6 Best Ways to Fix Microsoft Outlook Couldn’t Delete A Message Error

Most actions in Microsoft Outlook can be performed by controlling the Ribbon or pressing a simple keyboard shortcut. For example, to delete a message in Outlook, select the message and press the delete key on your keyboard. Even if you are proficient in these matters, it is quite possible that Outlook will still fail.

There may be cases where a message cannot be deleted in Outlook. You will see error messages such as:

• The operation is unsuccessful. Messaging interfaces returned an unknown error. If the problem persists, restart Outlook.
• The messaging interface caused an unknown error.
• Unknown error occurred.

On the face of it, it’s hard to pinpoint the cause that causes this error. However, to fix Outlook’s error message, you can:

Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Delete

Of the few keyboard shortcuts you probably remember, this will come in pretty handy. Here’s how it works:

Stage 1: Select the message to be deleted.

Step 2: Hold down the Shift button on your keyboard.

Stage 3: Tap the Delete button on the keyboard.

Step 4: You should receive a pop-up message from Microsoft Outlook asking you to confirm the permanent deletion of the email. Click Yes.

Purge Deleted Items

One reason Microsoft Outlook may show an error message when trying to delete an item might be because the Deleted Items Folder is full. You cannot delete Outlook messages when the Deleted Items folder is full.

To fix this error, the Deleted Items folder needs to be emptied. Here’s how it works:

Stage 1: In the Microsoft Outlook Folder Pane, right-click the folder labeled Deleted Items.

Step 2: Select Empty Folder from the list of options.

Stage 3: You should receive a pop-up message from Microsoft Outlook asking you to confirm the permanent deletion of all items in the folder. Click Yes.

Step 4: Scroll to the message to delete and tap the Delete icon.

Edit Post Marked for Deletion

A corrupt mail file may also not be deleted. The best way to delete such a file is to edit it using the following steps:

Stage 1: Double-click the message in question to open it.

Step 2: On the ribbon, look for an area called Move and select the More Gesture Actions icon.

Stage 3: Select Edit Message from the drop-down menu.

Step 4: Type some characters or extract a few characters from the email.

Step 5: Save and close the message.

Step 6: Go to the message to delete and tap the Delete icon.

Mark Items to Delete in Settings

This option only works with Microsoft Outlook accounts set up with IMAP. Here’s how it works:

Stage 1: Close Microsoft Outlook.

Step 2: Launch Control Panel on your PC.

Stage 3: Click Mail. If you don’t see the Mail option, change the View By setting to Small icons or try using the search bar.

Step 4: In the new menu called Mail Setup – Outlook, click Email Accounts.

Step 5: A new menu called Account Settings should open. Double click on your email Name to reveal its properties.

Step 6: Click on More Settings.

Step 7: Select the Advanced tab.

Step 8: Make sure the following items are checked in the Deleted Items menu:

• Mark items to be deleted, but do not automatically move them. Under normal circumstances, when you mark items for deletion, they are permanently deleted after the mailbox is cleared.
• Clear items when changing folders online.

Step 9: Click OK.

Use the Inbox Repair Tool

Another reason why a Microsoft Outlook mail cannot be deleted can be because the PST file is corrupt. PST stands for Personal Storage Table and is the file format in which emails, calendar events and other items are saved in Outlook. You will need the Inbox Repair Tool to fix a PST file. Here’s how it works:

Stage 1: Close Microsoft Outlook.

Step 2: Start File Explorer.

Stage 3: Open your C: Drive.

Step 4: Select Program Files.

Step 5: Choose Microsoft Office.

Step 6: Choose your Office version (Office 14, 15, 16 etc.).

Step 7: Double-click SCANPST.EXE to run the file.

Step 8: Click Browse to select the PST file to scan.

Step 9: Click Start.

Step 10: Click Yes when prompted to confirm creating a backup.

Step 11: After the process is complete, turn off the tool.

Step 1/2: Restart Microsoft Outlook and check if the issue is resolved.

Restart Outlook in Safe Mode

To restart Microsoft Outlook in Safe Mode, you need to:

Stage 1: Hold down the CTRL key.

Step 2: Click on the Outlook Shortcut.

Stage 3: You will see a warning dialog telling you to confirm whether you want to start Outlook in Safe Mode. Click Yes.

Other Outlook Errors

Emails that cannot be deleted in Outlook are just one of the few errors you may encounter while using the application. Other common errors include emails stuck in Outlook’s outbox or cannot expand folder errors.