Most “missing” emails in Outlook are not actually gone. They are usually sitting in the Deleted Items folder, tucked away in another folder, or held in quarantine while a security filter waits for someone to release them. This guide walks you through the general ways to retrieve an email in Outlook on desktop, on the web, and on mobile, plus what to try if you have searched everywhere and still cannot find it.
Quick steps
- Open the Deleted Items folder and look for the email.
- If it’s there, move it back to your inbox.
- If it’s not in Deleted Items, look for a recovery option connected to that folder. Its exact location can vary depending on your version of Outlook and your account type.
- Still nothing? Search across all folders or all mailboxes using the search bar, in case the message moved somewhere other than your inbox.
- If you suspect the email was blocked as spam, check quarantine in Microsoft Defender for Office 365, if your organization uses it.
Before you start
A few things to check before you dig into recovery steps:
- Know which Outlook you’re using: the desktop app, Outlook on the web (including Outlook.com), or the Outlook mobile app. The steps and available options can differ between them.
- Know whether your account is a personal Microsoft account, a work or school account, or a shared mailbox, since recovery options can vary by account type.
- The longer an email has been deleted, the harder it can be to recover, so it’s worth acting quickly.
- If you’re on a work or school account and cannot recover something yourself, your IT admin may have additional options at the server level, depending on how your organization has configured retention.
Outlook desktop
If you’re using the Outlook desktop app, start with the Deleted Items folder before looking for any additional recovery options.
- In the folder list on the left, select Deleted Items.
- Look through the list for the message you want back. You can use the search box at the top of the folder to narrow things down by sender, subject, or keyword.
- When you find it, right-click the message and choose to move it, then select your Inbox as the destination (or drag the email directly into the Inbox folder).
- If the email is not in Deleted Items, many versions of Outlook also offer a way to recover items that were already removed from that folder. This option is not labeled the same way in every version, so look for a recovery-related command on the ribbon or near the Deleted Items folder itself.
- If you find a recovery tool, select the email or emails you want back, then confirm the restore action.
- Check your Inbox or Deleted Items folder to confirm the message came back.
If you cannot find any option to recover items beyond what is in Deleted Items, it may mean that option is not available for your account type, or the retention window for that item has already passed.
Outlook on the web and Outlook.com
If you use Outlook through a browser, whether that’s a work or school account or a personal Outlook.com address, the general process is similar to desktop.
- Sign in and go to your mail folders on the left side of the screen.
- Select Deleted Items and look for your email.
- If you find it, move it back to your inbox or another folder.
- If it’s not there, check whether your version of Outlook on the web offers a recovery option for items removed from Deleted Items. Its location can vary, so look near the folder name or in the folder’s options.
- If you find a recovery option, select the message or messages you need, then confirm the action.
- Use the search bar at the top of the page to search across all folders if you’re not sure where the email ended up.
Search is your friend here. Instead of clicking through every folder, type a keyword, sender name, or part of the subject line into the search box, and expand the search scope to all folders or all mailboxes if that option is available to you.
Outlook mobile app
The Outlook mobile app generally has fewer recovery options than the desktop app or the web version, so it’s best used as a backup method rather than your first stop.
- Open the Outlook app and tap the menu icon to see your folder list.
- Look for the Deleted Items folder and find the email you’re after.
- Use the move option (usually a swipe or long-press action) to send the message back to your inbox.
- If you cannot find a way to recover items that have already been removed from Deleted Items, switch to a desktop app or web browser, since more complete recovery options are usually available there.
Recovering email from a shared mailbox
Shared mailboxes let multiple people access a common inbox, and they come with their own considerations around access and licensing. If you have access to a shared mailbox, you can typically check its Deleted Items folder the same way you would for a regular mailbox. If you don’t see a way to recover something beyond that folder, an admin with access to the mailbox may be able to help, since organizations often manage retention and recovery settings for shared mailboxes separately from individual accounts.
Retrieving an email caught in quarantine
Sometimes an email is not deleted at all. It has been flagged and held in quarantine by your organization’s email security filters. If your workplace uses Microsoft Defender for Office 365, quarantined messages do not show up in your mailbox until someone releases them.
- Sign in to the Microsoft Defender portal at
security.microsoft.com, or through whatever quarantine portal your organization provides. - Find the message using details such as the sender address, the time it was received, or the recipients.
- Review the message details, then use the available action to release it so it’s delivered to your inbox.
If you don’t have access to the quarantine portal yourself, ask your IT admin to check and release the message on your behalf.
If it doesn’t work
The email isn’t in Deleted Items or any recovery tool you can find
It may have been removed permanently, or the retention period for your account may have already expired. At this point, your best option is to contact your email admin (for work or school accounts) or Microsoft support (for personal accounts) to ask whether server-side recovery is still possible.
You don’t see any recovery option beyond Deleted Items
This usually means the feature isn’t available for your account type, or your version of Outlook presents it differently than you expect. Check both the desktop app and the web version, since an option available in one may not appear in the other.
You found the email but it’s missing attachments or looks incomplete
This can happen if the message was only partially synced before it was deleted. Try opening the email from a different device or client (web versus desktop) to see if a fuller version syncs through.
The email was sent to the wrong person or you need it back before they read it
If you’re trying to undo a message you sent rather than recover a deleted one, that’s a different process. Check our guide on how to recall an email in Outlook instead.
Frequently asked questions
How do I retrieve permanently deleted email in Outlook?
Once an email has been removed from the Deleted Items folder and from any additional recovery tool your version of Outlook offers, self-service recovery usually isn’t possible. Contact your organization’s IT admin or Microsoft support to ask if the message can still be restored from the server, since this depends on your account’s retention settings.
How do I find a lost email in Outlook if it’s not deleted?
Use the search bar and make sure it’s set to search all folders or all mailboxes rather than just the current folder. Emails often “go missing” because a rule or filter moved them to a folder other than the inbox, so checking folders like Archive, Junk, or Other is worth doing too.
Can I recover an email I deleted weeks ago?
It depends on your account’s retention settings for deleted items, which vary by account type and organization. If it’s no longer available through the usual recovery options, ask your admin whether a longer-term backup or retention policy applies to your mailbox.
Why can’t I find a recovery option for deleted items?
Some personal or free-tier accounts may not offer this feature, or it may be presented differently depending on your version of Outlook. Checking both the desktop app and the web version can help, since the option sometimes appears in one but not the other.
How do I get back an email that went to quarantine instead of my inbox?
You’ll need access to your organization’s quarantine portal, typically through Microsoft Defender for Office 365, where you can search for the message using details like the sender address or time received, then release it to your inbox. If you don’t have access, ask your IT admin to release it on your behalf.
Related guides
- How to Delete Email Messages in Outlook 2019?
- How to Recall an Email in Outlook (Step-by-Step)
- How to Check for New Email in Outlook 2019?
- Add an email account to Outlook
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