The Ultimate Guide: How to Recover Deleted Mail from iPhone

Quick Summary: How to Get Deleted Email Back:

  • Just deleted: Immediately shake iPhone to trigger the "Undo" popup.
  • Deleted it recently: Open the Mail app and check the Trash or Bin folder.
  • Swiped by accident: Check your Archive or All Mail folder.
  • Mail app glitching: Log into iCloud.com on a web browser to check your cloud trash folder.
  • Permanently deleted or missing attachments: Use Aiseesoft FoneLab iPhone Data Recovery to scan your device’s internal storage for deeply lost data.

Everyone has experienced this once in their life—they are rapidly going through their email account and end up putting the mail they require in the trash. They begin worrying as it starts disappearing from right in front of their eyes. However, do not worry, as getting back your email is a lot simpler than you would imagine. In this guide, you will learn everything about recovering deleted emails from iPhone.

Retrieve Deleted Emails on iPhone

Comparison Chart: Which Method Should You Use?

Recovery Method Best For Timeframe / Condition Difficulty Success Rate
Shake to Undo Immediate mistakes (e.g., accidental taps). A few seconds after deleting. ⭐ (Very Easy) High
Trash / Bin Folder Standard email recovery. Within 30 days of deletion. ⭐ (Very Easy) High
Archive Folder Emails that disappeared after a screen swipe. Anytime. ⭐ (Very Easy) High
Aiseesoft FoneLab Permanently deleted emails, lost attachments, or severe data loss. Anytime (before data is overwritten). ⭐⭐⭐ (Moderate) High
iCloud.com Mail iCloud users experiencing iPhone sync glitches. Within 30 days of deletion. ⭐⭐ (Easy) Medium

Why You Lose Emails on Your iPhone

Before you do anything about retrieving your lost emails, you first need to understand why your emails went missing in the first place. Below are some reasons for that:

Human Error: Accidentally swiping or clicking on delete.

Archiving Mistakes: iOS allows its users to easily archive an email that was supposed to be deleted by mistake.

Sync Errors: In case you have chosen a third-party mail service provider such as Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo, a bad Internet connection will lead to syncing problems.

Changes in Account Settings: Your account password or other account settings were changed elsewhere, leading to disconnection of your inbox on your iPhone.

Application Bugs: A new iOS version or Mail application bug can lead to temporary loss of your emails.

How to Get Back Deleted Emails on iPhone (5 Ways)

Below are some of the best methods to get back your deleted/missing emails.

Method 1: Shake Feature to Undo Action

Best for: Quick retrieval after making a mistake. 100% success for just deleted mails.

One of the most entertaining but useful features that Apple includes on iPhones is known as Shake to Undo. In case you have just made a mistake in moving or deleting any email, then your phone will help you undo that action right away.

Step 1.
Right after deleting your email, shake your iPhone to the left or right.
Step 2.
An option labeled Undo Trash or Undo Archive will immediately pop up on your screen.
Step 3.
Just tap Undo, and your email will be restored to your inbox.
Undo to Recover Deleted Email

This method only works when your iPhone enables Shake to Undo.

Method 2: Look Inside the Trash or Bin Folder

Recommended for: Restoring deleted emails from the past few weeks.

After deleting an email on your iPhone, the probability that it will be totally deleted instantly is extremely low. Emails are normally put in the trash for about 30 days before being permanently deleted.

How to recover junk/trash mail on iPhone

Step 1.
Open the Mail app on your iPhone.
Step 2.
Go down and click on the Trash folder for the particular email account.
Step 3.
Select the deleted email then tap on Move and send it to the inbox again.
Retrieve Deleted Email From Trash on iPhone

Method 3: Checking for the Archive Folder

Due to the nature of swipe motions on the iPhone, many people mistakenly archive their emails rather than deleting them or even vice versa. In essence, the emails are simply deleted from the inbox but stored in another folder within your email account.

Best for: Locating missing emails that you can't find in the Trash folder.

Step 1.
Open the Mail app. Look for an All Mail or Archive folder.
Step 2.
If you have a lot of emails, use the Search bar at the top of the screen to type in the sender's name or keywords from the missing email.
Step 3.
Once you find the email, select and Move Message to put it back in your Inbox.
Move Lost Message From Archive Folder

Method 4: Recover Deleted Email Attachment via Aiseesoft FoneLab iPhone Data Recovery

Ideal For: Emails that were permanently deleted and their attachments, or in cases of severe data loss.

In case you have permanently deleted all your emails, and cleared out the trash bin completely on your iPhone, you will require a third-party program. Aiseesoft FoneLab Data Recovery is one such software that searches your iPhone's internal storage system for recovering all your email attachments that include PDF, images, and other documents.

iPhone Data Recovery

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  • Retrieve email attached documents.
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Step 1.
Download this software, install and run it on your computer. Connect your iPhone to computer with USB cable. Click "Recover from iOS Device".
Start Scan
Step 2.
Click Start Scan to scan your iPhone data. The scanning time will depend on the data on your iPhone. After the scan is complete, you will see the interface listed all data types with the numbers.
Photo Preview
Step 3.
Click App Photos/Audio/Videos/Document to see the details. The red color marked data are the items that are deleted. Checkmark and click Recover to save the deleted email attachments to computer.

Method 5: Check iCloud.com Mail Recovery

Suitable For: Users of iCloud Mail having app issues and people needing to get their mail back from their computers.

If your email address is on iCloud, Apple ensures synchronization of your files to the cloud server. There are instances when you can avoid your Mail app issues on your iPhone by accessing your iCloud via the web interface.

Step 1.
Go to iCloud.com on a computer or mobile browser and log in with your Apple ID.
Step 2.
Click on the Mail icon and check the Trash folder, locate the deleted email, and move it to the inbox.

FAQs about Recovering Deleted Mails from iPhone

How long will deleted emails be stored in iPhone's Trash bin?

For almost all popular email service providers like Gmail, Yahoo, and iCloud mail services, any email that has been marked as deleted is going to remain in the trash folder for 30 days after which it will get permanently deleted.

What will happen if there is no Trash folder in the iPhone?

If you don't find your Trash folder in your iPhone, there are two possibilities here: your iPhone isn't synced with your email service or your email provider calls its name "Bin." Anyway, you need to simply delete your email account and reconfigure it on your iPhone.

How to Recover a Deleted Mail App on iPhone?

If you have accidentally deleted their mail application, just open the App Store then searching for Mail to find the official mail application created by Apple. You only need to click the cloud button to restore it.

Conclusion

While losing an essential email might seem catastrophic at first, as you can imagine, chances are it hasn't been lost at all. Normally, reversing the deletion of your emails on an iPhone involves no more than shaking the device, or locating your emails in the Deleted, or Trash folders on your phone.

However, there is hope even for individuals who have successfully wiped their emails. Some of the measures you can employ include signing into iCloud.com, utilizing email recovery programs like Aiseesoft FoneLab, as well as restoring an earlier iPhone backup.

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