How to Find & Recover Deleted Mail on an iPhone

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The easiest ways to get your deleted mail back on an iPhone

Written by Megaera Lorenz, PhD

Last Updated: July 9, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Shake to Undo
|
• Recover from Archive
|
• Recover from Trash
|
• Recover from Gmail
|
• Video
|
• Q&A

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Viewing and deleting emails on your iPhone is an easy task with the Mail application. With just a tap, you can view your mail. Delete a mail by sliding it to the left on your screen. If you deleted an email accidentally, you might have panicked because there’s no obvious “Undo” option to get it back. Luckily, this doesn’t mean that you can’t retrieve deleted emails at all. We’ll explain the easiest ways to get your deleted messages back in Mail, as well as how to retrieve deleted mail from the Gmail app.

Recovering Deleted Emails on an iPhone: Quick Steps

1. Tap your iPhone’s Mail app.
2. Shake your iPhone, then tap Undo.
3. If that doesn’t work, check the trash and archive folders.
4. When you find the email, tap to open it.
5. Tap the folder icon and then Inbox to restore the email.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Retrieving a Deleted Mail with a Shake (Mail App)

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1. 
   1
   Shake your phone. If you accidentally deleted an email, just shake your iPhone in your hand. A window will pop up offering you the option to “Undo Archive” or “Undo Trash,” depending on your Mail settings.

   • If you fully closed the Mail app after accidentally deleting or archiving an email, this method won’t work. You’ll need to go into the Trash or Archive folder to find your message.
   • This method works for the built-in Apple Mail app, but not for the Gmail app.
2. 
   2
   Retrieve the email. Tap Undo, and the deleted email will be restored in your Inbox.
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3. 
   3
   Turn on Shake to Undo if this option doesn’t work. If shaking your iPhone doesn’t bring up the Undo option, it’s possible that Shake to Undo isn’t enabled. Here’s how to turn it on:

   • Open the Settings app and tap Accessibility > Touch. Make sure the switch next to Shake to Undo is in the On position.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Retrieving Mails Through Archive (Mail App)

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1. 
   1
   Use this option if your email account is set to archive mail. Depending on the settings for your email account, messages that you swipe left on might be archived rather than deleted. Either way, the process for retrieving them is similar. If you prefer to archive your messages by default instead of deleting them, you may have to enable this option in your iPhone’s Settings:

   • Open the
     
     Settings app, scroll down to the bottom, and tap Apps. Select Mail from the list of apps.
   • Tap Mail Accounts and select your account.
   • Tap Account Settings > Advanced.
   • Choose Archive Mailbox under the MOVE DISCARDED MESSAGES INTO header.
     • You can also choose which mailbox serves as your Archive Mailbox under the MAILBOX BEHAVIORS header at the top of this menu.
     • Archiving your messages instead of deleting them reduces your risk of accidentally losing an email forever. Archived messages are stored forever, while deleted messages are permanently deleted after a certain amount of time (usually 30 days).
2. 
   2
   Tap Mailboxes at the top of the Mail app. If the app opens to your inbox, you should see this option at the top left corner of the screen. Tap it to see a list of all email accounts linked to your iPhone and their associated mailboxes.

   • If an email is open, tap Back > Mailboxes instead.
   • Alternatively, you might see the name of the email account you’re using at the top left side of the screen (e.g., Gmail). Tapping that should still take you to your list of accounts and mailboxes.
3. 
   3
   Tap All Mail. This option has an icon that looks like a file box. By default, anything you archive will go into the All Mail box if you have discarded mail set to be archived instead of deleted.

   • You might see a different option, such as Archive, if you set a different mailbox as your Archive Mailbox in the MAILBOX BEHAVIORS menu.
4. 
   4
   Tap a deleted email to open it. Find the email you want to restore and tap on it.
5. 
   5
   Tap the Folder icon

   

   . It’s at the bottom of the screen. This will open a menu of options for moving the message.
6. 
   6
   Select Inbox. Or, if you’d rather move the email to a different location (such as your Important folder), select that instead. The message will be instantly moved to the location you selected.

   • Repeat this for all the other deleted emails you want to retrieve.
   • You can also recover multiple emails at once by tapping Select at the top right corner of the screen, tapping the emails you want to recover, and then tapping Move at the bottom of the screen. In the menu that pops up, select Inbox or another desired destination for your recovered emails.
     • Tap Select > Select All to select all your archived messages at once.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Retrieving Deleted Emails from Trash (Mail App)

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1. 
   1
   Tap Mailboxes. Use this method if your email account is set to delete discarded messages rather than archive them. From your inbox in the Mail app, tap Mailboxes at the top left side of the screen. This will take you to a list of all your linked email accounts and their associated mailboxes.

   • Alternatively, you might see the name of the specific email account you’re in at the top left side of the screen (e.g., Gmail). If so, tap that instead.
   • If you have an email message open, tap Back > Mailboxes (or Gmail, etc.) instead.
   • Discarded emails that are sent to Trash will be deleted permanently after a certain amount of time, depending on your mail service (typically 30 days).
2. 
   2
   Go to Trash. Tap the Trash folder of the mail account. All deleted emails should be here if you did not archive your emails.
3. 
   3
   Open the email you want to restore. Find the message you want to retrieve and tap on it to open it.

   • Alternatively, tap Select in the top right corner of the Trash folder, then select multiple emails to restore. Restore all of them by tapping Select > Select All > Move.
4. 
   4
   Tap the Folder icon

   

   . It’s at the bottom of the screen when you open an email.
5. 
   5
   Select Inbox. You can also tap a different folder if you prefer. The email will be instantly moved to the destination you selected.
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Restoring Deleted Mail in the Gmail App

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1. 
   1
   Use the Undo button to instantly retrieve a message you just deleted. In Gmail, the Shake to Undo method doesn’t work. However, you can still instantly recover a message you just deleted. After deleting a message, look for a banner that says “Moved to Trash” at the bottom of the screen. Tap Undo on the right side of the banner to restore the message to your inbox.
2. 
   2
   Move messages from the Trash folder if they’ve been deleted longer. Messages in the Trash folder are automatically deleted after 30 days, but you can still recover them before then. To retrieve a deleted message that’s been in the trash for a while, simply open the Trash folder and move it out:

   • Tap ☰ in the top left corner of the screen to open a menu.
   • Tap Trash.
   • Tap the message you want to restore.
   • Tap ••• in the top right corner of the message and select Move.
   • Choose a destination for your message, such as Primary. It will be instantly moved to the location you selected.
   • Alternatively, press and hold a message in Trash to select it without opening it, then tap any other messages you want to restore to select them as well. You can also check the box next to Select all at the top of the screen once you’ve selected an individual message. Tap ••• > Move and tap a destination for the selected messages.
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  How do I restore archived email?

  

  Jay

  Community Answer

  Go on the mail app and click back until you see the Mailboxes page. Scroll down to find Archive.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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  Not Helpful 18 Helpful 11
• Question

  My emails are not archived, but they are no longer showing in the trash bin. I deleted them from the trash folder accidentally. Can I retrieve them?

  

  Scarlette

  Community Answer

  Once an email gets deleted from the trash bin, it is gone forever. Most email services delete mail left in the trash bin automatically after 30 days.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 5 Helpful 13
• Question

  I deleted the "all mail" account by mistake. Is there a way I can retrieve those emails?

  

  TD96

  Community Answer

  Try to go on your email on a website from your provider. Check to see if you spelled it right. It might be a phishing website.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 1 Helpful 3

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