Why Do Deleted Emails Keep Coming Back in Outlook?

Deleting emails in Outlook that are not important helps free up the mailbox storage on the server, organize mail items, and reduce clutter. In addition, deleting unnecessary or spam emails from your mailbox also reduces the Offline Outlook data file size (.OST) and helps improve Outlook performance.

However, sometimes, you face a situation where the deleted emails come back after deleting or even emptying the Deleted Items folder. This might happen due to synchronization issues, damaged Outlook OST data file, or any other reason. In this blog, you will learn the reasons that can lead to this issue in Outlook and the solutions to resolve it.

Reasons for the Deleted Emails keep Coming Back in Outlook

There are several reasons that could lead to this issue in Microsoft Outlook. Some of these include:

• Synchronization issues
• Server-side rules
• Corrupt Outlook profile
• Faulty add-ins
• Mailbox quota-related issues may prevent email deletion
• Mail retention policy

Solutions to Resolve Deleted Emails Coming Back Issue in Outlook

Below are some solutions that you can follow to resolve the deleted emails coming back issue in Outlook.

Solution 1: Check and Fix Synchronization Issues

Sometimes, synchronization problems in Outlook can lead to such issues. If there are synchronization issues, you can check the hidden Sync Issues folder for any reported errors. To view this folder,

• In Outlook, click on the three dots in the side pane at the bottom and choose Folders.
• This will display all folders, including the Sync Issues folder.
• Open the Sync Issues folder. This contains detailed information about the sync issues.

• Read the issue and understand the reason and accordingly, troubleshoot the underlying problem.

For detailed information, read How to Resolve Outlook Sync Issues.

You can also verify the IMAP settings and ensure the port settings and server incoming and outgoing details are correct and updated. For this,

• Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
• Select your account and double-click on it.
• Choose More Settings and then verify the IMAP or the server settings.
• Add/update any missing or wrong details and click OK.
• Restart Outlook.

Solution 2: Disable Rules

It might happen that you may have accidentally created a rule which is preventing you from deleting the emails. You can disable the rules by following these steps:

• Click File and then click Manage Rules & Alerts.
• Uncheck all rules and click Apply > OK.
• This will disable all the rules.

If this fixes the issue and deleted emails stop coming back, you need to find the particular rule and ensure the rule is properly defined to prevent such an issue.

Solution 3: Repair or Create a New Outlook Profile

Corrupt or damaged profile can lead to various errors and issues in Outlook. In this case, you can first try repairing the Outlook profile by following these steps:

1. In Outlook, open File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
2. Select your email profile and click Repair.

• Follow the onscreen instructions to repair the profile.
• Click the Repair button again to proceed.
• This may take a while to complete. You may be required to re-enter the credentials of your email, such as email and password, to finish the process.

If repairing the Outlook profile fails, try creating a new profile to resolve the issue. The steps are as follows:

• Open the Control Panel, go to User Accounts, and click Mail.
• Click the Show Profiles button.
• Then, click Add.
• Type any name for this profile and click OK to create a new profile.
• Then, follow the sign-in wizard and prompts to configure your email account in the new profile.

• Finally, set the new profile as the default one. Choose Always use this profile and click Apply > OK.
• Start Outlook.

Solution 4: Disable Faulty Add-ins

Incompatible or faulty add-ins may conflict with Outlook functioning. You can disable the add-ins and check if they are causing the issue. For this, you need to close Outlook and start in Safe Mode. The steps are as follows:

• Press Windows +R, type Outlook.exe /safe, and click OK.
• Delete a mail item or folder and see if it comes back.

If the deleted item does not come back, then you need to find the faulty add-in and remove it. For this, first you need to disable all the add-ins. The steps are as follows:

• In Outlook safe mode, click File > Options and select Add-ins.
• Click the Go button and unselect all the add-ins.
• Click OK to disable all the add-ins.

• Once the add-ins are disabled, restart Outlook normally.
• In Outlook normal mode, enable one add-in at a time and restart Outlook.
• Check if the issue arises. If not, enable the other one.
• Repeat these steps until you see or encounter the issue.
• Then, remove or uninstall the faulty or incompatible add-in to resolve the issue.

Solution 5: Check Mailbox Quota

When the mailbox quota is full, you may experience issues while sending and receiving emails and any changes you made may not be executed or saved, including the deletion of emails. You can check the mailbox quota and reduce the mailbox size, if it is full.

Follow the below steps to view the mailbox quota.

In Outlook 2010, 2013, and 2016

• Go to File > Info. You will see the available mailbox storage quota. If it’s full, contact the administrator.

• You can also view the free mailbox space or quota in Outlook’s Status Bar. For this, right click on the Outlook Status bar and choose Quota Information.

• The free space will be displayed in the status bar.

In Outlook 2007,

• Right-click the root of your mailbox (your email ID).
• Choose Properties.
• Click the Folder Size button.
• If you are working in Cached Exchange Mode, choose the Server Data tab.

Again, contact the administrator or reduce the mailbox size by archiving old mail items to free up some space.

Solution 6: Empty Deleted Items Folder

When you delete emails in Outlook, they are moved to the Deleted Items or Trash folder. However, when this folder is full, you may fail to delete more emails and may see deleted emails coming back in Outlook. The solution is to empty the Deleted Items folder. Simply right-click on the Deleted Items folder and choose Empty Folder.

Restart Outlook and try deleting emails. Check if they’re still coming back.

Solution 7: Check Subscribed Folder Settings

If you are deleting emails from a particular email folder and they’re coming back, then follow these steps to unsubscribe the IMAP folders to keep one-way synchronization.

• Right-click on the email folder, such as Inbox, and choose IMAP folders.

• Click the Query button in the Subscribe tab and select the folders where deleted emails are coming back.

• Click the Unsubscribe button and click OK to confirm.

After unsubscribing the IMAP folders, delete emails and check if they are coming back.

Note: This solution applies to users who have configured IMAP account, such as Gmail, Hotmail, etc., in Outlook.

If you do not want to unsubscribe from the email folder and want two-way synchronization to work, you can try deleting the emails by logging into your email account via the web. This may fix the issue and prevent deleted emails from coming back.  

Solution 8: Repair Microsoft Office

Damaged Microsoft Office program files may also prevent Outlook from functioning properly and lead to deleted emails keep coming back issue. To fix this, you can repair Microsoft Office to fix the damaged program files. The steps are as follows:

• Open the Control Panel and click Uninstall a program.

• Select Microsoft Office from the program list and click Change.

• Select Repair from the option and click Continue.

Follow the wizard to repair the MS Office and then restart the system. Open Outlook and check if the issue is resolved.

Solution 9: Recreate Outlook Data File (OST)

Damaged or problematic Outlook OST file can cause synchronization issues that may lead to the deleted emails keep coming back issue. To resolve the issue, you can recreate the Outlook OST file. The steps are as follows:

• Close Outlook.
• Press Windows + R, type %localappdata%/Microsoft/Outlook, and press the Enter key.
• In the File Explorer window, go to View and enable the File name extensions option.

• Find the Outlook data (.OST) file and rename the file with .bak extension.
• Open Outlook. It will recreate the OST file at the same location and synchronize all the mail items.

Now, try deleting some emails you don’t need. This should fix the issue.

To Wrap Up

Above, we have discussed the solutions that can help you fix the deleted emails keep coming back issue in Outlook. However, if the problem is resolved after recreating the OST file, look for missing emails in the new OST file. If there are any, copy the .bak OST file to a different location and remove the .bak extension. Then, use an OST to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for OST, to extract the missing mail items from the backup OST file and restore them to your new OST file. The software converts inaccessible or orphaned OST files to Outlook importable PST format and can also export the converted file directly to Office 365 or live Exchange Server.

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About The Author

Ravi Singh

Ravi Singh is a Senior Writer at Stellar®. He is an expert Tech Explainer, IoT enthusiast, and a passionate nerd with over 7 years of experience in technical writing. He writes about Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365, Email Migration, Linux, Windows, Mac, DIY Tech, and Smart Home. Ravi spends most of his weekends working with IoT (DIY Smart Home) devices and playing Overwatch. He is also a solo traveler who loves hiking and exploring new trails.