How to Retrieve Old Emails in Gmail

Open the Gmail app. The app has a red 'M' over an envelope icon. It is available on the Google Play Store (for Android devices) or the App Store (for iPhones and iPads).

• If you're not logged into Gmail yet, you need to add a Google account to your Android device, iPhone, or iPad.

Click on the search bar at the top of the screen. The search bar allows you to search emails by recipient name, subject, or date.

Enter before: into the search bar. This allows you to search for emails sent before a specific date.

Enter the date in the YYYY/MM/DD format to search for emails before a specific time. For example, to find emails before 2019, enter before:2019/01/01 in the search bar.

• Alternatively, you can specify a range of dates by entering "after:" followed by the start date in YYYY/MM/DD format, and "before:" followed by the end date in the same format. For instance, to find emails from May 2019, enter after:2019/05/01 before:2019/05/31 in the search bar.
• You can further narrow down your search by entering the recipient/sender's name or email address, or keywords/phrases from the email content. For example, you can enter before:2019/01/01 [email protected] or after:2019/05/01 before:2019/05/31 doctor's visit

Click on Search (Search) or the magnifying glass icon. Emails that are sent before the specified date will be displayed.

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Select the date range. You will be able to choose both a start and end date. "Date within" offers several options, ranging from 1 Day to 1 Year.

Click on the line next to the "Date Within" line. A calendar icon will appear to the right of this option. Click it to open a calendar to select your date.

Choose a date. Click on the date on the calendar you want to select. Use the "<" or ">" button at the top of the calendar to navigate to the next or previous month.

• Make sure the "All mail" option is selected in the line following, next to the "Search" header at the bottom of the search filter.
• You can refine your search further by entering the recipient's or sender's name/email in the "To:" or "From:" fields in the search filter. To search for specific words or phrases in the email or subject line, enter them into the "Has the words" field.

Click on the Search. This blue button is located at the bottom of the search filter options. Emails within the time range before and after the date you select will appear.

• Alternatively, you can search for emails before a specific date by typing "before:" followed by the date in YYYY/MM/DD format. For example, you can find older emails by entering before:2018/04/08 in the search bar.
• You can also search for emails within a date range by typing "after:" followed by the start date in YYYY/MM/DD format, then "before:" followed by the end date, also in YYYY/MM/DD format. For instance, to find emails from May 2019, type after:2019/05/01 before:2019/05/31 in the search bar.
• You can narrow down the search by entering the recipient's or sender's name/email after the date, or a keyword/phrase within the email content.

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• If you are using Gmail on your phone or tablet, tap the red and white envelope icon labeled "Gmail" on your home screen or in the app drawer.
• This method will find all emails in your Gmail account, including those you have archived.

Enter a keyword into the search bar at the top of Gmail. Here are some different ways you can search by keyword, sender, and recipient:

• Search by sender: Type the syntax from:sender in the search bar, where "sender" is the name or email address of the person who sent the email.
• Search by recipient: Type the syntax to:recipient, where "recipient" is the name or email address of the person to whom you sent the email.
• Search by word or phrase: Type the syntax "word or phrase", where "word or phrase" is the word or phrase you are searching for.
• Search by subject: Type the syntax subject:word, where "word" is the word in the subject line that you remember.
• You can also combine keywords. For example, if you want to find emails from [email protected] with the word "learn" in the subject, type: from:[email protected] subject:learn.
• Learn more about searching by date to see how to find emails from before, after, or within a specific time range.

Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return. The search results will be displayed in descending order, from the most recent to the oldest.

• If you're on a computer, the number of matching emails will appear in the top-right corner of the results. This will be displayed as something like "1-50 of 133" (the number may vary), and you can navigate to the next page using the arrow buttons on the right.
• If you have hundreds of search results, you can reorder them to show from oldest to newest. Click on the number of results, then select Oldest (Oldest).

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• Use this method if you want to view or recover emails that have been deleted from your Gmail account.
• Deleted emails remain in the Trash folder for 30 days before being permanently erased. After 30 days, they cannot be recovered.

Click on the Trash folder located in the left-hand side menu. A list of all emails not yet permanently deleted will appear.

• If you only see icons instead of the menu options, click on the trash bin icon.
• You may need to click on More at the bottom of the menu to expand the list.

Open the email. Click on the email subject to open it. The original content of the email will be displayed.

Click on the folder icon with an arrow pointing to the right. This icon is located at the top of the screen, just below the search bar. This is the "Move to" option. A drop-down menu will display folders within Gmail and your Google account.

Click on Inbox (Inbox). This option appears in the drop-down menu that appears when you click the "Move to" icon. The selected email will be moved from the Trash folder to the Inbox folder.

Open Gmail on your phone or tablet. The app with the red and white envelope icon is usually located on the home screen (iPhone/iPad) or the app drawer (Android).

• This method applies if you wish to review or recover emails that were previously deleted from Gmail.
• Deleted emails remain in the Trash folder for 30 days before being permanently erased. After 30 days, these emails cannot be recovered.

Tap the ≡ menu at the top left corner.

Click on the Trash. Depending on your screen size, you may need to scroll down to find it. A list of emails that are not permanently deleted will appear.

Click on any email to open it. The original content of the email will be displayed. If you wish to recover it so that it is not permanently deleted, follow the next steps.

Click on the ⋮ menu in the top-right corner of the screen, next to the small envelope icon.

Click on the Move to option near the top of the menu. A list of folders and inboxes will appear.

Select the destination. If you wish to move this email to your main inbox, choose Primary (Primary). Once you click, the email will be moved there.

• If it's still within 30 days since deletion and you cannot find the email, it might have been archived. You can apply one of the search methods mentioned in this article to recover the email.