Has there ever been a time when you’ve opened Outlook 365 and deleted emails or folders have just emerged again? Has it made you wonder why my deleted emails keep coming back in Outlook and if there’s anything wrong with my computer? You are not alone! There are many others fighting the same struggle as you. Even though it can be annoying to be unable to remove emails all at once, there are a few solutions. Let’s examine the causes of this phenomenon before getting into the fixes.
Reasons why deleted emails in Outlook keep coming back:
In Outlook 365, deleted emails and folders may reappear for a number of reasons. Here are a few of the common causes:
- Unreliable or inconsistent Outlook data file (OST)
- Misconfigured Outlook
- Automatic archive settings that move older emails to separate folders. Such configurations, if not set up correctly, can cause disruptions in email deletion.
- Deleted emails are restored in Outlook folders due to incompatible email rules or filters
- Incompatible or faulty add-ins
- Synchronization problems between Outlook and the email server
- Retention policies set up by your organization to prevent the permanent deletion of items and causing them to reappear
While it can be exhausting to delete emails multiple times to only find them back in your Outlook inbox, there are a couple of troubleshooting methods you can apply to course correct the problem.
How do I stop deleted emails in Outlook from coming back?
- Examine the settings in Outlook
First things first, you need to ensure the Outlook configuration is set up accurately. Occasionally, misconfigured settings may be the cause of deleted emails and folders reappearing. Follow these steps to ensure settings are intact:
- Select ‘Options’ from the ‘File’ tab, then go to the ‘Advanced’ tab
- Verify if ‘Purge items when switching folders while online’ and ‘Empty Deleted Items folders when exiting Outlook’ are enabled in the settings
- If they are not enabled, mark the checkbox against these options
- Click Ok
This method should now prevent the deleted mail items from coming back into Outlook.
- Disable malfunctioning add-ins
Try the following method to identify and disable problematic add-ins in order to fix the Outlook issue of deleted emails reappearing:
- Close Outlook
- Click ‘OK’ after typing Outlook /safe using the Windows + R keys. This launches the safe mode of Outlook.
- In Safe Mode, if you are unable to view the deleted emails, faulty add-ins are most likely the source of the problem
- Select ‘Add-ins’ from the File > Options menu
- Find ‘Manage COM Add-ins’ at the bottom in ‘View and Manage Office Add-ins’ at the bottom and then choose ‘Go’
- Uncheck add-ins’ checkboxes and click OK
- Restart Outlook in normal mode to verify if the problem has fixed
- If it’s fixed, activate each add-in separately and restart Outlook to determine which add-in is causing the problem. Once located, delete the add-in to fix the problem once and for all.
- PST file corruption:
If your Outlook data file (PST) is corrupted, previously deleted objects may return. Use the Microsoft application ‘Inbox Repair Tool’ (scanpst.exe) to repair corrupted PST files in order to resolve this.
- Shut down Outlook
- Launch scanpst.exe and adhere to the guidelines to fix the PST file
- Empty the Recoverable Items folder:
At times, deleted emails can be lying in the ‘Recoverable Items’ folder under the ‘Deleted Items’ folder. Deleted objects are temporarily saved in this folder before being completely erased.
Go to the ‘Recoverable Items’ folder to ensure deleted emails are not located, and if they are, you can choose to delete them permanently. Right-click on the folder and select ‘Empty ‘Recoverable Items’ folder’ to permanently delete its contents.
Empty the Recoverable Items folder using PowerShell command
To fix the problem and permanently remove the deleted emails from the Recoverable Items folder, use a PowerShell command. Be mindful because this command also gets rid of all the emails and folders that were inadvertently erased. Thus, use caution when putting the directive into action. Before executing the PowerShell command below, make sure you have a backup of your data.
- Shut down Outlook and execute PowerShell in administrator mode
- The command below should be copied and pasted into PowerShell. Then, to put it into action, hit the Enter key.
‘Search-Mailbox -Identity ‘YourEmailIdentity’ -SearchDumpsterOnly -TargetMailbox ‘Discovery Search Mailbox’ -TargetFolder ‘NameOf-RecoverableItems-Folder’ -DeleteContent’
- Make sure you adjust the command’s parameters. Before removing your email items from Outlook, the command will make a backup of them.
- Once finished, make sure the problem has been fixed by looking through your email folders.
By following these steps, you should be able to stop deleted emails from coming back in Outlook 365 on your Windows or Mac OS. However, if none of the above-mentioned methods work out, be sure to recreate the OST file as your last resort.
- Recreate OST File
When you recreate an OST file, any errors or inconsistencies in your previous OST file are replaced, which fixes problems that may have arisen from a defective, large, or inconsistent OST file. These are the steps to follow:
- Press ‘Windows + R’ keys and type ‘%LOCALAPPDATA%/Microsoft/Outlook’
- Click OK
- Go to left pane in Outlook, right click on email and select ‘Open File Location to go to default OST file location
- Locate your OST file and move it to a new location for backup
- Once the backup is complete, remove the default OST file
- Restart Outlook after the deletion
The Outlook application will automatically create a new OST file in the default place since it cannot locate the previous OST file. After that, it will continue to synchronize every email item and folder on the mailbox server. Please check your email folders to ensure that all deleted emails have been removed.
It is possible for email items to be lost when the Outlook application builds a new OST file because of mistakes and inconsistencies in the old file. Using free OST to PST conversion software, like Stellar Converter for OST, could be one way to solve this issue.
With Stellar Converter for OST, you can extract mailbox data from a large-sized OST file and save it in PST format. Additionally, it provides capabilities like batch processing, direct OST export to Office 365 and Exchange, splitting and compacting large PST files, compatibility with many Outlook versions, and free conversion of up to 20 emails per folder.
Other measures you can follow:
- Update Outlook:
Make sure the latest version of the Outlook 365 client is installed on your computer. Microsoft frequently fixes issues and releases improvements; these updates may solve your issue.
- Connect with Microsoft support:
If none of the aforementioned solutions resolve the issue, contact Microsoft support for more assistance. They could offer options or troubleshooting techniques that could help fix the problem.
Conclusion
In summary, recurrent problems with deleted emails and folders appearing in Outlook 365 can usually be traced to a number of different issues, including incorrectly configured settings, broken add-ins, syncing issues, or active retention rules. Users can effectively address and overcome these recurrent email restoration issues by closely checking and altering Outlook settings, detecting and disabling troublesome add-ins, or using tools like the free OST to PST converter. Users can improve their Outlook experience and guarantee that deleted emails are permanently gone by following the correct troubleshooting procedures.