When you delete an email in Outlook either accidentally or deliberately, the deleted email is moved to ‘Deleted Items’. To recover missing email in Outlook, go to the ‘Deleted Items’ folder, drag the missing email item from the folder and drop into ‘Draft’, ‘Inbox’, or any other email folder.
However, if the mail items are further removed from the ‘Deleted Items’ folder or the folder is emptied, the situation becomes tricky.
But you can still recover missing or permanently deleted emails in Outlook with a built-in email recovery feature or by using a third-party email recovery software.
Read along to learn how to recover missing or permanently deleted emails and mailbox items in Outlook 2019. Also, learn tips to prevent emails from accidental deletion in Outlook.
Methods to Recover Missing Emails in Outlook 2019
NOTE: Sometimes, emails may get filtered and end up in the ‘Junk Email’ folder. Before reading any further, do check the ‘Junk Email’ folder for the missing emails.
Method 1: Recover Missing Email from Recoverable Items
Outlook features an option ‘Recover Deleted Items from Server’ that can help you find and restore missing or deleted email items in Outlook 2019 even if the ‘Deleted Items’ folder is emptied.
To recover deleted emails in Outlook 2013 and above, follow these steps:
- Click the ‘Home’ tab and then click ‘Recover Deleted Items from Server’
- Scroll and find the missing email from the list and click ‘Restore.’
Method 2: Use Stellar Repair for Outlook
If the missing email is not found in the recoverable items, there is no other way but to use a third-party outlook recovery software such as Stellar Repair for Outlook.
The Outlook email repair software not only repairs a damaged or corrupt Outlook Data File (.PST) but also recovers permanently deleted and missing email items that are not found in ‘Deleted Items’ and recoverable items list.
Follow the steps to get back missing emails in Outlook 2019 by using Stellar Repair for Outlook:
- Download and install Stellar Repair for Outlook on your Windows PC
- Launch the software and close the MS Outlook app
- Click on ‘Browse’ to choose the PST Outlook file
NOTE: If Outlook PST is not found, export the PST file via Outlook Import and Export wizard.
- Click ‘Repair’
- After the repair is done, click ‘OK.’
- Browse ‘Deleted Items’ and ‘Lost&Found’ folders to select the missing mail items you want to recover
- You can also click on a recovered mail item to see its preview
- After choosing the missing mail items, click ‘Save Repaired File.’
- Choose the MSG format, or you may also export individual or multiple mail items to MSG, PST, EML, RTF, HTML, or PDF format
- Choose a save location on the PC or external storage device and click ‘Save.’
- You can now drag and drop the MSG file(s) to your Outlook email folder
How to Prevent Emails from Missing and Accidental Deletion in Outlook
Add Email ID to Your Contacts or Address Book
- Click ‘Address Book’
- Click ‘File>New Entry…’
- Click ‘OK’ and then fill the details of the sender
- Click ‘Save & Close’ after entering the required information
Change Message Handling Settings
- On Outlook web app, click ‘Settings> Options.’
- Under ‘Mail’, click ‘Message options’
- Uncheck ‘Empty the Deleted Items folder when I sign out’ and click ‘Save.’
This will avoid permanent email deletion from ‘Deleted Items’ in case you accidentally delete an email while accessing Outlook on the web.
Conclusion
Outlook moves all deleted email items in the ‘Deleted Items’ folder and further provides an option to get back permanently deleted emails from the server. But sometimes, Outlook may move the received emails into the ‘Junk Email’ folder if it detects spam—especially when the subject line is missing or mail contains suspicious links.
But if the missing emails are not found in Deleted or Recoverable Items, use a tool such as Stellar Repair for Outlook to recover deleted and missing emails in Outlook. The software can restore all emails missing from the Outlook and can export them to a new PST, PDF, HTML, or Office 365 account directly.
Author Bio: Rajan Singh, a tech consultant who loves to write and share troubleshooting-tips related to Email repair, File repair, etc. He is also participating in different tech communities to educate end-users about open-source scripts related to database optimization. Social link- https://twitter.com/rajansrinet