For Microsoft Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010 only.
Some people don’t want to use Outlook’s Junk filter. They set it to No Automatic Filtering in Junk Email options. This is supposed to stop all filtering except for addresses on the Blocked senders list but some users say the Junk Email filter continues to filter their mail.
The Junk Email Options dialog is at Tools, Options, Preferences in Outlook 2007 or accessed using the Junk button on the Home ribbon in Outlook 2010 (both on the main interface and an opened message).
It is possible to disable the junk filter completely by editing the registry. The key will stop all filtering and disables the Junk E-mail Options button. If you do this before you create a new default pst, the junk folder will not be created.
To open the registry editor, type regedit in the Start Search field or in the Run command.
In Outlook 2007, set the following key (create the keys in the path if they do not exist):
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftOffice12.0outlook
DWord: DisableAntiSpam
Value: 1 (Hex)
If you use Outlook 2010, the key is (create the keys in the path if they do not exist):
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftOffice14.0outlook
Delete the key or change it to Value of 0 to turn the Junk email filter back on.
If you don’t want to edit the registry yourself, we have ready-to-use reg files available for download. Double click on the downloaded file to add the file to your registry.
DisableAntiSpam – Outlook 2010
DisableAntiSpam – Outlook 2007
*** To enable the junk mail filter, open the downloaded .reg file in notepad and change the 1 to 0. Save it and double click to Run.
Previously published as Tip 719: Disable the Junk email filter
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I too have no use for the junk mail folder. Too often important mails end up there for days before I notice they are there…
I tried the regedit for Outlook 2010 but there is no ‘Office’ after Microsoft in the HKEY
Because the key is under /policies/, the path doesn’t exist unless a policy is in effect. When this happens, need to create the keys as needed.
I get as far as adding the last key, outlook, but how to I implement the disableantispam from there. I find no place to enter any information like that.
Right click in the right side of the screen and choose New > DWORD. Type or paste the value name (disableantispam) in the name field and press Enter. Right click on it and choose Modify to change the value to 1.
Thanks, Diane! I think my problem was the forwarded junk mail from my gmail account and also my website email account. I have turned off the filters on each of those. I believe they were overriding the Outlook disabling in preferences. I think I will still follow the instructions above, however, and be done with it! Thanks again.
Done! Thanks again.
If Outlook 2010, yes. Each account has unique settings. If using separate data files its easy to check – while in the folder set, check junk settings. If delivering to one inbox, you need to open a message from the other accounts.
BTW Outlook’s filtering is redudant and mostly useless with gmail – gmail does a very good job at filtering spam.
Diane, so… did everything as mentioned above. No problem with disabling antispam in the registry key. BUT… still, the Junk mail folder is collecting mail. I quit Outlook and reopened to see if that was the problem; new settings needed to take effect, but still I have a problem. True, the few pieces it has collected I would classify as junk – as opposed to previously – but still, I just don’t get it!!
What type of account is configured? Hotmail and Exchange use server filtering to add items to junk mail. Some addins use the junk folder instead of creating their own spam folder.
The infobar on the messages will say if outlook did it or something else (but not what the something else was).
I can’t believe it, now I am not only getting more and more messages routed to the junk mail folder – after following the procedure above – I cannot add anyone to my safe senders’ list! I get the error message “operation failed.” It’s unbelievable. I’ve been receiving Bank of America mail for years; now it goes to my junk mail folder – well some of it does – and I cannot say it’s “not junk” – again, “operation failed.” My preferences say “do not automatically…”, there is a red “no entry” symbol on the folder itself, I followed the procedure above to disable from the registry key, and the junk mail folder just keeps collecting mail.
My email comes from gmail and my website email account. Before my hard drive crashed and I had to reinstall Outlook my junk mail folder was completely disabled. I’m baffled.
I’m sure the reason I can’t work with the junk mail features, such as “safe senders” and “not junk” is because I’ve disabled antispam… so why is the folder still collecting mail?
Correct – with this setting, all junk filter features are disabled, including the safe and blocked list. But you also should not be receiving mail into the Junk folder – at least not from Outlook.
Look at a message in the junk mail folder – does the infobar say outlook put it there? See http://slipstick.me/jing/junk-mail-warning.png and http://slipstick.me/jing/junk2.png
Do you have all updates installed for Outlook?
Hmm – do you disabled spam filter in Outlook before setting this key ? In Junk Mail options setting it to not automatically filter anything.
If not, maybe change the key back to “0″, disable it and then enable it again.
The registry key doesn’t care what the junk mail options are – it disables all junk mail filtering capabilities.
It would be really useful Diane if you assumed that we knew nothing about the registry settings, nevermind having to create a new entry. I know that it is risky for novices to play with the registry, but I am prepared to risk all in order to stop outlook deciding which of emails are junk – its making me that angry. So please paste the line that needs to be added, let me know the full directory path that needs to be created and then I can simply copy and paste it. Thank you.
Sorry about that. We try to make the tips so they are for all user levels, without making it too simple for imtermediate users. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. We are working on adding downloadable .reg files for all registry entries, so there isn’t anything to change.
Try http://www.outlook-tips.net/reg/DisableAntiSpam2007.reg for Outlook 2007 or http://www.outlook-tips.net/reg/DisableAntiSpam2010.reg for Outlook 2010.
From my understanding, your procedure just disables the UI for the Junk filter, thereby disallowing users from editing the options. It does not disable the filter.
Have a look in the Outlook 12 and Outlook 14 adm files (used for GPO). I have pasted the entry from Outlk14.adm. It shows the above reg entry and the explanation on what it does
CATEGORY !!L_JunkEmail
POLICY !!L_HideJunkMailUI
KEYNAME “software\policies\microsoft\office\14.0\outlook”
EXPLAIN !!L_HideJunkMailUIExplain
VALUENAME “DisableAntiSpam”
VALUEON NUMERIC 1
VALUEOFF NUMERIC 0
END POLICY
It disables junk filtering and removes the option from the UI. If it only disabled the UI, the underlying rules would still run but with that reg set, junk iltering is completely disabled, including the blocked list (when junk filtering is set to No automatic in the interface, the blocked list still works.)
Hello,
I’ve tried using your reg keys but now people can’t manually label stuff as junk so it’s not an option. Do you have a registry key that will set the junk email filtering to No Automatic Filtering? I’ve been trying to create an MSP in the Office Customization Tool with the correct settings, but even following the Techet instructions, it won’t work. Running Office 2010 (32 bit) with Windows 7 Pro (x64).
Any ideas?
In Group policy (with the office ADM installed), it’s the “junk mail protection level” found at outlook 2010 > outlook options > preferences > junk e-mail. In the registry, its HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\14.0\outlook\options\mail
DWORD JunkMailProtection
High = 3, Low = 6, No protection (blocked lists only) is hex ffffffff
Tested this DisableAntiSpam registry tweak on 3 computers with Outlook 2007 (WinXP and Win7) for few days. All Junk email options are disabled now in all menus. Messages continue arriving to Junk folder with same rate. The messages don’t contain the line “The message was marked as spam using…” in infobar.
That means something else is moving them to the junk folder – if you use Exchange server, server side filtering is doing it. Otherwise, an Outlook addin is moving them to the junk folder.
In fact we don’t use Exchange. In active add-ins list – only Google Apps Sync and 4 standard Microsoft add-ins those were in Outlook initially. Google Apps has nothing in ‘Junk E-mail’ folder on its server. MS Outlook continues to filter messages to it locally on each computer independently (we even uninstalled Norton360 temporary to exclude it – same thing).
Can’t believe everyone keeps telling folks to change the registry. Never a good idea unless you absolutely have to. Unfortunately, I am finding that advice all over the Internet. If you are having issues turning off junk email filtering, I would bet you have more than one email account. Please note that each email account maintains it’s own setting for turning off junk filtering. Try this: when something goes to junk double click the subject line of the message while it is in the junk folder, which will open the message in a separate window. In the top left ribbon of the message that opens click “Junk/Junk Email Options.” Turn off filtering under the “Options” tab. Repeat this for each email account when one of its messages hit the junk box. You would think you could reach that option by going to accounts and editing each email account, but I guess Microsoft wanted to keep us all on our toes.
This only applies to Outlook 2010. There are valid reasons for disabling it in the registry and if you use another junk filter, you probably should.
I disabled the Junk email UI which I regret doing. Now, I can’t easily assign emails to blocked senders without opening each email individually. Is there a way to reinstall it easily? My problem was with a rule I had set on a specific address. When I deleted that, my issues disappeared.
I use Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 to check my GMAIL, and works propertly, but I don’t receive all my emails into my INBOX. Somes yes, but mostly NOPE. I’ve re-checked a lot of time on and on again, but I can’t find what is wrong. Please help me out. Thanks
And where would this control panel be, oh wise one?
(“start at the beginning” is a terrific rule for advice givers)
Windows Control Panel or the Junk Email Options dialog? Junk email options is in Tools, Options, Preferences in Outlook 2007 or on the Home ribbon in Outlook 2010 (both on the main interface and an opened message).