How to Remove Duplicate Emails from Outlook?

Microsoft Outlook is a popular email application that is easy to use and offers high security and advanced features. However, sometimes it can act up, leading to annoying issues like duplicate emails. No matter what Outlook version you use, whether it's 2019, 2016, 2013, or 2010, this issue can crop up. But don't worry! This blog is all about fixing that problem.

In this blog post, we'll delve into the reasons behind duplicate emails, discuss how t prevent them from clogging up your inbox, and finally, we will guide you through a straightforward process to remove duplicate emails in Outlook.

Why should you remove duplicate emails from Outlook?

Using Outlook to manage your work emails can be a great boost to your productivity. But having duplicate emails is not just an annoyance; they can significantly hamper your productivity and negatively impact the performance of Outlook. Not only do these emails take up unnecessary space, but they can also confuse you and make finding important emails difficult. When efficiency is key in a business setting, this problem takes center stage and needs immediate attention.

The ripple effect of duplicate emails

Duplicate emails can be confusing and disruptive to your workflow. This issue leads to several significant problems, such as:

Confusion: Duplicate emails can create confusion, leaving you questioning whether you've responded to an email or just to its duplicate. It can result in missed communications or, on the contrary, sending duplicate responses.

Difficult email searches: With duplicate emails littering your mailbox, the search results get cluttered, making it harder to locate the specific email you need.

Increased mailbox size: Constant duplicate emails drastically increases your mailbox size. It could eventually lead to increased loading times and a sluggish Outlook experience.

Excessive hard drive space usage: Each duplicate email takes up additional space on your hard drive, leading to unnecessary consumption of storage resources. It puts an extra load on your CPU, affecting your system's overall performance.

What Causes Duplicate Emails in Outlook?

Duplicate emails can surface due to several reasons:

Improperly configured rules: If your Outlook rules aren't correctly set up, it can cause confusion and result in email duplication.

Synchronization issues: An unstable or slow internet connection can create synchronization problems leading to duplicate emails.

Short send/receive intervals: If the time gap between sending and receiving data is too small, it can cause duplicate emails.

Incorrect mailbox settings: Inappropriate mailbox settings during account setup in Outlook can make the same email message appear multiple times.

Multiple account setups: Configuring the same email account on multiple devices can result in duplicate emails.

How to stop receiving duplicate emails in Outlook?

The first step in resolving the issue of duplicate emails is to identify the cause. Here's how you can prevent duplicate emails:

Step 1: Proper Configuration of Outlook Rules

Ensure that your Outlook rules are properly configured. Incorrectly set rules can result in misplacement of emails and create confusion between different email folders.

Step 2: Setting up Inbox Update Frequency

1. Launch MS Outlook.
2. Go to Send/Receive tab.
3. Select Send/Receive Groups and choose Define Send/Receive Groups option.
4. From Send/Receive Groups wizard, Schedule an automatic send/receive every value to 15 to 30 minutes.
5. Click on the Close.

How to delete duplicate emails from Outlook?

Outlook offers in-built features like 'Clean Up' and 'Import/Export' to remove duplicate emails. You can also use third-party tools like SysCurve Outlook Duplicate Remover to remove duplicate emails in Outlook.

Method 1: Remove duplicate emails in Outlook using Clean Up

The 'Clean Up' feature helps you remove redundant emails from conversations and folders:

1. Launch MS Outlook.
2. Select the folder that contains the duplicate emails.
3. From the Home tab, select the Clean Up option and choose the Clean Up Folder option.
4. A popup will show a message, All redundant messages in the current folder will be moved to the "Deleted Items" folder, click on the Clean Up Folder button.
5. Right-click on the Deleted Items folder and select the Empty Folder option.

Method 2: Delete duplicate emails from Outlook using the Import/Export option

This method involves creating a backup PST file, then importing the PST file back into Outlook, ensuring to remove any duplicates during the process.

1: Backup Outlook Emails

1. Launch Outlook and click on the File tab.
2. Select Open & Export and click on Import/Export.
3. From Import and Export Wizard, choose Export to a file and click on the Next button.
4. From Export to a File screen, choose Outlook Data File (.pst) and click on the Next button.
5. From the Export Outlook Data File window, select an Email account, select the Include subfolders checkbox and click on the Next button.
6. Click on the Browse button to set a destination path and choose Replace duplicates with items exported option.
7. Add Password (Optional) and click on the Finish button.

Step 2: Import PST file

1. Launch Outlook and click on the File tab.
2. Select Open & Export and click on Import/Export.
3. From Import and Export Wizard, choose Import from another program or file and click on the Next button.
4. From Import to a File screen, choose Outlook Data File (.pst) and click on the Next button.
5. From the Import Outlook Data File window, click on the Browse button to select PST file and choose the Do not import duplicates option.
6. Select folders, which you want to import, and check the Include subfolders option.
7. Check Import items into the same folder option and click on the Finish button.

Method 3: Remove duplicate emails from Outlook using Outlook Duplicate Remover

Here, we are going to use SysCurve Outlook Duplicate Remover Tool. It is a potent tool that quickly remove duplicates in Outlook PST files. To perform this task, follow the steps below.

1. Download and install the Outlook Duplicate Remover tool.
2. Open the software and select the Single/Multiple PST file(s) option.
3. Click the Browse button, and select the PST file to delete duplicate emails in Outlook PST.
4. Select the Remove Types as per your requirement and choose to remove duplicates across all folders.
5. Click the Browse button and provide a location to save the new PST file.
6. Click the Remove Duplicate Email button to start the process.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Final Word

While dealing with duplicate emails in Outlook can be a bit of a hassle, it's an issue that can be rectified. Using this post, you can effectively clear out duplicate emails, leading to a more efficient email management process. Even though it might require some time and patience, the result is worth it. For a quicker solution, consider using tools like the SysCurve Outlook Duplicate Remover to expedite the process.

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