Deleted an important message, emptied the wrong folder, or removed a whole mailbox by mistake? As an Instant Access Internet Services customer, you can usually get it back yourself. This guide shows how to restore an email account with JetBackup 5 in cPanel, and how to recover deleted emails without wiping out the mail that has arrived since.
What you can recover
- Deleted messages and folders -- as long as they were in the mailbox when a backup ran.
- A deleted email account -- the mailbox and its messages.
Backups run three times a week and the latest 7 are kept, so you can go back roughly two weeks. A message that arrived and was deleted between two backups was never backed up and can't be restored. First check the Trash (or Deleted Items) folder in webmail or your mail app -- it may still be there.
How to restore an email account with JetBackup 5
- Log in to cPanel and go to Files > JetBackup 5.
- If this is your first visit, read the terms, tick the I Agree boxes and click Continue to Panel.
- Click Email Accounts on the dashboard (or Restore & Download in the left menu, then the Email Accounts tab).
- Tick the email address you want to restore, for example
you@example.com. - By default the newest backup is used. To go back further, click Choose Other Backup and pick an earlier date -- one from before the messages were deleted.
- Click Restore.
- Turn on the Merge option (merge backup data with live account data). This puts the missing messages back while keeping everything that's in the mailbox now. See below.
- If restore conditions are shown, read and accept them.
- Click Restore Selected Items.
- Click Queue in the left menu and wait until the status shows Completed.
- Open webmail (
https://example.com/webmail) or your mail app and check that the messages are back. They return to the folders they were in when the backup ran.
Should you use Merge?
Almost always, yes.
- Merge on: messages from the backup are added back, and new mail received since the backup stays put. Best for recovering deleted emails.
- Merge off: the mailbox is put back the way it was on the backup date. Mail that arrived after that date can be lost. Only use this if you really want the mailbox exactly as it was.
Restoring an email account you deleted
Follow the same steps. JetBackup recreates the mailbox with its messages. Afterwards:
- Check the account appears in Email > Email Accounts.
- If the password doesn't work, set a new one there with Manage, then update it on your phone and computer.
- Check the account's storage quota is big enough for the restored mail.
Troubleshooting
The restore finished but I can't see the messages
- Phones and mail apps can take a while to resync. Check in webmail first.
- In your mail app, make sure all folders are subscribed and shown -- restored mail goes back to its original folder, not always the Inbox.
- If you use POP3, messages that were downloaded and removed from the server before the backup ran were never backed up. See the IMAP vs POP3 guide.
The email account isn't listed in JetBackup
It wasn't in any of the kept backups -- for example it was created and deleted within a few days, or deleted more than two weeks ago. Open a ticket and we'll check.
I get "mailbox full" after restoring
The restored mail pushed the mailbox over its quota. Raise the quota in Email Accounts or clean up old mail.
Related guides
- How Website Backups Work on Your Hosting Account (JetBackup 5)
- How to Create an Email Account in cPanel
- IMAP vs POP3: Which Should You Use?
- How to Fix "Mailbox Full" Errors
- How to Restore Your Whole Account to an Earlier Date (JetBackup 5)
Still stuck? Open a support ticket and the Instant Access Internet Services team will help.
