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Summary

Emails landing in Office 365 spam folders are a common deliverability challenge, even for legitimate senders. Many factors contribute to this, from technical misconfigurations like missing authentication records to content issues and sender reputation. Understanding these elements is crucial for diagnosing and resolving the problem, ensuring your messages reach the intended inboxes. It often requires a deep dive into various metrics and a systematic approach to troubleshooting.

What email marketers say

Email marketers often face the challenge of their campaigns landing in spam, particularly with Office 365. Their experiences highlight the nuances of Microsoft's filtering algorithms, which can sometimes be more stringent or react differently compared to other major mailbox providers like Gmail or Apple Mail. Many focus on immediate observations, such as simple subject lines not working or the issue appearing suddenly after a setup change. The collective experience points towards the critical need for deeper investigation beyond anecdotal evidence.

Marketer view

Email Marketer from Email Geeks indicates they have noticed most emails they send from Office 365 land in recipients’ spam boxes. This issue is specific to Office 365, as their emails deliver fine to Gmail, Apple Mail, and other Outlook accounts (non-Office 365). They previously never had problems with emails landing in primary folders across various providers. This suggests a recent change or a specific sensitivity within Office 365's filtering mechanisms. Even very simple, non-spammy subject headlines do not prevent emails from being marked as junk, implying that the problem lies deeper than just content. This user feels their mails are being held back by the Office 365 spam filter.

28 Feb 2020 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Marketer from Spiceworks Community confirms that a 'spam' folder is typically associated with a third-party AV scanner or filter, rather than Office 365's native built-in solution. This highlights the complexity of deliverability, where external tools can significantly influence email placement. They advise checking any deployed antivirus or spam filtering solutions if you're experiencing email deliverability issues within Office 365. These external layers often apply their own filtering rules that can override or supplement Microsoft's. Therefore, even if Office 365 itself doesn't mark an email as spam, an additional filter might, leading to the same outcome.

05 Mar 2020 - Spiceworks Community

What the experts say

Deliverability experts consistently point to data, authentication, and sender reputation as the core pillars of inbox placement, especially with a vigilant provider like Microsoft Office 365. They emphasize that anecdotal evidence from a few test accounts is insufficient; comprehensive data from Postmaster Tools and SNDS is essential for accurate diagnosis. Experts stress that Microsoft's filters are dynamic and heavily weigh a sender's history and adherence to email best practices, meaning a multi-faceted approach is always required to maintain good standing.

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks, responding to a user's observation that their emails are only going to spam for Office 365, not other providers, advises against making assumptions. They stress that just because an email lands in one's personal spam folder doesn't mean it's happening for all recipients, and vice versa. This highlights the need for comprehensive data, not just isolated observations. Deliverability can vary significantly across different domains and even individual inboxes due to personalized filtering and diverse network configurations. Therefore, a thorough investigation using deliverability tools is always recommended before drawing conclusions about broad deliverability issues.

28 Feb 2020 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Expert from SpamResource emphasizes that a sudden change in deliverability, especially to Office 365, often points to a recent change in sending practices, a degradation of sender reputation, or a shift in the recipient's filtering rules. They advise analyzing recent sending patterns and content for any deviations. Factors such as increased sending volume without proper warming, new list acquisition methods, or even a change in the email service provider can trigger stricter scrutiny from filters. They suggest that monitoring complaint rates and bounce rates closely can provide immediate clues to underlying problems.

15 Mar 2024 - SpamResource

What the documentation says

Official documentation from Microsoft and other authoritative sources consistently highlight several key factors influencing email deliverability to Office 365 inboxes. These include strict adherence to email authentication standards (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintaining a high sender reputation (measured by SCL and BCL), and avoiding content patterns commonly associated with spam. The documentation provides guidelines and best practices aimed at helping legitimate senders navigate their sophisticated anti-spam and anti-malware filters.

Technical article

Documentation from Spotler states that if emails consistently miss the inbox, it usually boils down to two key scores: Spam Confidence Level (SCL) and Bulk Complaint Level (BCL). These scores are internal metrics used by Microsoft to determine how likely an email is to be spam or bulk mail. A high SCL indicates a strong probability of spam, while a high BCL suggests the email is unsolicited bulk mail. Understanding these levels is fundamental, as they directly influence whether an email lands in the inbox, junk folder, or is quarantined. Improving these scores requires a holistic approach to email sending, focusing on sender reputation, content quality, and list hygiene.

10 Feb 2025 - Spotler

Technical article

Documentation from Spiceworks Community confirms that if an SPF record is configured to 'hard-fail' for the IP address sending the email, both Google/Gmail and Office 365 will typically send that email to spam. This highlights the critical nature of SPF configuration. A hard-fail (often denoted by '-all' in the SPF record) explicitly tells receiving servers that any mail not originating from the listed IPs should be rejected or marked as spam. If your email is sent from an unauthorized IP and your SPF record hard-fails, it will almost certainly land in the junk folder. Conversely, a 'soft-fail' (using '~all') indicates a less strict policy, allowing mail to pass but still potentially flagging it for further scrutiny.

20 Nov 2018 - Spiceworks Community

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