Watch out! The Windows 10 Mail and Calendar app is deleting your Gmail!

Windows 10 users who use the Mail and Calendar UWP app on Windows 10 with Gmail may want to check their Spam folder, as it appears the app has been silently sending their Sent emails there.

Multiple users on Microsoft Answers have been complaining of the bug, with one saying:

I have been facing an issue with the Windows 10 Mail app linked to a google account. I have noticed that when I respond to emails, the email I send disappears and cannot be found in sent items, outbox, bin, spam, or anywhere actually. The disappeared email cannot be found on gmail’s web interface either. It appears that it is automatically deleted and erased from the server.

Anybody aware of a solution to this problem? I have posted my question to the Gmail community and was told that this is an issue that has been recurrently reported by users of Windows 10.

The issue appears to follow an update to the app at the end of May which broke an element of Gmail integration. Users are also not able to connect the app with the Gmail service anymore.

Phil, an MVP on Microsoft Answers, suggests the best solution may be to connect via POP or IMAP, saying:

I have done some further study into this problem:

The latest version of Windows Mail has broken the settings for Gmail. The automated method for adding the account using the Google link provided by the Mail app no longer works.

The best way to work around this is to remove the Gmail account from the Mail app and then re-add it manually via the Other Account POP/IMAP route using the IMAP settings as described in Gmail help:

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7126229?hl=en

One other thing you may have to do is change a security setting in Google to allow access to less secure apps.  Google now considers the Windows Mail App a less secure app and therefore blocks it from doing some tasks.

While we wait for Microsoft to sort this out it might be safest to only use Gmail via a browser using mail.google.com

Another temporary workaround by Praful K found on Microsoft Feedback Hub includes:

– Go to gmail.com and logon

– Click “Settings”, top right

– Click “Filters and blocked addresses”

– Click “Create a new filter”

– Put your email address into the “From” field

– Click “Create filter”

– On the next page, select “Never send it to Spam”

– Click “Create filter”

Given that emails in the Spam folder get deleted regularly, it may be prudent to go through your Gmail Spam folder and try and rescue as much as you can.

The issue has been reported to Microsoft via the Feedback Hub but the company has not responded yet.

Are any of our readers affected? Let us know below.

Thanks Mike-E for the tip.