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How to Find and Access Archived Email Messages in Gmail Inbox

Gmail allows users to archive emails to keep the inbox clean and organized. Archiving removes emails from the inbox but stores them in the account under the “All Mail” label for later access when needed.

Finding and accessing archived messages in Gmail is easy once you understand where they are stored. This guide provides step-by-step instructions to locate archived emails on desktop, Android devices, iPhones, and through Gmail’s powerful search function.

Locating Archived Messages on Desktop

  1. Open Gmail on your desktop web browser and login to your account
  2. On the left sidebar, scroll down and click on More
  3. Under the More section, click on All Mail The All Mail section contains all emails in your Gmail account, including archived messages.
  4. Browse through all emails to locate your archived messages
  5. To move an archived email back to the inbox:
  • Right click on the archived message
  • Select Move to Inbox from the drop down menu

Finding Archived Emails on Android & iPhones

The Gmail mobile app has similar access to the archived emails as on desktop.

On Android

  1. Open the Gmail app on your Android phone
  2. Tap on the hamburger menu icon on the top left
  3. Scroll down and select All Mail under the menu
  4. Browse archived messages under the All Mail section
  5. To move an email back to the inbox:
  • Tap and open the archived message
  • Select the three dot menu on the top right
  • Choose Move to inbox

On iPhones

  1. Launch the Gmail app on your iPhone
  2. Tap on the hamburger menu icon on the top left
  3. Scroll down and tap on All Mail
  4. Search through All Mail to find archived messages
  5. To move an email back to inbox:
  • Open the archived email
  • Tap on the three dot menu on the top right
  • Select Move to > Inbox

Searching for Archived Messages

Gmail’s powerful search function also looks through archived emails. You can search for specific senders, dates, subjects, content within emails, and more.

Here are some examples of searches to find archived Gmail messages:

  • From:[email protected]
  • Subject:quarterly sales report
  • Label:clients
  • Has: attachments
  • Before:01/01/2023 After:01/01/2023
  • Query words in email content

Benefits of Archiving Emails

  • Keeps inbox clean and organized
  • Stores emails for later access when needed
  • Saves time from deleting emails that may be useful in future
  • Messages remain indexed for easy search access
  • Convenient way to store important emails long term

When to Archive vs Delete Emails

  • Archive – Emails you want to keep but don’t need in the inbox
  • Delete – Spam or emails no longer needed that you won’t need to access in future

Conclusion

Archiving emails in Gmail provides an effective way to organize your inbox while still retaining access to messages you may need in the future. The archived messages are stored under All Mail and remain searchable.

With the steps outlined in this guide, you can now easily find and access your archived emails in Gmail on desktop, mobile devices, and through search. Leverage archiving and search to keep your inbox clean without permanently deleting potentially useful emails.

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