This wikiHow teaches you how to find old or hard-to-find emails in Gmail using computers, phones, and tablets. You can search for emails by date, sender, or message body.
Step
Method 1 of 5: Performing a Date Search on a Mobile Device
Step 1. Launch the Gmail app
The icon is an envelope with a red "M" in the center. On Android devices, the Gmail app can be found in the Play Store, while iPad or iPhone users can get it through the App Store.
If you're not signed in to Gmail yet, add your Google account on your Android, iPhone, or iPad
Step 2. Touch the search field at the top
Through the search field, you can search for emails by recipient, subject, or date.
Step 3. Type before:
in the search field.
This is to search for emails before a certain date.
Step 4. Enter the previous date, in year/month/date format
This will search for emails before a certain date. For example, if you want to search for emails before 2020, type before:2020/01/01 into the search field.
- Alternatively, you can specify a specific date range by typing " after: " followed by a start date in year/month/day format, followed by " before: " and an end date in year/month/date format. For example, you can search for emails in August 2020 by typing after:2020/08/01 before:2020/08/31 in the search field.
- You can narrow your search by entering the recipient's/sender's name or email address after the date, or the words/phrases included in the email. For example, you could type before:2020/01/01 [email protected] or after:2020/08/01 before:2020/08/31 doctor visit.
Step 5. Tap Search or the magnifying glass-shaped icon
This will search for emails before the set date.
Method 2 of 5: Performing a Date Search on a Computer
Step 1. Visit
If you're not signed in yet, you'll need to sign in to your account now.
Step 2. Click the triangle shaped icon
in the search field.
This icon is to the right of the search field. The search filter options will be displayed.
Step 3. Click the "Date Within" drop-down menu
This menu is located at the bottom of the search filter options.
Step 4. Select a date in the range
It will search the range before and after the specified date. You can choose various "Date Within" options, ranging from 1 Day (1 day) to 1 Year (1 year).
Step 5. Click the line next to "Date Within"
There is a calendar-shaped icon on the right. This will display a calendar that can be used to select a date.
Step 6. Select the date
Click a day on the calendar to select a date. Click the " <" or " >" at the top of the calendar to move the calendar forward or backward by one month.
- Make sure you have selected " All mail " in the row next to "Search" at the bottom of the Search Filter options.
- You can narrow your search by entering the name or email address of the recipient/sender in the " To: " or " From: " line in the search filter options. To search for a word/phrase in an email or subject line, type the desired word/phrase into the line that says "Has the words".
Step 7. Click Search
It's a blue button at the bottom of the search filter options. This will search for emails in the range before and after the selected date.
- Alternatively, you can search for emails before a certain date by typing " before: " followed by a date in the year/month/date format in the search field. For example, you can search for old emails by typing before:2020/08/08 in the search field.
- You can also search for emails in a date range by typing " after: " followed by a start date in year/month/date format, followed by " before: " followed by an end date in year/month/date format in the search field. For example, you can search for emails in August by typing after:2020/08/01 before:2020/08/31 in the search field.
- You can narrow your search by entering the name or email address of the recipient/sender after the date, or the words and phrases found in the email.
Method 3 of 5: Searching By Sender or Email Content
Step 1. Visit
If you're not signed in yet, you'll need to sign in to your account now.
- If you're using Gmail on a tablet or phone, tap the red and white envelope with the words "Gmail" on the home screen or in the app drawer.
- With this method, you will search for all messages in your Gmail account, including archived messages.
Step 2. Click or tap the search field
You can find it at the top.
Step 3. Enter keywords into the search field
The search field is at the top of the Gmail screen. Some of the ways you can do a search by sender, recipient, or keyword include:
-
Do a search by sender:
Write from: sender in the search field. Replace the word "sender" with the name or email address of the sender of the message.
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Perform a search by recipient:
Write to: recipient, replacing the word "recipient" with the name or email address of the recipient of your message.
-
Perform a search by word or phrase:
Write "word or phrase", replacing "word or phrase" with the word/phrase you want to search for.
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Perform a search by subject:
Write subject: word, replacing "word" with the word contained in the subject of the email (as you can remember).
- You can also combine search keywords. For example, if you want to find a message from [email protected] with the word "learning" in the subject, write: from:[email protected] subject:learning.
- Take a look at the Perform a Date Search method to find messages you received before, after, or within a specific date range.
Step 4. Press Enter or Returns.
The search results will be displayed by date, with the most recent emails placed at the top of the list.
- If using a computer, at the top right of the screen will display the number of messages that match your search. If it says something like "1-50 of 170" (the number will vary depending on your email), use the arrows on the right to go to the next page of search results.
- If your search results find hundreds of emails or more, you can reorder the results from the oldest to the newest. Do this by clicking on the number of search results, then selecting Oldest.
Method 4 of 5: Viewing Deleted Emails on Computer
Step 1. Visit
If you're not signed in yet, you'll need to sign in to your account now.
- Use this method if you want to read or recover email messages that have been deleted from Gmail.
- Deleted messages are still stored in the Trash folder for 30 days before they are permanently deleted. Messages that have been permanently deleted cannot be recovered.
Step 2. Click Trash
You can find it on the left side of the screen. This will display a list of all messages that have not been permanently deleted.
- If you only see a few icons, not a row of menu options, click the trash can icon.
- Maybe you should click More at the bottom of the menu.
Step 3. Open the desired message
Do this by clicking on the subject of the message. The contents of the message will be displayed.
Step 4. Click the folder-shaped icon in the middle of which there is an arrow pointing to the right
It's at the top of the screen, below the search field. This is the " Move to " icon (moved to…). Doing so will display a folder drop-down menu within Gmail and Google accounts.
Step 5. Click Inbox
This option is in the drop-down menu that appears when you click the " Move to " icon. Email messages that are in the Trash folder will be returned to the Inbox folder.
Method 5 of 5: Viewing Deleted Emails on a Phone or Tablet
Step 1. Launch Gmail on your tablet or phone
This red and white envelope-shaped icon is usually placed on the home screen (on iPhone/iPad) or app drawer (on Android).
- Use this method if you want to read or recover email messages that have been deleted from Gmail.
- Deleted messages will remain in the Trash folder for 30 days before being permanently deleted. Messages that have been permanently deleted cannot be recovered.
Step 2. Touch the menu located at the top left corner of the screen
Step 3. Touch Trash
Depending on the screen size, you may have to scroll down to find it. A list of messages that have not been permanently deleted will be displayed.
Step 4. Touch the desired message to open it
The contents of the email message will be displayed. If you want to restore messages from being permanently deleted, continue with this method.
Step 5. Touch the menu
The menu is in the upper-right corner to the right of the small envelope.
Step 6. Touch Move to at the top of the menu
This will bring up a list of inboxes and folders.
Step 7. Determine the destination for saving the message
If you want to move email messages to your regular inbox, select Primary. After touching the desired location, the message will be moved there.
If the message you're looking for doesn't exist, and it hasn't been more than 30 days since the message was deleted, it may have been archived. Use one of the Search messages above to find it
Tips
- If the email you're looking for isn't in your main inbox, try checking the folder Spam, Social, Promotions, or Trash.
- Make sure you search all emails by selecting All mail in the inbox list.
- You can retrieve old emails more easily by organizing them by subject and the date they were received.
