How to Recover Deleted Emails in Outlook – A Comprehensive Guide

This post was created with the intent to help people who lost their emails from Outlook and are looking for a solution to retrieve them back. Here users will get verified instructions to recover deleted emails in Outlook. Let’s get started!

In today’s digitally growing age, email communication has become an integral part of our personal and professional lives. Basically, in our professional lives, we rely on email for everything from sharing important documents to maintaining essential contacts.

However, there are situations when we accidentally delete emails that we later realize were crucial. Worse still, sometimes we mistakenly permanently delete these emails, thinking they’re gone forever. But what if I say that there is a simple way to recover permanently deleted emails in Outlook?

So stick with this blog post because it will walk you through various methods to retrieve your deleted messages in Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003 versions. It will cover different devices and situations to make it easy for both beginners and advanced users to follow instructions.

Causes of Email Deletion in Outlook

In this section, we will go through the possible reasons for email deletion in Outlook

1. Accidental Deletion: There are two types of deletions.
   • A user might have deleted some crucial emails from their Inbox by mistake which is followed by clearing the Deleted Items Folder unknowingly.
   • User permanently deletes emails with attachments from Inbox, Sent Items, Junk Emails, Draft, etc. (A Shift + Del will remove your email messages permanently from Outlook.)

2. Clean-Up: This is very common. When your Outlook data file size is expanding enormously, the best thing to do is to clear your unwanted email messages. Deleting emails from the Outlook Deleted Items folder is the best way to resolve oversized PST file issues.
3. Issues: System errors and sync issues between different devices may also result in the loss of emails.
4. Microsoft Outlook also provides an option check to the ‘Empty Deleted Items folder when exiting Outlook’ to clear your Deleted Items folder easily.

These are the few cases when a user may search for a solution to restore permanently deleted emails in Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and 2007 versions. If you are aware of the cause, then you can prevent future losses by patching up the problem.

Five Methods to Recover Deleted Emails in Outlook

If we look from a wider view, we can see that the storage facility for deleted items is everywhere. From the Recycle Bin provided in MS Windows OS, all the email client applications provide a separate folder to store deleted items. If we consider Microsoft Outlook, we can see that it also has a folder called Deleted Items Folder in all its available versions.

When a user performs a soft deletion of emails (normal deletion), it goes to the Deleted Items folder. But it doesn’t mean that those emails will be stored there forever. Microsoft Outlook has a Retention Period policy, which automatically removes emails from the Deleted Items folder periodically as per the period that you have set in it. By default, it is 14 days. You can also change the retention period of Outlook easily.

Manual Method 1 – Recover Deleted Emails from Outlook Deleted Items Folder

Microsoft Outlook itself provides recovery options like Deleted Items Folder. When you delete an email, it first goes to the “Deleted Items” folder. This folder acts as a temporary storage for removed emails. You can restore emails from here if they haven’t been permanently deleted yet. Follow the steps below based on your device.

Steps to Recover Deleted Email in Outlook for Mac & Windows

The process for Mac Outlook and Windows Outlook remains the same:

• Launch Outlook from which emails are deleted and find the Deleted Items Folder (it is a system-generated folder).
• Now check whether your deleted emails are in this folder or not. If yes then move to the next step otherwise move to the Recoverable Items Folder steps and perform deleted email recovery from the PST file using software.
• Select all emails that you want to recover and right-click on them.
• After that click on the Move >> Other Folder option.

Steps to Retrieve Missing Emails on Mobile Outlook:

The process differs a little for mobile users:

• Open the Outlook app on your phone.
• Tap on the “three horizontal lines” and select the Deleted Items folder.
• Next, locate the email you want to retrieve.
• Finally, tap and hold the email, then select Move to Inbox or your desired folder.

Manual Method 2 – Retrieve Deleted Outlook Emails from Recoverable items folder

If your email is not in the “Deleted Items” folder, it might still be in the “Recoverable Items” folder. This folder stores emails that have been removed from “Deleted Items.”

Where is it applicable?

This method works for accounts like Office 365, Exchange, or Outlook.com. It does not apply to POP or IMAP accounts unless your provider supports this particular recovery option.

Steps for Recoverable Items Folder:

Note: The recoverable items folder is not visible for the Mobile browser. You have to use either Windows PC or Mac book for same.

1. Launch Outlook on your PC or Macbook.
2. Select the Recoverable Items Folder, if its present directly on the Outlook ribbon bar. Or, go to Deleted Items folder.
3. Now select the option Recover items deleted from this folder.
4. After that, select the emails that you want to recover and hit the Restore button.

Another Method? Check Outlook Archive Folder

Outlook provides the option to archive emails and reduce clutter. Sometimes, deleted emails are mistakenly moved to the Archive folder. So, it’s a good option to search for the missing emails inside the archive folder if they’re present in your Outlook.

• Open Outlook and go to the folder list.
• Find the Archive folder. This folder will only be present if the auto-archive option is enabled in Outlook.
• Next, browse for the missing emails inside this folder.
• Finally, Restore the deleted email back into Outlook inbox or other folder of your choice.

Advanced Method 1 – Recover Permanently Deleted Emails from Outlook

Quick automated solution to retrieve deleted emails from Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002, and 2000 versions. Use can use this utility on local system and easily perform the deleted email recovery from Outlook.

SysTools provides an eminent software: Outlook PST Recovery, which can effortlessly recover hard deleted emails from Outlook without any data loss. The application can process both ANSI and Unicode files from any Outlook version. This tool helps you to repair PST files without scanpst and without causing any issues. But the important point is, that it does not require MS Outlook installation in your system.

The software provides Advanced Scan Mode to recover permanently deleted emails in Outlook files along with attachments without any loss. The application provides a user-friendly environment for users. It displays all recovered deleted items in Red color.

The user can sort, filter, and preview email messages in 7+ modes such as Normal Mail View, Message Header, HTML, RTF, MIME, and HEX and you can view your email attachments separately in the panel. The Export Selected option allows saving only those selected emails as per your requirement.

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Steps to Recover Permanently Deleted Emails in Outlook

Follow the instructions and easily recover deleted emails from Outlook. After completing the recovery process, user can access recovered data in respective platform.

• Download the free version of the software from the above Download button. Install it on your Windows System. Run the application.

• Load the required Outlook data file into the software by clicking on the Add File option in the top-left corner.

• In the Add File Window, you can many other options like; Remove Encryption, Scan Mode, etc. Choose the Advanced Mode option to recover permanently deleted emails from the Outlook PST file and press the Add button.

• The software will preview all the recovered deleted emails in Outlook in the preview panel in Red color as shown in the screenshot.

• Export recovered deleted emails in Outlook file into a new healthy Outlook PST file. You can choose the Export Selected option in the top right corner if you need to export only the selected email messages. This option helps you to save only those recovered deleted emails for Outlook PST files effortlessly.

• Clicking the Export button opens an Export File window, in which you can choose the file format in which you need to save the resultant data. Choose the PST file option.

• Provide the required destination location to store the resultant Outlook data file and hit the Export button.

After the completion of the export process, it provides a success message and then generates a report. You can vary the process using this data. Now you can import the resultant recovered Outlook data file in your Outlook account and see recovered emails in the Outlook account efficiently.

Advanced Method 2 – Set up eDiscovery to Discover Outlook Emails

eDiscovery is a powerful feature to recover lost data in Outlook. It is available in Office 365 and Exchange environments. The simplified process for using eDiscovery is as follows:

• Log in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
• Go to Security & Compliance.
• Select the eDiscovery option.
• Create a new case and define search criteria.
• Specify the deletion date range.
• Run the search and wait for results.
• Export the recovered emails, then import them into Outlook.

Table: Summary of Outlook Email Recovery Methods

Method	Where to Use	Ease of Use	Recovery Time	Devices Supported
Deleted Items Folder	For recently deleted emails	Easy	Immediate	Windows, Mac, Mobile
Recoverable Items Folder	For permanently deleted emails	Moderate	Within Retention Period	Office 365, Exchange
Archive Folder	For misplaced archived emails	Easy	Immediate	Windows, Mac, Mobile
eDiscovery	For Office 365/Exchange admin accounts	Advanced	Variable	Admin accounts only
Third-Party Tools	When other methods fail	Moderate/Advanced	Depends on Software	Windows, Mac

FAQs – Common Queries With Their Solutions

Q1. How long are emails stored in the Deleted Items folder?

Ans. Emails stay in the Deleted Items folder for 30 days by default. After that, they are moved to the Recoverable Items folder for another 14-30 days.

Q2. Can I recover emails deleted months ago?

Yes, but only if the email is stored in a backup or the Recoverable Items folder. You can use advanced tools if these options are unavailable.

Q3. Is it safe to use third-party tools?

Yes, as long as you choose trusted tools with good reviews and proper licensing.

Q4. What if I cannot find the email using any method?

Contact your email administrator. They may have additional options or backups.

Concluding Thoughts

In this blog, we have discussed how to recover deleted emails in Outlook without any data loss efficiently. Start from the simpler methods to retrieve soft deleted emails. If those don’t work then move on to the advanced methods like SysTools software. After all, it is not easy to restore permanently deleted emails in Outlook. Those are no longer available in the Deleted Items folder. The above-described recovery tool effortlessly restores hard or shift deleted email messages along with attachments from Outlook data files.