Sending, receiving, and organizing email in Outlook.com
Once an Outlook.com (Hotmail) message is no longer present in Deleted Items or in Recoverable Items, it has been permanently removed and cannot be restored, even from server backups.
For Outlook.com:
- Deleted messages first go to Deleted Items.
- If removed from Deleted Items, they may still be available for a limited time via Recover items deleted from this folder (the Recoverable Items store).
- After that recovery period expires or if the message no longer appears in Recoverable Items, the item is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.
The documentation also notes:
- Messages removed from the Deleted Items folder are only recoverable for 30 days.
- Messages deleted from a child’s account cannot be recovered.
- Once items are gone from Recoverable Items, neither end users nor support can restore them.
Because the email from February 2026 is no longer in Recoverable Items, it is permanently deleted and cannot be restored from any backup.
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