Frequently Asked Question

If an email seems to have disappeared, it is usually still findable. This guide walks you through searching, checking the Junk and Deleted Items folders, and recovering messages that were removed from a folder. Steps are written for Outlook on the web (https://outlook.office.com); the Outlook desktop app works the same way unless noted.

Step 1: Search for the email

1. Sign in to https://outlook.office.com with your full Jersey College email address and password (or open the Outlook desktop app).
2. Click the Search box at the top.
3. Type something you remember: the sender's name, a word from the subject, or a phrase from the message, then press Enter.
4. If you have many results, narrow them using the date or sender filters near the search box.

Tip: Make sure the search is looking in All folders (not just the current folder) so it can find mail that was moved or filed somewhere else.

Step 2: Check the Junk Email folder

1. In the folder list on the left, click Junk Email.
2. If you find the message there, open it and click Not junk (or Report, then Not junk). This moves it back to your Inbox and helps future emails from that sender arrive normally.

Step 3: Check the Deleted Items folder

1. In the folder list on the left, click Deleted Items.
2. If you find the email, right-click it and choose Move, then Inbox (or drag it back into your Inbox).

Step 4: Recover items already removed from Deleted Items

If an email is not in Deleted Items, it may still be recoverable for a limited time.

On the web:

1. Click the Deleted Items folder.
2. At the top of the message list, click Recover items deleted from this folder (you may need to scroll to the bottom of the list to find this link).
3. Find the email in the list, select it, and click Restore. Recovered mail usually returns to the folder it was deleted from, or to your Inbox.

In the Outlook desktop app (Windows):

1. Click the Deleted Items folder.
2. On the Folder tab (or Home tab), click Recover Deleted Items From Server.
3. Select the message and choose Restore Selected Items, then click OK.

Tips and warnings:

• Recovery is only possible for a limited time after deletion, so check as soon as you notice a message is missing.
• The desktop app only shows mail it has downloaded. If you cannot find a message there, sign in at https://outlook.office.com and search again, since the web version searches your whole mailbox.
• If an important email truly cannot be found after these steps, contact the Help Desk and include the sender, the approximate date, and the subject if you remember them.

If you're still having trouble, contact the Jersey College Help Desk at 201-645-1164 or itsupport@jerseycollege.edu.