If you use Microsoft Outlook to manage your email, at some point you may need to find old emails. This can be difficult if you don't know where to look or what search criteria to use. It can also be challenging if you regularly delete your emails.
Fortunately, you can find old emails in Outlook in several ways. This article will show you how to find old emails in Outlook and Office 365 using different methods.
Why can't I find my old emails in Outlook?
If you're an Office 365 user, chances are you're using the Outlook desktop app. And if you're using Outlook, you probably won't see all of your emails.
This is because the default view in Outlook only shows emails from the last two weeks. To view old emails, you need to change the display settings.
There are several other reasons why you might not be able to find your old emails in Outlook. One possibility is that you accidentally deleted them. To check if this is the case, go to the Deleted Items folder and see if they are there. In that case, you can move them back to your inbox.
Another option is that you haveYour old emails archived. Outlook automatically archives emails over a certain age, and you can manually archive them yourself.
To verify that your emails have been archived, go to the archive folder and see if they are there. In that case, you can move them back to your inbox.
How to Find Old Emails in Outlook Email Client
If you use Outlook on your Windows computer, you can search past emails in the installed version of Microsoft Outlook configured to send and receive Office 365 emails.
This method works if you haven't already deleted old emails and data that you need to find.
To find the emails you need, first go to the "Folders" menu tab and click "New Search Folder". In modern versions of Outlook, simply click on "Search Folder" and then on the "New Search Folder..." entry.
In the New Search Folder window, scroll down to the Organize Email section and click Old Email.
Once you've done that, you can choose how long you want to track the data (for example, two weeks, one month, three months, six months, or one year).
After making your selection, click OK and the search will begin.
Then, go back to the main window (the one you were in before opening the New Search Folder option) to see your results, which appear in a separate folder.
From there, you can drag and drop emails into your inbox (or wherever you want to save them).
You can also save this survey as a custom view to use again later by clicking the "Save As" button.
As mentioned above, this is not a method to find permanently deleted email messages. If you want to recover deleted items then you need to learnHow to Find Old Deleted Emails in Outlook.
Using the Advanced Find option of the search tools
Outlook comes with an advanced multi-criteria search feature. This feature was included in Quick Access in earlier versions of Outlook, but you might need to enable it on purpose if you don't have a Search tab on the Outlook ribbon. That's how:
- Right-click on the Outlook ribbon and select "adjust the band' in the list of options.
* - Alternatively, you can use the menu File > Options - I am "Select command from:” list select the “tool guidesArticle.
- Look for the "search tools” header below and click “To search forArticle.
- click"Add"Knopf.
- Finally, click "OKbutton to save the changes.
You should now see the Search tab on the Outlook ribbon. Click on it to see the available search options.
You can use the "Search Tools" option to launch the "Advanced Search" search engine, which allows you to search for Outlook emails based on various criteria.
Alternatively, you can use the Outlook wizard (the "Tell me what you want to do" search box) to quickly access thesearch toolsor to start theAdvanced search.
Click on the help field or pressAlt+QShortcut and type the name of the desired option and click on it to launch it.
How to Recover Old Emails from Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange email services is a popular email server used by companies. If you are an Exchange Server user, you can retrieve old emails from the server itself.
To find old Outlook emails this way, do the following:
- Open Microsoft Outlook and click on the File tab.
- Then select "Account Settings".
- Then double-click your Exchange account to open the Change account window.
- In the Switch Account window, go to the More Settings tab and click on the Advanced button. This opens the advanced search window.
- You can search old emails by date, sender, recipient, subject or other criteria.
- Once you've found the emails you're looking for, you can move them to your inbox (or wherever you want to save them).
you could tooExport Exchange Mailbox to PST File.
Check cache overwrite mode
Cached Exchange Mode is a feature of Outlook that stores a copy of your Exchange mailbox on your computer. This can be useful if you want to access your email offline or improve performance.
However, Cached Exchange Mode can also prevent you from seeing your most recent emails. To check if this is the case, go to the "File" tab and click on "Account Settings".
Then double-click your Exchange account to open the Change account window or select your account name and click Change...
In the Switch account window, go to the Advanced tab and find the Offline folders file settings section.
For Exchange accounts, you can change the Cached Exchange Mode parameters, which are only available in this case. By default, Outlook clients on Windows save email to a computer for one year using local storage.
After that, old messages are deleted from Outlook client's local storage. Slide the 1 year slider to the right for All. Then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup and restart Outlook. After that, the changes should take effect.
After that, your old emails should not be deleted from your computer for three to twelve months.
How to recover old emails in Outlook Web Client
If you use Outlook Web App with Office 365, you can find your old email messages in several ways.
As some of your old emails are automatically archived, it's best to check the Archive folder first. To do this, click on the gear icon in the upper right corner and select "Mail".
Then click on "Options" and select "Show all options". Then go to the "Mail" section and click on "Auto-Archiving Settings".
From there, you can change how often you want Outlook to automatically archive your email.
You can also manually archive your emails by selecting the emails you want to archive and clicking the "Archive" button.
If they aren't in the Archive folder, you probably deleted them. Then it's best to check your Deleted Items folder.
If you have deleted them and they are in this folder, you can select the emails and click "Recover Selected Items" button.
You can also find old emails by searching for them. To do this, click on the search bar and type in what you are looking for.
Change retention policies
Retention policies are used to specify how long emails should be retained before being deleted.
You can change the retention policy if you want to keep your old emails longer.
First, open the Exchange Control Panel by accessing "Compliance Management".
Then click Retention Policies. From there, you can create a new retention policy or edit an existing one.
To configure the new policy, select the "Do not delete items until they are older than" option and enter the number of days you want to keep emails.
You can also choose to delete emails after a specific number of days or weeks. or learnHow to stop Outlook from deleting emailsin our previous blog post.
After making changes, click the "Save" button.
Restore old emails from a backup
If you backed up your Office 365 data before the emails were deleted, you can use that backup to restore your old emails.
To do this, open the "File" tab and click "Open and Export".
Then click "Import/Export".
In the next window, select the "Import from another program or file" option and click the "Next" button.
Then select "Outlook Data File (.pst)" option and click "Next" button.
In the next window, select the desired backup file and click the "Open" button.
Then select the mailbox you want to import from the backup file and click "Finish" button.
You can also back up the Office 365 kernel. To do this, download and install the Office 365 Kernel Backup and Restore Tool.
Once installed, open the tool and select the "Backup" option.
In the next window, select the mailbox you want to back up and click the "Add" button.
Then select the location where you want to save the backup file and click "OK" button.
Select "Show all mailboxes" to backup all mailboxes in your Office 365 account.
Use the desired filters to filter the mailbox items according to your needs and click through the guided process
Now the backup process will start. When finished, you will have a PST file that you can use to recover your old emails.
Conclusion
There are several ways to find old emails in Office 365. Chances are your old emails were recently archived or deleted.
However, if you cannot find your old emails, try changing the retention policy or restoring them from a backup.
common questions
Does Outlook delete old emails?
Whether or not Office 365 deletes old emails depends on how you've configured Outlook. By default, Outlook does not delete old emails, but it does provide an option to automatically archive emails after a specified period of time. If you have this option enabled, your old emails will be moved to an archive folder and will no longer appear in your inbox. You can still access them when you need them, but they will no longer clutter up your inbox. Ultimately, it's up to you whether Outlook deletes old emails or not.
How long does Outlook store emails?
It depends on how you have configured Outlook. By default, Outlook does not delete old emails, but it does provide an option to automatically archive emails after a specified period of time. With this option enabled, your old emails will be moved to an archive folder and will no longer appear in your inbox. You can select any period of time to archive the emails.
How to find old emails in Outlook by date?
To search old emails in Outlook by date, open the "Search" tab and click "Advanced search". Then select the mailbox you want to search and enter the date range you want to search. Click the "Search" button and all emails from that date range will be displayed. You can scroll through the results and find the email they are looking for.
How do I get Outlook to show all my emails?
If you don't see all your emails in Outlook, it's probably because they are being filtered somehow. To fix this, open the "View" tab and click on the "View as conversations" option. This will show all your emails in one list whether they are part of a conversation or not. If you still don't see all of your emails, a filter might be hiding them. To fix this, open the "View" tab and click on the "Change View" option. Then select the All Messages option from the list of available views. This will show all your emails, even those hidden by a filter.
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FAQs
How do I see all my old emails in Outlook? ›
Old Emails in the Outlook Email Client
Open the Folder menu tab, and click New Search Folder. In the New Search Folder window, hit Old email in the Organizing Mail section. Click Choose and select the needed time period, for example, Older than 3 months. You can select days, weeks, and months.
- In the left pane of the Outlook on the web window, select the Deleted Items folder.
- At the bottom of the window, select Recover deleted items.
- Select the item you want to recover, and then select Recover from either the toolbar. ...
- In Recover items, select OK.
To temporarily view messages older than 12 months you can scroll to the end of an email list in a folder and click 'Click here to view more on Microsoft Exchange' or 'More'. To change your view permanently you can change the setting in account settings.
Why is Outlook not searching old emails? ›Open Outlook and head to File > Options > Search > Indexing Options. Select Modify from the Indexing Options panel. Make sure there is a check alongside Microsoft Outlook, then press OK. Now, restart your system.
How can I see emails older than 12 months? ›Start Outlook. On the File tab, click Account Settings, and then click Account Settings. On the E-mail tab, double-click your Microsoft Exchange account. In the Change Account dialog box, drag the Mail to keep offline slider to the desired number of months or to All to synchronize all email messages.
How far back does Outlook save emails? ›By default, Outlook configures Exchange and Office 365 accounts to only synchronize 12 months of your email.
How do I retrieve old emails? ›- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
- At the top left, tap Menu .
- Tap Trash.
- Tap the letter or photo next to the messages you want to recover.
- At the top right, tap More .
- Tap Move to.
- Choose where you want to move the messages to, like your inbox.
- Go to your inbox.
- Open the trash folder.
- Select the emails you want to recover.
- Move the emails back to your inbox by clicking on the Move or Recover button.
- Return to your inbox and look for the recovered emails.
For example you could search for old emails by typing something like before:2018/04/08 in the search bar. You can also search for emails within a date range by typing "after:" followed by the starting date in YYYY/MM/DD format, followed by "before:" followed by an end date in YYYY/MM/DD format in the search bar.
How do I retrieve emails from 2 years ago in Outlook? ›To find old emails in Outlook by date, open the “Search” tab and click on the “Advanced Find” option. Then, select the mailbox you want to search in and enter the date range you want to search for. Click on the “Search” button, and all the emails from that date range will appear.
How do I search years in Outlook? ›
To search a specific range of dates, use your desired start and finish date range. For example, type “received:>=02/23/2018 AND received:<=02/25/2018. ” This sequence will retrieve all email received during the time period you specified.
Does Outlook delete emails over a year old? ›Note: By default, items in your trash folder will be permanently deleted after 30 days. If your Outlook shows Trash folder instead of Deleted Items folder, then you cannot recover permanently deleted emails using the Recoverable Items folder.
Why my old emails are not showing? ›Emails might skip your inbox if they were accidentally archived, deleted, or marked as spam. Follow these steps to search all your emails, including those that aren't in your inbox: On your computer, open Gmail. Click the All Mail drop down, then select Mail & Spam & Trash.
Why is Outlook search only finding emails three weeks or older? ›If your search function isn't finding any of your messages or only recent messages in the last two weeks, you may need to rebuild the search index. You may also receive a message "Instant search encountered a problem while trying to display search results.
How long are old emails kept? ›Gmail keeps your archived emails indefinitely or until you delete them. Only messages that are deleted are removed from the Trash after 30 days. How do I retrieve archived emails? If a message has been archived, you can find it by opening the “All Mail” label.
How long does Outlook 365 keep emails? ›Outlook Policies
Your Deleted Items folder and Junk Mail folder have a 30 day retention policy applied to them. This means that after 30 days, an item is automatically moved to the Deletions folder.
When a user deletes a Gmail message, it stays in their Trash for 30 days. These are the options for retrieving and restoring deleted messages: For up to 30 days after deleting, users can recover their own messages from the Trash by following the steps in Recover deleted Gmail messages.
How do I find my oldest emails? ›Select “All Mail” on the left-hand side (under the compose button). 3. Hover over the “1-50 of …” that shows you how many emails you have at the top of the page. When you do this, a dropdown will allow you to click “Oldest.” That takes you to the oldest page in your Gmail history.
Does Outlook have a year view? ›Do you need to view several months in Outlook? While Outlook doesn't have a Yearly view or even a multiple month view, there are several ways to view multiple months at once.
Do emails disappear from Outlook? ›Conclusion. Usually, emails disappear when you accidentally delete or archive them in Outlook. It may also be an indicator of your account being compromised and used by someone else without your authorization. Further, incorrect settings, rules, and filters may also give the impression that emails are disappearing.
Are permanently deleted emails gone forever Outlook? ›
If you've permanently deleted an item in Microsoft Outlook or Outlook on the web (formerly known as Outlook Web App), the item is moved to a folder (Recoverable Items > Deletions) and kept there for 14 days, by default. You can change how long items are kept, up to a maximum of 30 days.
How do I find emails from 10 years ago? ›Find older or newer emails by using the older_than: and newer_than: operators. For example, if you enter "older_than:1y" Gmail will show you all messages older than 1 year (use "m" for months and "d" for days).
Where did all my emails disappear to? ›Most of the time your messages can be found within the Spam or Trash folder. Or you may have filters in place which automatically move messages to different folders. There are some other reasons your emails go missing depending on your mail service provider.
How do I increase Outlook search history? ›- In Outlook, click the File menu -> Options.
- Select Search in the left column.
- Locate and clear the selection for: Improve search speed by limiting the number of results shown.
Select “All Mail” on the left-hand side (under the compose button). 3. Hover over the “1-50 of …” that shows you how many emails you have at the top of the page. When you do this, a dropdown will allow you to click “Oldest.” That takes you to the oldest page in your Gmail history.
How long do emails stay on server? ›Emails, except those in your delete folder, should remain on the server until you delete them or until the email account is deleted.
Can you search old emails by date? ›You can use Google's advanced search options to find specific messages based on their date. For example, enter that date into the search bar if you want to find all messages sent on Feb. 15th, 2017. You'll see all emails sent on that day appear in response to your request.
Why have my old emails disappeared? ›Emails might skip your inbox if they have been accidentally archived, deleted or marked as spam. Follow these steps to search all of your emails, including those that aren't in your inbox: On your computer, open Gmail. Click the All Mail drop-down menu, then select Mail & Spam & Bin.
How can I find old emails with my name? ›Look up your username in search engines
Type your favorite usernames into Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, and DuckDuckGo to see where they appear online. Do a search for your name (with quotation marks around it to contain results) and email addresses as well.