How do you recover an archive folder and e-mails in them?

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Level 1

9 points

How do you recover an archive folder and e-mails in them?

Within the past 10 days or so, an Archive folder showed up in my Apple Mail on my Macbook Pro.
It was never there before. It appeared right below my Inbox and right above my gmail folders.
It had all the same folders that I have with my gmail account.
So, I tried to delete it but couldn't.
So, I tried deleting folders within the Archive folder and was able to do that. That of course deleted the e-mails within the folders.

Before I did this, I used my browser to check gmail and see if the Archive folder was showing checked for imap...and it was not...which is what I expected.

I also use Thunderbird on a Windows laptop and there is not and has never had this Archive folder. So, I figured I could delete the Archive folder on my Apple Mail.

So what has happened, by deleting this suddenly appearing Archive folder that is nowhere else, has now deleted some of the same folders my gmail. There was no warning when I did this that it would permanently delete my normal gmail folders.

I went to gmail and tried the recover e-mail thing and all it did was recover e-mails I deleted in the last 30 days. Well these were deleted in the last 30 days, but apparently it doesn't recover anything if the actual e-mail is older than 30 days.

I presume there's no solution for this, but if there is, please let me know. I'd also like to know why this Archive folder suddenly appeared. I'm guessing it was due to some update. I'd also like to know why these tech programmers can't but in much greater warning messages for people.

Thanks for any help.

-Chris

Posted on Feb 3, 2020 8:03 AM

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Answer 1

Joseph_S.

Community Specialist

Feb 10, 2020 9:31 AM in response to TSPCJP

Hello again TSPCJP,

Thanks for reaching back out. There's one more than we can try to resolve this issue. Let's try rebuilding your mailboxes to see if it will update the mail that was stored in your folders. This article will show you how:

Rebuild mailboxes in Mail on Mac

If the issue persists, contact Apple Support: Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Take care.

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Answer 2

TSPCJP Author

Level 1

9 points

Feb 9, 2020 2:02 PM in response to sterling r

Hi,

Thank you for trying to help.

I didn't do either of those. And I didn't have Time Machine set up.

What happened was an Archive folder suddenly showed up in Apple Mail on the sidebar that was NEVER there before. I could be wrong, but I think there may have been a Mail update and then it appeared. Not liking it, I started deleting things. As I had stated, the imap for the Archive folder in Gmail is not and has never been checked. The Archive folder only shows up on Apple Mail on my MacBook. It does and has not shown up in Mail for my iphone or my iPad. It doesn't show up in Thunderbird on my Mac or Thunderbird for Windows.

I have only one conclusion...it came from an update without sufficient warning and explanation.

-Chris

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Answer 3

TSPCJP Author

Level 1

9 points

Feb 10, 2020 9:52 AM in response to Joseph_S.

Thank you for the help. Unfortunately, that didn't work. Perhaps it would have if I had done right after I deleted them.

I was a bit fortunate. I had Thunderbird on my Mac, but hadn't opened it in over a year, so it at least had everything prior to that. I was able to save the Thunderbird e-mails and import them into to Mail. So, I'm just missing about a years worth of certain e-mails.

Oh well. I've hopefully learned a lesson.

-Chris

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Answer 4

chris_g1

Community Specialist

Feb 10, 2020 10:27 AM in response to TSPCJP

Hi TSPCJP,

Thanks for the update. I'm glad you were able to retrieve some of your emails from the Thunderbird app. I recommend creating a backup of your Mac in order to avoid any data loss in the future. This article will show you how: Back up your Mac with Time Machine

Have a great day!

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Answer 5

sterling r

Community Specialist

Feb 5, 2020 5:18 PM in response to TSPCJP

Hello TSPCJP,

Thanks for reaching out in Apple Support Communities! I understand you deleted your Archive folder and now you're missing some of your older emails. I'm happy to assist you with this.

Take a look at these articles to see if the archive folder was created using any of these methods:

Archive emails in Mail on Mac

Archive or mute Gmail messages

If you have a Time Machine backup of your Mac, you can restore your emails that way:

Restore mailboxes and their content in Mail on Mac

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities, and have a great day!

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How do you recover an archive folder and e-mails in them?

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