Recovering deleted items in Outlook on the web

If you have accidentally deleted an item or email in Outlook then it may quite possibly be recovered. Initially it will be in the Deleted Items folder and, when deleted from that folder, it will reside in the Office 365 Exchange for a period specified by your Exchange administrator.

Outlook on the web (previously known as Outlook Web App, or OWA) is the web browser version of Outlook that is used by Office 365 or other Exchange-based users.

This article describes how to access your Outlook on the web account, and then use Outlook on the web to:

• Recover deleted items from your Deleted Items folder
• Recover deleted items that have been emptied from the Deleted Items folder

Note:
For information about how to recover deleted items using a desktop version of Outlook, see Cloud Direct knowledge article: KB0010992, Recovering deleted items in Outlook.

Accessing Outlook on the web

Outlook on the web is the web browser version of Outlook that is used by businesses and organisations. You can use Outlook on the web to access the email, contacts, and calendar in your Office 365 for business or other Microsoft Exchange-based email via a web browser. The web address you'll use to sign in to Outlook on the web depends on the type of account you have. For example, if you're using Office 365 for business, go to the Office 365 sign-in page.

Note:
Outlook on the web can only be used to access Office 365 for business and other accounts that are hosted on a server that's running Microsoft Exchange Server 2013. If your email address ends in @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com, or @msn.com, then you're using the free Outlook.com (formerly Hotmail.com) email service, and not Outlook on the web.

Signing into your Outlook on the web account

To sign in to your Outlook on the web account, proceed as follows.

Note:
If you don't know your email address and password then contact the person who manages your email account to obtain these details before continuing.

1. Open your web browser or, if it's already open, open a new window.
2. Go to the sign-in page at Office 365 sign-in.

3. Enter the full email address for your Office 365 for business, Office 365 Education, or other Exchange-based email (for example, someone@contoso.com).

Note:
If your email address is already visible on the Office 365 sign-in page, then simply click on the email address.

4. If prompted, enter your password, then click Sign in.

You're now signed into your Outlook on the web account.

Accessing Office 365 applications
To access Outlook (mail), People (contacts), or Calendar, simply select the appropriate application from the App Launcher.

Recovering deleted items from the Deleted Items folder

If you have recently deleted an item in Outlook, first check the Deleted Items folder as follows.

1. Sign in to your Outlook on the web account.
2. Ensure the Outlook on the web Mail app is selected (use the App Launcher if necessary, to select this app).
3. In your email folder list, select Deleted Items.
4. To restore an email message:
   1. Right-click the mail item and then click Move.
   2. Click on the folder that you would like to restore the message to.

Note:
If the required folder is not listed then select, Move to a different folder…, then specify a folder location, and click Move.

5. To restore a calendar item then,
   1. Right-click the calendar item.
   2. Click, Move to Calendar.
6. To restore a contact then,
   1. Right-click the contact.
   2. Click, Move to Contacts.
7. To restore a task then,
   1. Right-click the task.
   2. Click Move to Tasks.

Recovering deleted items that have been emptied from the Deleted Items folder

You can recover some deleted items, like messages, appointments, contacts, tasks, and notes, even after the Deleted Items folder is emptied, or you've "hard deleted" an item by pressing Shift+Delete.

To recover deleted items that have been emptied from the Deleted Items folder, proceed as follows.

1. Sign in to your Outlook on the web account.
2. Ensure the Outlook on the web Mail app is selected (use the App Launcher if necessary, to select this app).
3. In your email folder list, right-click, Deleted Items.
4. Click, Recover deleted items.

A Recover Deleted Items window opens, listing items recently deleted, or emptied, from the Deleted Items folder.

5. Click on the item you want, and then, at the bottom right hand corner of the window, click, Recover.

Notes:
1.   You may also access the Recover command by right-clicking on the item you want to recover.
2.   To delete an item so that it is no longer recoverable, select Purge instead of Recover. Caution! If you purge an item, you can't use Recover deleted items to get it back. Purging a message doesn't remove it from any backups that were made before you purged it.

The Recover items message appears, indicating that recovered items are restored to their original folder.