Can an email that disappeared be recovered even if it’s not found after checking Time Machine?

Question

Can an email that disappeared be recovered even if it’s not found after checking Time Machine?

Is it possible to recover one email that is missing from my sent items ? I have already talked to support, and not even they could find it. We went through Time Machine and all. The email appears on my phone's sent items but not fully downloaded from the server. The email is completely gone on my computer and on iCloud on the web. It is the only email missing from that entire day, and in its place in the timeline is a message from two days prior, completely out of place. For context on the extra weird factor of this mishap: I was getting ready to file a lawsuit, and the email that went missing (within a matter of hours from me hitting send) was a key piece in this case. The email that replaced it from the weird date is a message that is also related to the case. Now you do what you will with that info, but hey, can I get the message back?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 26.0

Posted on Aug 27, 2025 08:43 PM

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Answer 1

brbo

Level 8

38,053 points

Aug 28, 2025 07:57 PM in response to gabrielrsrocha

Re: Can an email that disappeared be recovered even if it’s not found after checking Time Machine?

Surely it is quite possible; unless you permanently deleted it.

Try looking in "Junk" "Trash" "Bin" "Bulk" "Archive" etc.

If messages are "grouped", see if your missing "sent" message ended up in a "conversation"

Sometimes an email does get unintentionally "swiped" into a folder into the sidebar, or was accidentally moved into the wrong mailbox, (or conversation if messages are grouped).

If you haven't already:

Try a search in the Mail app: Eg: for MacOS Sequoia: Search for emails in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

Apple support's linked article above gives all the tips and methods.

Eg: Look under: "Search for emails using your own words"

and

"Search for emails using Mail suggestions and search filters"

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Could the person(s) you "sent" it to, forward you a copy ?

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Another article:

Eg: says: If an email account in the Mail app on your Mac has a Recovered Messages Mailbox in the Mail sidebar, try these suggestions.

- IfMail moved messages to the Recovered Messages mailbox when it updated your email library after a macOS upgrade, drag the messages into another mailbox.
- If messages from a specific mailbox are repeatedly moved to the Recovered Messages mailbox, you may need to rebuild a mailbox to update the list of messages. See Rebuild mailboxes in Mail on Mac.

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Article below from a respected Community member, may be helpful:

To Beta or Not to Beta - That is the Ques… - Apple Community

Useful Resource: Mail User Guide for Mac - Apple Support

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