my outlook for mac lost the emails in the the on my computer folders.

Question

my outlook for mac lost the emails in the the on my computer folders.

Fritz Hinrichs 0

My outlook for mac lost the emails in my on my computer folders. How do I get them back?

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3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

If your emails in the "On My Computer" folders in Outlook for Mac seem to be lost, it could be due to a filtering issue or they might be hidden from view. Here are some steps you can take to try and recover them:

Check Filters: Make sure that no filters are applied that might be hiding your emails. You can do this by going to the View tab and checking the View Settings to see if any filters are set.
Use Advanced Find: You can also use the Advanced Find feature to search for your emails. Here’s how:
- Select the Inbox folder.
- Click into the Instant Search bar to display the Search tab on the ribbon.
- Select Search Tools, then Advanced Find.
- In the Look for list, select "Any type of Outlook item" and browse to select your "On My Computer" folders.
- Click Find Now to see if any emails appear in the results.
Check Other Folders: Sometimes emails may have been accidentally moved to other folders. Check your Deleted Items or any other folders you may have created.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may want to consider restoring from a backup if you have one available.

References:

Items disappear or are not visible in an Outlook folder

Answer 2

Anonymous

Hi @Fritz Hinrichs
Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

To help us better understand the situation, may I ask you to check if the item is still visible in your Legacy Outlook for Mac? You can try using the search bar with the “All Mailboxes” option selected and also review the Deleted Items folder under the On My Computer section.

If the item is not visible, may I confirm the following:

Have you recently exported an OLM file that would allow you to import the data back?
Have you enabled the Time Machine feature on your Mac device?

If neither option applies to your situation, I am sorry to share that based on my current findings, there is unfortunately no available method to restore an email that was permanently deleted from an On My Computer folder, as these folders are stored locally and are not recoverable through server‑based restoration methods.

I understand this may not be the answer you were hoping for, and I truly wish the outcome were different. I hope the information above still provides clarity and helps ensure all possible recovery options have been reviewed.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Anonymous

2026-02-12T06:24:18.1566667+00:00

Hi @Fritz Hinrichs

I just wanted to kindly follow up to see if you’ve had a chance to review my previous message.

I would greatly appreciate any updates you may be able to provide, particularly regarding the usefulness of the information I shared.

Thank you again for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Fritz Hinrichs 0 Reputation points

2026-02-12T14:49:22.29+00:00

THank you for your help. I do have time machine working, but the Export option is not available in my MS outlook for mac. :-(
Fritz Hinrichs 0 Reputation points

2026-02-12T15:57:34.2633333+00:00

Actually, I think they dissappeared because I deleted my Archives folder. Can I get that back through time machine?
Anonymous

2026-02-13T05:53:06.4233333+00:00
Hi @Fritz Hinrichs

Thank you for your follow ups.

Based on my research, your Archive folder stored under “On My Computer” should technically be included when Time Machine is enabled. However, before you attempt a restore, I strongly recommend backing up your current Outlook Data File on your Mac. You can do this by saving a copy of the folder located at:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/Main Profile

For detailed guidance, you may refer to:

Restore your Mac from a backup - Apple Support

How to Restore Mac Outlook using Time Mac… - Apple Community

This information is provided as a convenience to you. These sites are not controlled by Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks before using any suggestions from the above link.

I hope this helps provide additional clarity. I would truly appreciate it if you could share any updates once you’ve had a chance to try these steps.
Anonymous

2026-02-16T14:50:00.01+00:00

Hello @Fritz Hinrichs

just following up to see if the information above was helpful. If you have any updates or further questions, feel free to share them here.

Answer 3

Dinah in Phoenix 0

Hello, I just experienced something similar. After the Tahoe version 26.3.1 update (auto-initiated on my Mac) I lost a TON of information on my computer, not just in Outlook. I restored much of the info/files, but Outlook created a new instance and I had to add my 3 email accounts back, which restored all my current emails. But the emails stored in the "On My Computer" files were gone.

I spent 2 hours today with Apple trying to find the correct file to get those back, with no success. Called Apple back again and was told this is not an Apple issue, that I needed to contact Microsoft. Could not get through to a person at Microsoft so am turning here for some assistance.

I use Time Machine but I am not sure where exactly JUST my "On My Computer" files are stored, and once I find the correct file on my Time Machine backup, where do I put it on my outlook files to restore JUST those files and add to my already reconstructed new Outlook view? Can you advise here? Thanks.

Anonymous

2026-03-10T06:39:59.38+00:00

Hi @Dinah in Phoenix

Thank you for reaching out.

The official path to Outlook data on macOS is:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles

Time Machine should store the data in the same path.

Regarding restoring only a specific “On My Computer” folder, from my observation the Outlook data files use numeric names that do not clearly identify which file belongs to which folder. This makes it difficult to locate and restore only the correct item.

Because of this, I recommend restoring the entire Outlook profile from Time Machine as a separate Outlook profile. This approach keeps all folders together, including “On My Computer,” and provides a more user‑friendly interface to review and move data.

Step 1: Create a new Outlook profile and set it as the default profile.

Step 2: Before opening Outlook, go to the following path: ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles

Copy all the contents of the Main Profile from your Time Machine backup into the new profile folder you created.

Step 3: Open Outlook for Mac and check whether the items you expect are displayed.

Having both profiles available provides a safer way to browse and interact with the restored data instead of copying files directly into an active profile.

I hope this brings some additional insight.