the Mail icon in the Navigation Bar.
- Select the Sent Items folder in the Folder Pane. The Sent Items folder contains copies of all the messages that you have sent to others.
How do I retrieve sent items in Outlook?
To recall and replace an email message that you have sent in Outlook, do the following:
- In the folder pane on the left of the Outlook window, choose the Sent Items folder.
- Open the message that you want to recall.
- If you have the Classic Ribbon, from the Message tab, select Actions > Recall This Message.
Similar: Sent Items Folder missing or not found in Outlook; How to get it back?
How do I add a Sent folder in Outlook?
To add a Sent folder in Outlook, do the following:
- Open your IMAP account settings. (File > Account Settings > double click on the IMAP account.)
- Click the More Settings button.
- Select the Sent Items tab.
- Enable the option Save sent items in the following folder on the server.
- Select the folder where you want to store the Sent Items in.
Hope this helps.
