Support told me to create a new Outlook profile to fix a problem. I am scared I will lose years of email. Will I?
Will I lose my emails if I create a new Outlook profile?
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Email & Outlook
FS
Felix Shaw October 27, 2026
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It depends on where your mail lives.
IMAP, Exchange or Microsoft 365 accounts: the mail is on the server. A new profile downloads it again. You lose nothing, though the first sync can be slow.
POP3 accounts: the mail is stored in a PST file on your computer. A new profile does not delete the PST. After you create the profile, go to File > Account Settings > Data Files > Add and select your old PST, or set it as the delivery location for the account. Make a copy of the PST first to be safe.
To create the profile: Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles > Add. Choose to prompt for a profile when Outlook starts, and test the new one before deleting the old.
It is a POP account so I copied the PST first and added it to the new profile. All emails are there. Thanks.