---
title: "Restoring deleted emails in Outlook – here's how"
url: https://lookeen.com/blog/restoring-deleted-emails-in-outlook-here-s-how
lang: en
description: "You have deleted important Outlook emails and want to restore them? Click here for the appropriate guide!"
author: "Froher Yosofy"
published: 2021-01-19T13:01:38+00:00
modified: 2026-11-11T05:17:57+00:00
---

# Restoring deleted emails in Outlook – here's how

Did you accidentally delete important emails? Don’t worry; there are several ways to recover your emails in Outlook. Ideally, you already have a backup that allows you to import your deleted emails. [Learn how to create a backup for Outlook in this blog post.](https://lookeen.com/blog/outlook-back-up-data-and-create-a-backup-here-s-how) Don’t have an Outlook backup? There are other methods available to recover your deleted emails. Find out what they are in the second part of the article. The following instructions can be applied to Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, and Outlook for Microsoft 365.

## Outlook: Restore Emails via Backup

If you want to restore your emails via a backup, follow this step-by-step guide.

**Step 1:** Open the Outlook *Import/Export Wizard*. To do this, click on *File* and then on *Open & Export*.

![Outlook Open and Export](https://lookeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Outlook-Oeffnen-und-Exportieren-und-dann-Importieren-Exportieren-Feld.jpg)

**Step 2:** In the next step, select the option *Import from another program or file*.

![Outlook Import/Export Wizard](https://lookeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Outlook-aus-anderen-Programmen-oder-Dateien-importieren.jpg)

**Step 3:** Now click on the field *Outlook Data File (.pst)*. This allows you to select the file type to be imported.

![Outlook Import/Export Wizard](https://lookeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Datei-importieren-Outlook-Datendatei-auswaehlen-1.jpg)

**Step 4:** You can now decide which folders you want to restore. If you want to restore all contents, select the *Outlook Data File (.pst)* and click on *Include subfolders*.

**Step 5:** In the final step, you determine where your files should be imported. If in doubt, leave it at Outlook’s default setting. Click on *Finish*. Outlook will now automatically restore your files and emails.

[Can't find your emails? With Lookeen, you can now search for your emails in seconds!](https://lookeen.com/solutions/outlook-search/email-search)

## Outlook: Restore Emails via “Deleted Items”

If you do not have an Outlook backup on your PC, you can use this guide to restore your deleted emails.

**Step 1:** Open the *Deleted Items* folder.

**Step 2:** Now click on *Restore Deleted Items* and select the emails you want to restore. However, this assumes that your emails have not been permanently deleted.

Are your emails in Outlook permanently deleted? Try restoring them using the command *Restore Deleted Items from Server*. If this option is not available, your Outlook account likely does not support this procedure. As a last resort, only an external tool or third-party software remains at this point.

For example, with the [Lookeen search](https://lookeen.com/solutions/outlook-search/outlook-search), you can easily search for your emails in Outlook and on your desktop. This allows you to find out whether you actually deleted the files or perhaps just moved them. You can also try to restore the *Outlook Data File (.pst)* using the utility *Scanpst.exe*. [Find out how this works in this blog post.](https://lookeen.com/blog/outlook-no-longer-starts-here-s-how-to-get-it-working-again/) To do so, search the article for the heading “Repair PST File”.

I hope this article has helped you restore your deleted or lost Outlook emails.

See you soon!

[Find your emails now with Lookeen's real-time search! Click here for more information.](https://lookeen.com/solutions/outlook-search/email-search)