How to Unarchive an Email in Gmail

Un-Archive Emails in Gmail

Archived an email, wonder where it went and want it back in your inbox? Find out here how to unarchive Gmail emails and restore them to the inbox or any other label and folder using Gmail on the web, in a Gmail app or with an email program connected with IMAP.

First, Fifty-Three Million Pitchers’ Shards

Some 53,000,000 shards lie in Rome not too far from the underwhelming but busy Ostiense train station, grown over by shrubs and forming a sizable hill. For some two centuries and a half in ancient times, the Romans used the area to discard, in layers, Dressel 20 amphorae that had served their purpose of supplying them with olive oil from, typically, Southern Spain.

Now, did you think an email had served its purpose and dumped it on the sizable Gmail archive mountain range? Getting them back down and into the inbox is easy:

How to Unarchive an Email in Gmail

In a Desktop Browser

Time needed: 3 minutes

To restore an archived email in Gmail using a desktop browser and have it show up under Inbox again:

  1. Go to the All Mail label in Gmail.

    Here’s how: Select All Mail from the Gmail label list, for instance.
    Gmail keyboard shortcut: You can press G A to open All Mail quickly.
    Open the "All Mail" label to start unarchiving Gmail emails

  2. Find the message you want to unarchive.

    Search: Use the Search mail field to find the email you are looking for; archived emails are included automatically, but you can also search only the Gmail archive.

  3. Make sure the message you want to restore to the inbox is checked.

    Unarchive a bunch: You can check and unarchive multiple emails in one go, of course.

  4. Click the Move to Inbox button.

    Dragging and dropping: As an alternative, you can also drag and drop the selected emails onto Inbox in the left label panel.
    Click "Move to Inbox" to unarchive in Gmail

Quick Tip: Restore an Email You Have Just Archived

To speedily restore an email you have just accidentally archived in Gmail using a desktop browser:

  • Click Undo in the notification that appears at the bottom of the screen or
  • press Z.

Unarchive in the Gmail Apps for Android and iOS

To unarchive Gmail messages using the Gmail app for iOS or Android:

  1. Tap the hamburger menu item in the Gmail app.
  2. Open the All mail folder.
  3. Now open the message you want to unarchive.
    Unarchive multiple emails: You can also tap the avatars or initials in front of messages to select them and restore multiple emails to the inbox in one go.
  4. Open the menu using the menu button (•••).
  5. Select Move to Inbox from the context menu that has appeared.

How to Unarchive an Email in Gmail Using an Email Program and IMAP

To un-archive emails if you connect to your Gmail account from an email program through IMAP:

  1. Make sure the [Gmail]/All Mail folder is accessible in IMAP.
  2. Open the [Gmail]/All Mail folder in your email program.
    It’s all Archive to me: In some email programs, the folder may be called “Archive” or just “All Mail.”
  3. Move or copy any messages you want to unarchive to the same Gmail account’s Inbox folder.
    Either or: It makes no difference whether you copy or move the messages, they will remain in the [Gmail]/All Mail folder (and All mail in Gmail on the web) either way.

How to Unarchive an Email in Gmail: FAQ

Can I unarchive emails to a folder or label different from the inbox?

Yes, you can add any label (using Gmail on the web or in the Gmail app) or copy the message to any folder to have it appear in that folder or label.

An email un-archived to a folder different from the inbox will not automatically show up in the inbox.

(How to unarchive an email in Gmail tested in a desktop browser, the Gmail app for iOS and an email program using IMAP; updated February 2024)

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