Sent emails still appear in drafts, new outlook

Dear @Tom Schmidt,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

According to your details, your Outlook version and build information, I understand how confusing it can be to see emails remain in Drafts even after they’ve been successfully sent and replied to.

Before giving you the best solution, could you please confirm these questions below to help me diagnose the issue more effectively: 

• Are you using a personal Microsoft account (@outlook.com/hotmail.com) or a work account (@company.com)?
• Does this happen for one specific account or multiple accounts in New Outlook?
• Could you also confirm if this issue occurs when you use another device (such as a different PC or mobile)?
• Are you using an Exchange/Microsoft 365 account or a POP/IMAP account?
• When the draft remains, do you notice it also appears in Outlook on the Web or only in the desktop app?
• Have you recently installed any add-ins or extensions that interact with email composition?
• Does this occur when sending regular emails only, or also with scheduled sends or Send Later?
• How often does this happen every email, or only occasionally?

In the meantime, here are some steps I recommend you try while waiting for investigating:

Step 1: Let auto‑save finish and avoid re‑opening the compose

After you hit Send, wait 1–2 seconds before navigating away, and avoid reopening the same draft/compose window.

If you need to edit, open a new compose rather than the existing draft when possible.

Step 2: Refresh the Drafts folder explicitly

Right‑click Drafts > Refresh (or press F9) after sending. In many cases the stale draft disappears.

Step 3: Clear the cache in Outlook

Before attempting to clear the cache in Outlook, first try to remove the sideloaded add-in using the steps outlined in Sideload Outlook add-ins for testing.

To clear the cache in new Outlook on Windows, perform the following steps.

• Close the Outlook client if it's open > From a command line, run the following: olk.exe --devtools
• In the Microsoft Edge DevTools window, select the Network tab > Select and hold (or right-click) anywhere in the Requests table. Then, select Clear browser cache.
• For reference: Manually clear the cache in Outlook

Step 4: Recreate the account connection

Remove the account from Settings > Access Work or School > Disconnect and add it back. These resets sync mappings for Drafts/Sent and fixes persistent anomalies.

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.

Please understand that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

I'm looking forward for your reply.

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