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Restoring Emails to Original Email Server

Anonymous
2021-12-01T19:31:40+00:00

I have used Outlook for about six months. Suddenly my history of emails on AOL have disappeared and I've learned there is a setting to prevent this from happening. Is there a way to restore/ export those emails back to AOL?

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For business

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-12-01T20:14:40+00:00

    Hello ElizabethHayduk

    Hi, I'm Karl and will be happy to help you today.

    How (i.e. POP or IMAP) is the account configured in Outlook?

    If not sure, from within Outlook, go to

    <File> --> <Account Settings> --> <Email> tab

    If it is an IMAP account, there is no setting that would retain emails that have been deleted via the Outlook desktop app (part of Office) - or any email client for that matter.

    If it is a POP account, there is a setting to "Leave messages on the server" for "x" ## of days (if no # of days is set, the items would remain on the server permanently)

    Quick overview of IMAP versus POP accounts

    IMAP - is a bi-directional sync of all (subscribed) email folders. What is added/changed/deleted on one side (i.e. the server) is reflected on the other side (i.e. computer). In short, any device connecting to the account using IMAP all see the same data.

    POP - is a one-way one-time download of the <Inbox> folder. Anything deleted on the computer connected to the account using POP3 is not sync'd with the server. As mentioned, there is a "Leave messages on the server" option which can be enabled and if the # of days is also set, the downloaded items would be automatically deleted from the server.

    To enable the "Leave messages on the server" - from

    <Account Settings> --> <Email> tab --> select <Change> --> check the box for the <Leave messages on the server>

    Regarding the last part of your question "Restoring data back to the AOL server"

    Will be able to better answer that once the following info is provided

    #1 - Type (POP or IMAP) of email account

    #2 - Do you currently see the data you want to restore in the Outlook desktop program?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2021-12-01T22:51:16+00:00

    What you describe would certainly work but out of curiosity, how exactly did you go about configuring the account using IMAP? The reason I ask is that in Outlook '2013 or later, you cannot configure an email account (address) more then once in a single Outlook profile.

    Since you've already copied all the data to the IMAP account, the sync would have already begun but could take a while if a lot of data is involved. Once it's completed, sync'ing is an on-going process.

    Lastly, are you planning to keep the account as an IMAP account or are you going to revert it back to POP3? If the account was the only one originally configured in Outlook - the PST file for the POP account would contain your contact/calendar data which is where you would want to keep it. You don't want to copy any contact/calendar data to folders labeled as "This Computer Only"/ Will elaborate on that if it's an applicable scenario.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-12-01T22:27:28+00:00

    Hi Karl,

    The AOL account is established in Outlook using POP. The emails are all showing in Outlook, but are now missing from AOL. I found the setting to leave email copies on the AOL server, but not a way to return those that Outlook has already transferred, which has decimated my AOL history.

    I ended up setting up a new account in Outlook for AOL using IMAP (rather than POP), then copying the emails in bulk from the POP account to the IMAP account. I'm hoping this new account in IMAP will restore the emails on AOL when it next sychronizes.

    Do you think that will work? When/how does Outlook synch?

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