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How to Recover Old Hotmail Emails from Outlook [Answer]
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3 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Key notes
We’re sad to inform you that, well, you probably won’t be able to restoreemailsyou’ve lost due to a transition fromHotmailtoOutlook.
A lot, and we mean a lot of users, have experienced this problem, losing years-old items andemailsin the process.
The process is seemingly irreversible, and all server-stored items were wiped clean after Outlook replaced Hotmail as a go-toemail client.
It’s fair to say affected users are furious about what happened with theiremailsbut can they do something to restore at least someemails?
Use a different email client
If you switched to Outlook email from Hotmail and all the emails are gone, we are very sorry. In case you were using a local email client, it might still have them stored locally,and you can retrieve them from your computer.
If not, it’s a good time to think about using one. We recommend you look into thebest Windows 10 email clientsand pick your best bet.
The main benefit of a local email client is that it allows you to connect to multiple email addresses from just one Window.
On top of that, many of them include advanced search functions that will help you find any email by entering a few keywords. You can also find them based on images due to the implementations of OCR.
Worthwhile email clients provide really good security and data protection features, including end-to-end encryption and built-in anti-malware tools. Some of them even come with backup features.
Can I get back my old Hotmail emails?
Now, even though Microsoft support has a legal high ground with the license terms and agreements where they dismiss responsibility, users should have been more thoroughly informed about the negative outcome before the transition has been made. The license terms point we mentioned is:
“6. Services disruptions and backupWe strive to keep the Services up and running; however, all online services suffer occasional disruptions and outages, and Microsoft isn’t liable for any disruption or loss you may suffer as a result.You should regularly backup the Content that you store on the Services. Having a regular backup plan and following it can help you prevent loss of your Content.We make an effort to provide detailed service status on theService statuswebsite (https://status.live.com).”
Now that the damage is done and there’s nothing we can do about that. Or almost nothing, as there might be something left in theDeleteditems orArchivebut that’s a long shot.
Also, you can restore even some items oremailswhich were deleted from the Deleted items folder, but those are preserved up to 30 days after the deletion.
You can also try contactingOutlooksupport but we would not hold high hopes. That’s just the way it is. We don’t like being the bearers of the bad news, but our educated guess is that retrieving youremailsis not a possibility.
To ensure this doesn’t happen, be sure to visit our guide on how tomigrate from Hotmail to Outlookwithout data loss.
And, on that note, we can wrap it up. What are your thoughts on this? Have you found a way to get youremailsback? Tell us in the comments section below.
Aleksandar Ognjanovic
Aleksandar’s main passion is technology. With a solid writing background, he is determined to bring the bleeding edge to the common user. With a keen eye, he always spots the next big thing surrounding Microsoft and the Windows OS.
Focused on Windows errors and how to solve them, he also writes about the OS’s latest features as well as its interface.
In his free time, he likes to read, listen to music, and enjoy the nature. Hiking is one of his newly found passions.
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