Can I recover emails after emptying the Trash?

Yes, provided the local data file (.pst) hasn't been overwritten. Use Recoverit All-Around Recovery for a deep sector scan.

Does this work for Gmail or Yahoo?

Only if you were using a desktop client (like Outlook) to sync them. Browser-only emails must be recovered via the provider's "Trash" bin.

How do I fix a PST that won't open?

If the file is found but corrupted, use the Stellar Phoenix tool mentioned above to repair the internal database structure.

Free Download Email Recovery Software

Amy Dennis

Apr 03, 2026 • Filed to: Recover Emails • Proven solutions

Nowadays, the need of online communication and interaction has risen to an impressive rate. In order to live up to the demands of the public, many software companies have introduced websites that enables people to send, receive as well as transfer files. Among them, email has proved to be an excellent choice as it is capable of providing users with lots of suppliers as well as advantages.

Email - without doubt - contains numerous pros, but it sometimes can create nightmare to the users. Imagine you delete a vital mail by mistake, and you are frozen of how to solve the problem. You must be thinking that there's no way to recover deleted email. Stop for a minute. By using proper softwares, you will successfully restore email. All you have to do is to figure out a suitable one and apply it to your emails.

Part 1: Download the Best Free Email Recovery Software

2026 Technical Update: Local File Recovery vs. Server Recovery

It is crucial to distinguish between email stored in the cloud (IMAP/Exchange) and emails stored locally (POP3). If you deleted an email from your Gmail or Outlook.com browser, you should check the "Trash" or "Recoverable Items" folder on the server first. However, if your local Outlook data files (.PST or .OST) have been deleted from your hard drive, formatted, or lost during a system crash, specialized Email Recovery Software like Recoverit is required to scan the physical sectors of your disk to rebuild these database files.

Recoverit Free Data Recovery has its reputation for being a great software to recover deleted or lost local Outlook Email files. It also support to retrieve your lost files easier and more quickly than ever before. Get download Recoverit free email recovery software to help you retrieve deleted email files.

Your Safe & Reliable Free Email Recovery Software

Recover lost or deleted files, photos, audio, music, local Outlook emails from any storage device effectively, safely and completely.
Supports data recovery from recycle bin, hard drive, memory card, flash drive, digital camera and camcorders.
Supports to recover data for sudden deletion, formatting, hard drive corruption, virus attack, system crash under different situations.

Download Now Download Now

Download Recoverit Free Email Files Recovery software on your computer, launch it and follow the next steps to recover deleted or lost Email files.

Recovery Scenario	Recommended Tool	Best Feature
Deleted Local PST/OST Files	Wondershare Recoverit	Deep Scan for formatted drives
Corrupt Outlook Databases	Stellar Phoenix	Repairs encrypted PST files
Accidental Shift+Delete	Wondershare Recoverit	Preview before recovery
Formatted Email Backups	Wondershare Recoverit	All-Around Recovery mode

Part 2: How to Recover Deleted or Lost Email Files

Step 1: With Recoverit Free Email file recovery software, select "Deleted Files Recovery" mode to start.

free email recovery

Step 2: Please select a location where your Email files deleted or lost. Click "Start" button to process.

Step 3: Recoverit Free Email File Recovery software will start a quick scan to search deleted email files. If you cannot find your deleted files after the first scan, you can go to scan agian with "All-Arund Recovery" mode. It can help you deeply scan and search more files for a while.

scan and search deleted email files

Step 4: After the scan completed, you can check all recoverable files on the list. Preview some specific files like photos, go to select your Email files and click "Recover" button to get your data back.

preview and recover email file back

The Best Local Outlook Email Recovery software

Recovers all mailbox components within the files such as local emails(only Outlook), attachments, contacts, calendar items, journals, notes, etc.
Recovers Accidentally Deleted local Outlook Emails that were purged by mistake or lost due to unplanned system formatting
Allows saving recovered mails in EML, MSG, RTF, HTML, and PDF formats
Supports repair of encrypted & password protected PST files
Enables you arrange scanned emails using various criteria such as 'Date', ‘From’, 'To’, 'Subject', 'Type', 'Attachment', and 'Importance'
Repairs corrupt Outlook file created in MS Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002 (XP), & 2000 and MS Office 2016, 2013, 2010 (64-bit version), 2007 & 2003;Supports Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista.

Download Windows Version

File Extension	Email Client Compatibility	Recovery Potential
.PST / .OST	Microsoft Outlook 2000-2026	High (Full Database)
.EML / .EMLX	Windows Mail, Apple Mail, Thunderbird	High (Individual Emails)
.MSG	Single Outlook Messages	High
.DBX	Outlook Express (Legacy)	Moderate

Part 3: Tips & Tricks about Email Recovery

Always keep a copy of your emails in your email account. Or if you want to empty your account, bear in mind to create a backup folder in your computer that contains all your emails. You will never know if one day by mistake, you delete all your vital messages as well as attachment in your mail.
Classify your emails carefully. This performance is highly recommended as it reduces the chances of you to get astray of your mails. You should put all the mails that refers to one same sender, or all the mails that share the same content together. It would be much better as you will always know where the place of everything is.
Don't be panic when you realize you have deleted your emails. You should always know that all the deleted files can be recovered until they're overwritten.
Download Recoverit Free Email Recovery software on your computer as a backup tool. You will now have a great solution when you need to retrieve your files.

Pro Tip: Avoid the 'Overwrite' Danger Zone The moment you realize your Outlook PST/OST files are missing, stop using that drive immediately. Windows is constantly writing temporary data to your disk. If a new file occupies the space where your deleted email was stored, the data becomes unrecoverable. For the highest success rate, download and install Recoverit on a different partition or an external drive, then scan the affected drive as a "Slave" or "External" device to prevent overwriting your lost messages.

Download Windows Version Download Mac Version

Email Recovery & PST Repair FAQ

Can I recover emails after emptying the Trash?

Yes, provided the local data file (.pst or .ost) has not been overwritten by new data. We recommend using Wondershare Recoverit All-Around Recovery to perform a deep sector scan of your hard drive to locate and restore the original database fragments.
Does this work for Gmail or Yahoo?

This recovery method works only if you were using a desktop email client (such as Microsoft Outlook) to sync your accounts. Browser-only emails that were never downloaded locally must be recovered via the service provider's online "Trash" or "Bin" folder.
How do I fix a PST that won't open?

If the file is successfully restored but still fails to open, it likely has internal structural damage. You should use a professional repair utility like Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Repair to rebuild the internal database structure and extract your messages.