Why Are Old Emails Not Showing in Outlook? The Secret of Missing Mails

Are you confused about the old emails not showing in Outlook? This problem is quite common among Outlook users. It may arise due to various reasons like insufficient technical knowledge, backend errors, unchanged default settings, or file deletion. There are a couple of ways to prevent such events in our Outlook accounts.

Furthermore, if your files are already gone permanently, we have a solution to recover those Outlook missing emails. If your Outlook inbox emails are missing, deleted, or not showing then read the entire guide to the end. By the end of this blog, you’ll be able to decide the next step that you need to take.

But Before Getting any further, let’s have a glance at a user query for the same.

User Query:

5 Steps to Fix Old Emails Not Showing in Outlook

• Step 1. Add PST File with Missing Emails.
• Step 2. Opt Quick/Advanced Scan Options.
• Step 3. Choose Deleted Emails from Tool.
• Step 4. Set Location to Save Old Emails.
• Step 5. Opt Export Type & Click on Export.

How to Find Old Emails in Outlook Using Different Ways?

There are a few settings and ways that you can check and perform in order to fix this issue. Let’s go through step by step in the coming section.

Possibility 1 – View Settings Misconfiguration Behind Outlook Old Emails Not Showing

The most common reason we as experts experience is the View Settings misconfiguration. As per the cases that we experienced in a lot of cases, the major issue is the default view settings in Outlook.

Let’s simply correct this issue & hopefully, your issue will be resolved within seconds. Just carefully follow the steps mentioned below in this blog.

Steps to Reconfigure View Settings 

• Step 1. You need to open the Outlook application to resolve old emails not showing in Outlook & then Go to the View tab.
• Step 2. Click on the View Settings button here.
• Step 3. In the Advanced View Settings prompt screen, click the Reset Current View option.
• Step 4. Click on the OK button to save these settings.

If the issue was arising due to default view settings, you can simply fix the issue by following the above steps.

Possibility 2 – Cache Settings Misconfiguration Behind Old Emails Not Showing in Outlook

After the view settings, another possible issue could be the Cache Settings misconfiguration. In cases where users have IMAP or MAPI accounts,  their emails get downloaded from the live mailbox to their local system. In a majority of systems, Outlook retains emails for just one year. Evidently, it means in your system only the emails within the last year will be stored. To make changes to these settings, follow the below steps. This way users can solve the issue of old emails not showing in Outlook easily.

Steps to Reconfigure Cache Settings 

• Step 1. Open Outlook >> Go to File >> Click on the Account Settings option.
• Step 2. In the Account Settings window, Select your Email >> Click the Change button.
• Step 3. In the Download email for the past, Pull the Slider to the Right.
• Step 4. Click on the Next button.
• Step 5. In the end, Click on the Done button.

After this step, Outlook will automatically download all of the emails to your local system.

Possibility 3 – Outlook not Showing Old Emails Due to an Oversized PST File

Solve this issue with this simple trick. Your settings don’t need to be misconfigured every time. In several cases, the problem can be very small but frustrating.

Similarly, here the PST file size can be that reason. A PST file has a total of 50 GB of size limit. When a PST file exceeds the 50 GB size limit or comes very close to that, it may start getting issues. Problems like receiving new emails or disappearing old emails.

Steps to Rectify PST File Oversize Issue

• Step 1. Delete the Unnecessary Data files from the Deleted Items folder.
• Step 2. Go to File >> Click the Account setting option >> Open the Data Files tab.
• Step 3. Select the Mailbox File option >> Click on the Settings button.
• Step 4. Click on the Compact Now button & then hit the OK button.

• Step 5. Users can also go to Files >> Tools >> Mailbox Clean Up option to clean their files.

Possibility 4 – Old Emails Not Showing in Outlook Due to Deletion or More

Another major reason your old emails are missing from your Outlook can be file corruption or deletion. In case of file corruption or deletion, users lose their files. This is when the situation gets serious. That is because, without the right technical knowledge & skills, you can not get your permanently deleted files back.

There are various reasons for File corruption & deletion, some of them are as follows:

• Accidental File Deletion
• Sudden Power Outage
• Virus or Cyber Threats
• Malware or Ransomware Attack
• Hard drive Crashing or Bad Sectors
• Windows or Outlook Crashing Issues.

How to Find Old Emails in Outlook Using The Automated Approach?

As there are accurate manual ways to get back the permanently deleted emails. However, we have an automated tool that can easily solve this issue of old emails not showing in Outlook. If you want to know how to recover deleted data from Outlook then download this utility & follow the steps mentioned below to get back all of your crucial & sensitive data lost with the emails.

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Software Working Steps to Fix Outlook Old Emails Not Showing Issue

Step 1. Click on the Add File button to add the PST files with missing emails.

Step 2. Select Quick Scan for instance. You can also select the Advanced Scan option.

Step 3. Deleted Files will be shown in Red color. Select the Files you need to resolve Outlook not showing old emails issue.

Step 4. Browse the Destination Folder path & then Select the Format of the resultant file.

Step 5. Finally, users need to Click on the Export button to get the missing files back.

Automated Tool for Mac OS

If you are not using Outlook on the Mac OS. Don’t worry, This automated tool is available for both Windows & Mac OS. You download the Mac version of this tool also & execute the same procedure with ease. This way, users don’t need to remain confused about Outlook not showing old emails in the inbox on the Mac OS. You can also get your missing emails back.

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Advantages of Using Software to Fix Outlook Old Emails Not Showing Error

There are various advantages to using the automated tool. These benefits are not present in the impractical solutions present in the market. This is why even IT experts recommend this utility to users all around the world.

• Ability to solve old emails not showing in Outlook in the least possible time with the help of advanced filters.
• The automated tool can recover files from PST/BAK files & can provide results in .pst, .eml, .msg, .pdf, and .html format or Office 365 account.
• This tool is capable of recovering password-protected & SMIME or OpenPGP encrypted data files with ease.
• It supports all Outlook versions along with Windows 11 (64Bit) & the other versions available to resolve how to find old emails in Outlook issue.
• If your files aren’t deleted but corrupted & you want to repair a damaged Outlook PST file, this tool can do that too.
• The tool marks the deleted/lost items in red color to help distinguish between the email items.

In A Nutshell

Finally, after learning the various reasons that cause missing emails in Outlook, we know the solutions. Now we can easily leave all our worries behind as we know solutions to each & every cause. However, users must acknowledge that the deletion or corruption of PST files is the most serious situation. Hence, it should be handled smartly.

Subsequently, the automated tool mentioned above works well to get back your Outlook emails. This automated solution is the best way to resolve old emails not showing in Outlook issue without any hassles.