Email, Messaging, & Video Calls > Email Undelete in Windows Live Hotmail How to recover mail from the trash By Heinz Tschabitscher Heinz Tschabitscher Writer University of Vienna A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on May 27, 2021 Email Yahoo! Mail Gmail Trending Videos Close this video player When you accidentally delete an important email, there's still the Deleted folder, right? What, though, when there is no trace of that message left in the trash? Then there's the safety net. Windows Live Hotmail keeps messages for a few days even after they have been purged from the Deleted folder. You can restore these backup copies to the trash and undelete mail believed gone in a simple process. Microsoft no longer offers Windows Live Mail or Hotmail and has moved all of its email services, including Microsoft 365, Hotmail, Live Mail, and MSN Mail, to Outlook.com. These instructions apply to Windows Live, Hotmail, and other email accounts on Outlook.com. Recover Deleted Hotmail Messages When you delete an email message from your Outlook.com email, you can quickly recover it if it still in your Deleted Items folder. Go to Outlook.com and log in to your Live, Hotmail, or other Microsoft email account. Select the Deleted Items folder in the left pane. Select the message you want to recover. To recover all messages, select the circle next to Deleted Items. Select Restore at the top of the Deleted Items folder. Recover Permanently Deleted Hotmail Messages If you can't find the email you want to recover in the Deleted Items folder, the next place to look is the Recoverable Items folder. In some cases, you can recover items after you empty the Deleted Items folder. You can only access the Recoverable Items folder using a web browser on a computer. Go to Outlook.com and log in to your Live, Hotmail, or other Microsoft email account. Select the Deleted Items folder in the left pane. Select Recover items deleted from this folder at the top of the message list. The Recoverable Items folder opens. Select the items you want to recover and choose Restore. The items you select to recover are restored to their original folders. If a folder no longer exists, messages are restored to your inbox. You can recover messages and other items removed from your Deleted Items folder for 30 days. Prevent Outlook.com From Deleting Messages Automatically You can stop Outlook.com from emptying your Deleted Items folder every time you sign out if you wish. Go to Outlook.com and log in to your Live, Hotmail, or other Microsoft email account. Select Settings in the upper-right corner of the page and choose View all Outlook settings. Select Message handling in the Mail category of the Settings window. Beneath When signing out, clear the check box next to Empty my deleted items folder. Select Save to apply the changes. Close the Settings window. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit