How to recover permanently deleted mails from outlook​?

Losing important emails due to accidental deletion can be a frustrating experience. Fortunately, Outlook provides several methods to recover permanently deleted emails, depending on various factors such as the type of Outlook account, the retention policies set, and the actions taken after the deletion. 

Part 1: Deletion Process in Outlook

When you delete an email in Outlook, it doesn’t immediately disappear from the server or your local storage. Instead, it is moved to the Deleted Items folder. From there, if you empty the Deleted Items folder, the email is considered “permanently deleted,” but it may still be recoverable depending on the circumstances.

For Exchange Accounts: If you use an Exchange account (such as those provided by many businesses and organizations), the email is initially moved to the Deleted Items folder on the Exchange server. When you empty the Deleted Items folder, the email is marked for deletion but may remain in a recoverable state for a certain period, usually determined by the organization’s retention policies.

For POP and IMAP Accounts: For POP (Post Office Protocol) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) accounts, the deletion process is a bit different. When you delete an email in Outlook with a POP account, the email is usually removed from the local computer unless you have configured it to leave a copy on the server. With an IMAP account, the deletion is synced with the server, and the email is moved to the Deleted Items folder on the server. Emptying the Deleted Items folder removes it from the server as well, but some email providers may offer a way to recover deleted emails.

Part 2: Recovering Deleted Emails from the Deleted Items Folder

The first step in recovering deleted emails is to check the Deleted Items folder. This is the simplest and most straightforward method, and it works if you haven’t emptied the Deleted Items folder yet.

Open Outlook.

In the folder list, locate and click on the “Deleted Items” folder.

Look for the deleted email you want to recover. You can use the search function in Outlook to quickly find specific emails if you know certain keywords or details about the email.

Once you’ve found the email, right – click on it and select “Move” or “Copy.” You can then choose to move or copy the email to another folder, such as your Inbox or a specific folder you created for important emails.

Part 3: Recovering Permanently Deleted Emails in Outlook (Exchange Accounts)

If you’ve emptied the Deleted Items folder and you have an Exchange account, there are still several methods you can try to recover the permanently deleted emails.

Using the Recover Deleted Items Feature in Outlook

Open Outlook.

Navigate to the folder where the email was originally located (e.g., Inbox, Sent Items, etc.).

Look for the “Recover Deleted Items” option. In Outlook 2016 and later versions, you can find this option in the “Home” tab, under the “Delete” group. In earlier versions, it may be in the “Tools” menu.

Click on “Recover Deleted Items.” A list of recently deleted items from that folder will be displayed.

Select the emails you want to recover and click the “Restore Selected Items” button. The emails will be restored to their original location in the folder.

Using the Exchange Admin Center (for Administrators)

If you are an administrator of the Exchange server, you can use the Exchange Admin Center to recover deleted emails. This method gives you more advanced options and control over the recovery process.

Log in to the Exchange Admin Center.

Navigate to the “Recipients” section and select the mailbox of the user who deleted the emails.

Click on the “Manage mailbox audit logging” link.

In the mailbox audit logging settings, you can view the audit logs to find out when the emails were deleted and by whom.

To recover the deleted emails, you can use the “New-MailboxRestoreRequest” cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell. This cmdlet allows you to restore deleted items from a mailbox to a specific location, either in the same mailbox or to a different mailbox for recovery purposes.

Using In – Place eDiscovery and Hold (for Exchange Online)

In Exchange Online, you can use In – Place eDiscovery and Hold to recover permanently deleted emails. This feature is useful for compliance and legal purposes as well.

Log in to the Microsoft 365 Compliance Center.

Navigate to the “eDiscovery” section.

Create a new eDiscovery case if you haven’t already done so.

Add the mailbox(es) containing the deleted emails to the case.

Set the search criteria to include deleted items and specify the date range when the emails were deleted.

Run the search. Once the search is complete, you can review the results and export the recovered emails to a PST file if needed.

Part 4: Recovering Permanently Deleted Emails in Outlook (POP and IMAP Accounts)

Recovering permanently deleted emails from POP and IMAP accounts can be more challenging compared to Exchange accounts, as the email providers may have different policies and methods for recovering deleted data.

Contacting the Email Provider

The first step is to contact your email provider. Many email providers, such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Outlook.com (if you are using a Microsoft account with Outlook), have their own procedures for recovering deleted emails.

For Gmail: Log in to your Gmail account and go to the “Trash” folder. If the email is not in the Trash, you can try using the “Undo” option if it is available immediately after deletion. If that doesn’t work, contact Google Support and explain the situation. They may be able to recover the email if it is still within their retention period.

For Yahoo Mail: Check the “Trash” folder in Yahoo Mail. If the email is not there, you can try using the “Restore” option if available. You can also contact Yahoo Support for further assistance.

For Outlook.com: Log in to your Outlook.com account and check the “Deleted Items” folder. If the email is not found, you can try using the “Recover deleted items” feature if it is available. If that fails, contact Microsoft Support.

Using Third – Party Email Recovery Tools

There are several third – party email recovery tools available that claim to be able to recover deleted emails from POP and IMAP accounts. These tools work by scanning the local storage of your computer or the email server (with proper authorization) to find deleted email files.

Research and choose a reliable email recovery tool. Some popular ones include Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Repair, Recovery Toolbox for Outlook, and SysTools Outlook PST Recovery.

Download and install the tool on your computer.

Follow the instructions provided by the tool to scan for deleted emails. You may need to specify the location of your Outlook data files (usually a PST file for POP accounts and an OST file for IMAP accounts if you are using Outlook in cached mode).

Once the scan is complete, the tool will display a list of recoverable emails. You can preview the emails and select the ones you want to recover.

Save the recovered emails to a new location on your computer. Make sure not to save them over the original data files to avoid further data loss.

Part 5: Preventing Future Email Deletion Accidents

To avoid the hassle of having to recover deleted emails in the future, it’s important to take some preventive measures.

Enable Auto – Archive: Set up auto – archive in Outlook to move old emails to an archive file regularly. This helps keep your inbox and other folders organized and reduces the risk of accidentally deleting important emails. You can configure the auto – archive settings in Outlook by going to the “File” tab, then “Options,” and selecting “Advanced.” Under the “AutoArchive” section, you can set the frequency and other parameters for archiving.

Create Backups: Regularly back up your Outlook data files. For POP accounts, this means backing up the PST file, and for IMAP accounts, you can back up the OST file if you are using Outlook in cached mode. You can use Windows Backup or other third – party backup tools to create backups of your data files. Store the backups in a secure location, such as an external hard drive or a cloud storage service.

Be Cautious When Deleting Emails: Always double – check before deleting an email, especially if it contains important information. You can also consider creating a “To – Be – Deleted” folder and moving emails there instead of directly deleting them. This gives you a chance to review the emails again before permanently deleting them.