For many individuals, emails represent a means of communication and a method of maintaining records. Nevertheless, what occurs if you inadvertently delete an email from any correspondence and subsequently empty its contents from the Deleted Items folder? Is it feasible to recover deleted emails from Outlook? Fortunately, if approached promptly, it is often possible to reinstate that email you believed to be irreparably lost. In this blog entry, we will guide you on how to recover recently/permanently deleted emails in Outlook.
How to Retrieve Permanently Deleted Emails in Outlook: 3 Effective Methods
Can You Restore Deleted Emails from Outlook?
You may be questioning whether it is possible to recover deleted emails from Outlook. If more than 30 days have transpired since you permanently deleted the emails after clearing the Recoverable Items folder and you lack a comprehensive backup of your Outlook data, recovery might not be feasible.
Outlook provides users with a drag-and-drop feature for eliminating unnecessary emails, thus when an email is deleted, it is sent to the Deleted Items folder. Items removed from this folder are retained for no more than thirty days and will be automatically cleared by a systematic process.
Nonetheless, there remain options to restore deleted Outlook emails that have been permanently erased. Occasionally, an email deleted from Outlook is not immediately removed from your system. The data remains accessible until it is overwritten.
How to Restore Permanently Deleted Emails in Outlook?
Option A: Recover Deleted Outlook Emails via 4DDiG
When Outlook’s built-in recovery functionalities fail to retrieve permanently deleted emails, specialized data recovery software such as Tenorshare 4DDiG can often accomplish the task.
4DDiG is dedicated data recovery software renowned for its robust capabilities to undelete Outlook emails, even if you have emptied the Deleted Items folder. Some notable advantages of 4DDiG for Outlook email recovery encompass its support for PST and OST files, advanced scanning algorithms that accurately detect deleted emails, and its capacity to recover data from various sources including hard drives, external devices, malfunctioning computers, and more.
Significantly, 4DDiG is engineered to retrieve deleted Outlook emails without compromising or altering the data in any manner. It can dependably restore your lost emails in their original condition.
Supports recovery from both PST and OST Outlook file formats
Can recover over 2000 distinct file types beyond merely Outlook emails
Retrieves deleted files from hard drives, external devices, malfunctioning computers, recycle bins, etc.
No threat of viruses, malware, or other detrimental software
User-friendly interface suitable for novices and professionals alike
Industry-leading success rate, with recovery up to 97%.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to recover deleted emails in Outlook using 4DDiG:
Download and install 4DDiG on your computer. Launch the application. Choose the drive or directory where your Outlook data files (PST or OST files) are kept. This is typically the C drive located under the Documents->Outlook Files folder. Click “Scan,” and 4DDiG will examine the specified location for any recoverable Outlook files.
Once the scan concludes, utilize the filter to locate your Outlook PST or OST files. Select the files you wish to recover.
Click “Recover” to reinstate the deleted PST/OST files. Select a save destination.
Open Outlook and import the retrieved PST/OST files. Navigate to File > Open & Export > Import/Export to import the restored files into Outlook.
Option B: Recover Deleted Outlook Emails via Recoverable Items
The Recoverable Items folder in Outlook provides an alternative method for recovering deleted emails, even if the Deleted Items folder has been emptied.
The Recoverable Items folder functions as a temporary backup for items removed from Outlook. When emails are permanently deleted in Outlook, copies are retained in Recoverable Items for 30 days before being permanently removed.
Here is how to recover deleted emails from Outlook after 30 days:
Navigate to the Deleted Items folder in Outlook.
Click “Recover items from this folder” above the listing.
Select the deleted items you wish to restore.
Click the “Recover Selected Items” button.
The emails will be restored to their original folder or the Deleted Items folder.
Option C: Recover Deleted Outlook Emails from the Archive Folder
AutoArchive automatically transfers older Outlook items, such as emails, to an archive file after a designated period. If AutoArchive is enabled without your knowledge, your “deleted” emails may simply be archived.
Here is how to restore permanently deleted emails in Outlook:
Launch Outlook and navigate to the “Archive” folder.
Browse the archive for deleted emails.
Select the emails you wish to restore.
Choose “Move to” and select a folder such as your Inbox to return the emails.
How to Retrieve Deleted Emails in Outlook within 30 Days?
If an email was inadvertently deleted from Outlook within the last 30 days, you may be able to quickly recover deleted Outlook emails by following these steps:
Open Outlook and go to the Deleted Items folder. This folder retains emails deleted from any Outlook folder for 30 days.
Locate and select the deleted email(s) you wish to restore.
Right-click on the selected email(s). Choose “Move,” and then select the target folder, such as your Inbox.
Click OK to transfer the email(s) back to the chosen folder.
This process enables you to efficiently recover recently deleted emails still within the 30-day retention period in the Deleted Items folder.
However, if you have already emptied the Deleted Items folder, you will need to utilize Outlook’s Recover Deleted Items tool or examine the Recoverable Items folder to attempt restoring deleted emails instead.
FAQs About How to Recover Deleted Emails from Outlook After 30 Days
Q1: Are deleted Outlook emails gone permanently?
No, removed Outlook emails are not definitively lost forever. When an email is removed in Outlook, it is initially transferred to the Deleted Items folder. Emails are retained in the Deleted Items folder for 30 days before being irrevocably erased.
During this 30-day timeframe, retrieval of deleted emails from the Deleted Items folder is feasible. Even after 30 days, deleted emails may still be recoverable from the Recoverable Items folder in Outlook for an additional period of up to 14 days.
Q2: What is the duration Outlook retains permanently deleted emails?
By default, Outlook retains deleted emails in the Recoverable Items folder for 14 days post permanent deletion. This 14-day retention timeframe can be extended to a maximum of 30 days for the Recoverable Items folder.
Q3: How can I prevent Outlook from permanently deleting emails?
Here are the procedures to stop Outlook from automatically archiving emails in a designated folder:
Open Outlook and navigate to the folder you wish to exempt from auto-archiving.
Right-click on the folder and select “Properties. “
In the Properties window, click the “AutoArchive” tab.
Under “AutoArchive Settings,” check the box next to “Do not archive items in this folder. “
Click “OK” to apply the changes.
Conclusion
Thus, that concludes the discussion on how to recover permanently deleted emails in Outlook.
Accidentally deleting emails in Outlook does not inherently signify that the emails are lost forever. There are specific built-in features such as the Deleted Items folder and Recoverable Items that Outlook offers to restore such emails for a limited duration.
This is where a robust Outlook deleted email recovery solution like 4DDiG proves beneficial. When all ‘recovery’ alternatives from Outlook are exhausted, 4DDiG’s state-of-the-art scanning technologies can retrieve old, missing emails that should have been permanently removed from your Outlook application and database.