How to Recover a Permanently Deleted Email in Microsoft Outlook

If you have accidentally deleted an email from time to time, you are certainly not alone. With so many clickable options and drop-down menus, it’s easy to delete an email without meaning to. Especially if the contents of this email were valuable or contained important data, the search for a way to recover permanently deleted emails in Outlook can feel like an impossible task.

But don’t worry! Recently deleted emails are recoverable items. Even if you think that your email is deleted by accident, there are a few ways that you can recover it.

Recover Permanently Deleted Outlook Emails

If you have accidentally deleted an email from your Outlook inbox, there is no need to panic. In most cases, it is possible to retrieve emails and other data even after it is deleted. The first step is to use the Ctrl+Z keys combination which works as Undo command in the modern Outlook versions. However, if that doesn’t work you have to check your Trash folder.

Before your deleted email is lost forever, it will be placed in the Deleted Items folder of MS Outlook for 30 days. They stay there until they are permanently deleted after that thirty-day window.

Here is how you can recover deleted items from your email account:

Recover Email From Deleted Items Folder

1. Open the Outlook application and go to your Deleted Items folder from the menu bar.
2. Next, find the email that you want to recover and right-click on it.
3. From the drop-down menu, select Move > Other Folder.
4. Choose the location where you want to move the email (we recommend your inbox or a preset folder that you already hold related emails in) and click OK.

The email will be moved to the selected location. In order to keep it safe, we recommend that you create a backup of your Outlook data file so that this does not happen again.

Recover Deleted Items in Microsoft Outlook account

1. Log in to the Microsoft Account and go to Deleted Items folder. Available deleted items will be displayed.
2. Select the Folder tab and click Recover Deleted Items option.
3. Select emails you want to be recovered
4. Click Restore button.

This option works 30 days after the email has been deleted.

This is how you successfully complete the Outlook undo delete emails function in Microsoft Outlook!

Retrieve the Outlook Email That’s Been Removed From Your Deleted Items Folder

If you need to undelete email, Outlook makes it easy to do so with the Deleted Items folder. But if you have to restore Outlook emails that are missing from this folder, it can be a bit more challenging. If you’ve permanently deleted emails or removed them from the Deleted Items folder on your PST mailbox, follow these steps:

1. First, log into your computer and access your Microsoft Outlook account. From here, access the Deleted Items folder to verify that the email is no longer there.
2. If the item is no longer in your Deleted Items folder, the next step is to move your cursor to the Folder tab on the top left of your computer screen. Once you’re there, click on Folder Options.
3. A new window will pop up with several options for you to select from. In order to retrieve your Outlook deleted emails, we click the box that says “Deleted Items”. After you have selected this option, hit OK at the bottom of the window.

Once you select the proper items that you wish to recover, you will be able to access them from the Recover Deleted Items screen. Outlook will then ask you if you wish to move these items to another location. You can either select a new location for them or keep them in the Deleted Items folder.

Recover Previously Erased Outlook Email

If you deleted a folder or a message in Outlook and then cleared the “Deleted Items” folder you can still recover the missing items. To do this, download and use a special program as described below:

1. Download Outlook Recovery software and install it.
   Note: with Free Trial version you may recover limited amount of deleted items. However usually it is enough to repair all you need.
2. Run it and point to the source to recover. It can be Outlook Data File (PST file) or Outlook profile.
3. Select “Scan for deleted data” option and continue the Wizard.
   
4. Enjoy recovered items.

Recover Deleted Items in Outlook on Macs and Web

If you need to undelete email, Outlook makes the process for recovering deleted items similar in both the Mac and web-based versions of Outlook.

On a Mac, in order to retrieve a deleted item, you must first open the Deleted Items folder. Once you’re in the folder, find the item that you wish to recover. Right-click on it and select Move > Other Folder.

You will then be able to choose where you want to move the item. We recommend either your inbox or a folder that you already hold related emails in. Once you have selected the proper location, click OK.

The email will be moved to the selected location.

To prevent this from happening again, we recommend that you create a backup of your Outlook data file.

You have now successfully restored a permanently deleted email in Microsoft Outlook!

On the web, the process is similar. Simply log into your Outlook account online from any computer and go to the Deleted Items folder. From here, find the item that you wish to recover and right-click on it. Select Move > Other Folder from the drop-down menu.

You will then be able to choose where you want to move the item. We recommend either your inbox or a folder that you already hold related emails in. Once you have selected the proper location to recover lost emails in Outlook, click OK.

The email will be moved to the selected location. In order to keep it safe, we recommend that you create a backup of your Outlook data file so that this does not happen again.

Stop Outlook on the Web From Emptying Your Deleted Items Folder Each Time You Sign out

The web-based version of Outlook has a feature that automatically empties your Deleted Items folder each time you sign out.

If you wish to keep the emails in your Deleted Items folder, follow these steps to change the default setting:

1. Log into Outlook on the web and click on the settings gear in the top right-hand corner of your screen.
2. From the drop-down menu, select More mail settings.
3. Under Managing your account, select Deleted Items.
4. Check the box that says “Do not automatically empty the Deleted Items folder when I sign out.”
5. Hit Save at the bottom of the window.

You have now successfully stopped Outlook on the web from emptying your Deleted Items folder each time you sign out!

Conclusion

We hope that this article was helpful in teaching you how to recover a permanently deleted email in Microsoft Outlook! If you have any further questions about recovering old emails in Outlook, please refer to our FAQ below.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to permanently deleted emails in Outlook?

When you delete an email from your Outlook account, it is first moved to a temporary folder on Microsoft’s servers–sort of like an archive. After 30 days, the email is then permanently deleted from this folder. However, it is important to note that even after an email is actually permanently deleted, it will be possible to recover it under certain circumstances. This is because emails are not deleted from Microsoft’s servers immediately after they are deleted from your account. Instead, they are overwritten gradually as new emails are added. As a result, it is possible that a permanently deleted email could still be recovered if it has not yet been overwritten.

How can I find permanently deleted emails in Outlook?

Although it is possible to delete emails from your account, it is important to note that these messages are not actually permanently erased from the system right away. Instead, they are moved to a hidden folder where they can still be accessed. This means that, if you need to find a deleted email, there is a good chance that it can still be recovered.

To find permanently deleted emails, you will need to take a look at your Trash folders, where they likely are. Then, run a function that will search these folders for the email you are looking for. Find deleted emails by opening the Trash folder and selecting the Message tab, then choosing the Find function. From here, you can search for specific terms that are likely to appear in the email you are trying to find.

Once the function has successfully located the desired message, it can then be saved to a new location.

You could also try looking for the email in your Sent folder, as it is possible that you may have accidentally deleted an email from there. To do this, simply open the Sent folder and search for the email using the same process described above.

How to recover deleted emails from Outlook after 30 days?

Once an email is deleted from Outlook, it is permanently erased and cannot be recovered. This is because when you delete an email, it is moved to a temporary folder called the “Deleted Items” folder.

After 30 days, emails in the Deleted Items folder are permanently erased and cannot be recovered, meaning that they are lost forever.