Recover "lost" sent email?

To recover "lost" sent emails in Microsoft 365 or Exchange, you can use the following methods:

1. Check the Sent Items Folder: First, ensure that the emails are not in the Sent Items folder. Sometimes, emails may be moved to other folders or deleted.
2. Recover Deleted Items: If the emails were deleted, you can recover them from the Recoverable Items folder. This can be done through Outlook or Outlook on the web. Here’s how:
   • In Outlook, go to the Folder tab and select Recover Deleted Items. You can then select the emails you want to recover.
   • In Outlook on the web, go to the Deleted Items folder and look for the option to recover items that are no longer there.
3. Use In-Place eDiscovery: If you have the necessary permissions, you can perform an In-Place eDiscovery search to find and recover the missing emails. This can be done through the Exchange admin center (EAC) or using PowerShell commands like Search-Mailbox or New-ComplianceSearch.
   • For example, you can use a command like:

          Search-Mailbox -Identity "******@domain.com" -SearchQuery "sent:>=09/18/2025 AND sent:<=11/23/2025" -TargetMailbox "Discovery Search Mailbox" -TargetFolder "Recovered Emails"
     

   • This will search for sent emails within the specified date range and copy them to a discovery mailbox for review.
4. Check Retention Policies: Ensure that the retention policies in place do not delete emails before you can recover them. The default retention period for deleted items is typically 14 days, but this can vary based on your organization's settings.

If you still cannot find the emails after these steps, it may be necessary to contact your IT department or Microsoft support for further assistance.

References:

• Recover deleted messages in a user's mailbox in Exchange Server
• Recover deleted messages in a mailbox in Exchange 2013

Hi @Kitnicholson,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A, and thank you for reaching out to us.

Based on your description, aside from the Q&A assist suggestions, I’d like to share an additional tip.

If your sent emails were lost during long period, the most effective recovery option is for you or your admin to run a Content Search in Microsoft Purview. This tool can search across all mailboxes in your organization, including deleted or moved items, even those that were hard deleted.

Once the email is located, you or your admin can export the search results and then import them back into Outlook.

I hope this help.

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