How to retrieve lost information?

Question

On July 15, Microsoft deactivated my [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed] email account which was a non-profit account. We subscribed to a new account and when I reactivated the email account, I have lost all of the folders and contacts that I have been building for about four years. Is there any way to retrieve the information that I have lost?

Answer 1

Hi Jeff Coffelt

Since the account was deactivated on July 15, there may still be a limited opportunity to recover the mailbox if it has not yet passed Microsoft's retention period. In Microsoft 365, a deleted mailbox is generally retained for up to 30 days before being permanently removed.

Microsoft 365 Exchange data deletion | Microsoft Learn

If you are using a Microsoft 365 Nonprofit subscription, please contact your Microsoft 365 administrator as soon as possible and ask them to check whether the original mailbox still exists as a soft-deleted mailbox in Exchange Online. If it does, the mailbox may be recoverable.

If you are the Microsoft 365 administrator, please check whether the original mailbox still exists in Exchange Online:

• Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Users > Deleted users to see whether the original user account was deleted. If it is listed there, you may be able to restore it. If it is not listed, the account may instead have been unlicensed, blocked, or otherwise deactivated rather than deleted.
• Check for a soft-deleted mailbox in Exchange Online> Recipients > Mailboxes and look for the user.

In case the mailbox is found as a soft-deleted mailbox, it may still be recoverable. If it is no longer present and more than 30 days have passed since deletion, the mailbox contents are generally permanently removed unless a retention policy, Litigation Hold, or another retention mechanism was in place.

If the account was recreated as a new user rather than restoring the original user account, or if the retention period has already expired, the original folders, emails, contacts, and other mailbox data may no longer be recoverable.

Because you are very close to the 30-day retention limit, I recommend contacting your Microsoft 365 administrator or Microsoft 365 support immediately if you find the administrative checks difficult to perform, or if you are unsure whether the original account was deleted, restored, or recreated. For further instructions, you can follow this guide: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn.

I hope this information helps.

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Answer 2

For Classic Outlook, the recovery path depends on whether the missing items are still in Deleted Items or have moved to Recoverable Items.

1. In Outlook, check Deleted Items first.
   • If the missing folders are there, drag them back to the correct place in the folder list.
   • If the missing contacts are there, restore or move them back to the Contacts folder.
2. If the items are not in Deleted Items, check Recoverable Items.
   • In Classic Outlook, go to your email folder list and select Deleted Items.
   • On the Home tab, select Recover Deleted Items From Server.
   • Select the items to recover, then select Restore Selected Items > OK.
3. For contacts specifically in Outlook on the web or Outlook.com:
   • Go to People.
   • Open Deleted.
   • If the contacts are there, right-click and select Restore.
   • If not, at the top of the list select Recover deleted, then select the contacts and choose Restore.
4. Important limits:
   • A folder can be recovered only if it is still in Deleted Items.
   • A folder that was permanently deleted cannot be recovered as a folder.
   • In Classic Outlook, messages or other items may still be recoverable from Recoverable Items even if the folder itself is not.
   • If the missing items do not appear in the Recover Deleted Items window, the documented next step is to contact the system administrator.
   • For work or school accounts, retention policies set by the admin can determine how long deleted items remain recoverable.
5. Where recovered items go:
   • Recovered contacts are restored to their original folder when possible, or to the default Contacts folder.
   • Recovered mail items are restored to their original folder when possible; if the original folder no longer exists, messages go to the Inbox.

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References:

• Recover and restore deleted items in Outlook
• Restore or recover a deleted contact in Outlook