HELP !! How can I restore emails from missing mailboxes after latest update?

Question

My work computer (sole trader) advised i needed to restart my computer due to software updates this morning. I have done this and now lost access to all of my emails.

I then asked Chat GPT how to gain access to my emails again and showed it the error message. It explained that due to an update in Microsoft 365 a link had been broken and I had to relink it. I previously had access to 5 email boxes for the business my dad set up and I brought off him. They were [Moderator note: personal info removed].

I was advised that there is only one license for this account and I could only have one email box and I would need to set up alias for all the other mailbox's so that any incoming mail to them would be redirected to the main email address (that I, as the sole business owner use) which is the [Moderator note: personal info removed]. During this process Chat GPT instructed me to change the [Moderator note: personal info removed] account to [Moderator note: personal info removed].

I can now access the sales email box, but all the mailboxes I had previously are no longer accessible and all the archived emails gone. I need to get them back ASAP. I am not an IT expert; I have basic knowledge of computers and run this business alone. Please help

Answer 1

Important Note on Privacy: To protect your personal information in this public forum, I have redacted your sensitive details from your previous reply.

Dear @Sales | Ceramic Memorial Photos,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

As a moderator, I don't have the tools to investigate your specific account directly because this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors, including external Microsoft employees, cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas. However, I will try my best to guide you as clearly as possible.

Please stay calm and help me check the following information first:

• Are there any error messages appearing? If so, please take screenshots of all of them so I can see exactly what the error message says.
• Please try logging into your main account via office.com on a web browser to see if your emails are still there.
• Which version of Outlook are you currently using? (New Outlook or Classic Outlook)

Please help me answer these three questions first. Since you have already gone through many steps previously, we need to start from the basics to clearly understand the situation. From there, I can suggest the appropriate steps to take and prevent you from losing your account entirely.

I look forward to your support and response!

Answer 2

To restore access to your missing emails and mailboxes after the update, you can follow these steps:

1. Check Your Account Settings: Ensure that you are logged into the correct Microsoft 365 account that has the necessary permissions for the mailboxes. Sometimes, updates can cause account settings to change.
2. Re-add Mailboxes: If you have lost access to additional mailboxes, you may need to re-add them. You can do this by going to Outlook, navigating to File > Account Settings > Account Settings, and then adding the additional mailboxes under the Email tab.
3. Check for Aliases: Since you mentioned needing to set up aliases, ensure that the aliases are correctly configured in your Microsoft 365 admin center. This will help redirect emails from the other mailboxes to your main account.
4. Recover Deleted Items: If you suspect that emails or mailboxes have been deleted, you can check the Deleted Items folder in Outlook or use the Recover Deleted Items feature if you are using Exchange Online.
5. Contact Support: If the above steps do not resolve the issue, consider reaching out to Microsoft Support for assistance. They can help you troubleshoot the issue further and restore any lost data if possible.

Since you are not an IT expert, it may be beneficial to have someone with more technical knowledge assist you with these steps if you encounter difficulties.

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References:

• How do I recover my old email messages, my contacts and everything else I had in Outlook? - Microsoft Q&A
• Outlook is using a temporary email and I cannot receive emails - Microsoft Q&A