Summary: Finding ways that solve the query, how to move emails from archived to inbox in Outlook 365, helps to get rid of accidental email archive. I used the Import/Export feature of Outlook email application to make the emails accessible again within the Inbox. Moreover, to unarchive mailboxes from multiple accounts, I used Import PST to Office 365 tool that helped me even without admin credentials.

User Query: A few days back, when I was sorting out my Inbox emails, I accidentally sent some of the high-priority emails to archive. This happened all of a sudden, and there was no confirmation prompt asking me whether I wanted to archive them or not. Can you help me unarchive emails and send them back to the inbox?

Archiving emails helps to save space in your Inbox folder; however, sometimes unintended emails are also sent to the archive. During such situations, the first reaction of every user is to find ways to move archived emails back to inbox in Office 365. To manage emails, you first need to know the location of the archive folder and the efficient methods to help make the move easily.

Real-life Situations: Move Archive Emails to Inbox?

Here are some situations when you might need to move your emails from archive folder to inbox:

  • Recover from accidental archiving: When you unintentionally send some emails to archive that were not meant to be, you need solutions to bring them back.
  • Keep everything in one place: Unarchiving emails to the inbox will keep all your communication emails in one place rather than storing them in another place.
  • Taking reference from old communication: Easily respond to a client’s query by taking reference from old and archived communication.
  • Resume a halted project: Get access to old conversations to resume or restart a project that was put on hold.
  • Importing data to user account: You’re looking to move or import mailbox data from a PST archive to your Exchange account.

How to Find Archive Folder Location?

The archive PST file can be moved to the Inbox, using MS Outlook.

To find the archive PST file on your system, follow steps below:

Step 1: Open MS Outlook and check the folders on the left side.

Step 2: If you’re using Outlook 2013, 2016, or 2019, then select the Home tab.

Step 3: The Archive Mailbox folder will be listed below other folder entries like Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts.

Step 4: Right-click on the Archive Folder and check if the Data File Properties option is available or not to verify that it is a PST file.

To find its location on your system, click Advanced. The PST file location will be listed in the Filename section.

How to Move Archived Emails to Inbox in Outlook?

Once you know the location of the archive PST file, you can quickly move it to the Inbox via the Import/Export feature of MS Outlook. Make sure your Office 365 account is configured in MS Outlook while importing the archive PST file, and then follow the steps below to know more about it.

Note: The steps to import PST to MS Outlook are similar for Outlook 2013, 2016, and 2019. However, it is a bit different in Outlook 2007 and 2010.

Here, we will talk about importing PST to Outlook 2016.

Step 1: Open MS Outlook and click the File tab.

Step 2: From the side menu, select Open & Export, and then click Import/Export.

click Import or Export

Step 3: In the Import/Export wizard, select Import from another program file and click Next.

Select Import from another program file

Step 4: From the Import a file wizard, select Outlook Data File and click Next.

Select Outlook Data File

Step 5: In the next step, click Browse to select the Archive PST file and click Next.

Step 6: Now, if you want to copy all the messages from the Archive mailbox to Office 365, then leave the settings as they are and click Finish.

Copy all the messages from the Archive mailbox to Office 365

Step 7: If you want to move specific folders from the archive, then select the specific folders and apply specific filters to them, and then click Finish to move the folders to Office 365 inbox.

Step 8: The messages or folders will appear under the Office 365 inbox.

This is the easiest method to move archive mailboxes to Office 365.

Perfect Solution to Move Back Archived Emails in Office 365

Due to lack of efficient methods to move archived emails back to inbox in Office 365, it can result in failure of the process and loss of email data. When you are bringing back a large amount of data for compliance or other purposes, admins use the Microsoft 365 compliance center to export archive data to PST and then re-import it to Office 365.

One of the most suitable solutions to import PST is Kernel Import PST to Office 365. This software is specially designed to import PST files to Office 365.

  • Direct user mapping to execute quick import to Office 365.
  • Move PST file data to user mailboxes or Office 365 groups.
  • Preserve emails, attachments, metadata and other data.
  • Simple interface to import PST to Office 365 without hassles.

Conclusion: Moving Archived Emails to Office 365 Inbox

Archiving in Office 365 helps users save mailbox space. With Office 365 in Outlook, you can save mailbox data to PST files on the local system. However, in some situations, users may need these PST files back to Office 365 Inbox. So, they have to import to Office 365 mailbox using Outlook. We hope you understood all the methods discussed on how to move archived mailbox to Office 365 inbox with Outlook. Moreover, use the recommended tool to import PST with ease.

Common User Queries

Q: Where can I find archive emails in Office 365?

A: In Outlook.com, Exchange, and Microsoft 365, you can find the archive emails within the Archive folder of the mailbox.

Q: How to unarchive an email in Outlook.com?

A: To unarchive an email in Outlook.com follow below steps:

  1. Sign in to Outlook.com and click Folders from the left pane.
  2. Click on Archive and select the messages you want to unarchive.
  3. Click on “Move to” from the Home tab and then select Inbox as the destination folder.

After the message is unarchived, there will be a confirmation message, saving the emails are moved to Inbox.

Sarthak Poswal
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