Almost all of my emails disappeared from my inbox. Where did they go and how do I get them back?

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

Could you share a bit more background, for example, was your account recently compromised or inactive for a long period?

Also, do you know if your Outlook mailbox might have reached its storage limit before the emails went missing?

In the meantime, please check your "Deleted Items" and "Archive" folders, sometimes older messages are automatically moved there. You can also try searching for a specific old email to see if it still appears.

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Several things in Outlook.com can make messages seem to “disappear.” Work through these steps in order to find and restore them:

1. Check Junk Email

• Go to the Junk Email folder and look for the missing messages.
• If found, select the message, then choose Not junk > Not junk to move it back to Inbox.
• On Outlook for iOS/Android or mobile browser: open Junk Email, select the message, then … > Move to Inbox.
• Note: Messages are automatically removed from Junk Email after 30 days and cannot be recovered after that.

2. Check the Other tab (Focused Inbox)

• If Focused Inbox is on, messages may be in the Other tab instead of Focused.
• Select Other and look for the missing mail.
• If found, select the message, then Move to > Move to Focused inbox.
• On mobile apps or browser: select Other, select the message, then … > Move to Focused inbox.

3. Check Deleted Items and recover if needed

• Open the Deleted Items folder and look for the messages.
• If found, select them and choose Restore (or on mobile: … > Move to folder > Inbox).
• If not visible there, in Deleted Items select Recover items deleted from this folder (desktop browser only), then select the messages and Restore.
• Notes:
  • Messages removed from Deleted Items are recoverable for 30 days.
  • Recovery from “Recover items deleted from this folder” is not available in mobile apps or mobile browser.
  • Messages deleted from a child’s account cannot be recovered.

4. Check filters on the Inbox

• At the top of the message list, select Filter and make sure All is selected (not Unread, Not flagged, etc.).
• On mobile apps or browser, clear any filter shown above the message list.

5. Check rules and Sweep settings

• Go to Rules settings and review any Inbox rules or Sweep rules that might move or delete messages.
• If a rule is incorrectly moving mail out of Inbox, edit or delete that rule.
• Rules can only be viewed/edited on a computer.

6. Check the Archive folder

• Open the Archive folder and look for the missing messages.
• If found, select the message, then Move to > Inbox.
• On mobile apps or browser: open Archive, select the message, then … > Move to folder > Inbox.

7. Check account activity and mailbox status

• If there is concern that someone else accessed the account or changed/deleted mail, review the Recent activity for the Microsoft account at the Recent activity page.
• If the Outlook.com mailbox was not signed into for at least one year, the mailbox may have been closed and email deleted according to the Microsoft Services Agreement; in that case, messages cannot be restored.

8. If none of the above helps

• Use Outlook.com’s built-in Help to contact support: select Help in the menu bar, describe the issue, and if self-help does not resolve it, choose Still need help? to reach support.

References:

• Email is missing from your Outlook.com inbox
• Emails deleted from Outlook.com are reverting back to the Inbox