Backup & Recovery - Recovering and Exporting Mailbox Data

Updated July 29, 2026 15:07

This article contains information on how to recover mailbox data, including selecting a mailbox, filtering content, choosing recovery scope, configuring and monitoring exports, and downloading results within a 14‑day window.

Recovery and Export Workflow

You can follow the steps below to recover mailbox data and download it as a PST or EML file.

Step 1: Select the Mailbox

Navigate to the Backups list and select the mailbox you need to recover from. The mailbox must currently be in a Healthy, Degraded, or Orphaned state to have recoverable content. A mailbox in an Unlicensed state may also have recoverable content if the Exchange license was removed after at least one backup had already completed.

Step 2: Browse or Search the Mailbox Content

You can find the content you need in two ways:

Browse: Navigate through the mailbox folder structure directly.
Search: Use the search bar. Both partial-match and wildcard searches are supported.

Step 3: Apply a Time-Range Filter

You can use the time-range filter to narrow results to a specific period. The following options are available:

Last 30 days.
Last 60 days.
Last 6 months.
Last year.
All time.

This effectively lets you view the mailbox as it existed at a specific point in the past, within the supported point-in-time window of up to 6 months.

Step 4: Choose Your Recovery Scope

To choose your recovery scope, select what you want to recover:

Mailbox: the entire mailbox.
Folder: one or more specific folders.
Item: individual emails, contacts, calendar entries, notes, or tasks.

Step 5: Configure the Export

To Configure the Export, select Export and configure the following options:

Maximum part-file size: Export up to 20 GB. Larger exports are automatically split into multiple part files at this size.
Reason for export: Enter a reason. This is recorded in the audit log and is useful for compliance purposes (see Backup & Recovery - Audit Logs).
Notification email addresses: Optionally, add one or more email addresses to be notified when the export completes. Users requesting an export get notified automatically

Step 6: Preview and Submit

Preview your selection before submitting to confirm you are exporting exactly what you intended. Then select Submit. A confirmation notification confirms the export has been queued.

Step 7: Monitor the Export

To Monitor the Export, navigate to the Exports tab to monitor progress. From this view, you can:

Track the export status.
Cancel an export that is still in Queued state.
Review detailed failure information if an export does not complete successfully.

Step 8: Download the Export

When the export completes, the notification email includes essential details about the export, including a link to the export details page containing download links to export parts.