Finding & Moving SPAM to Your Inbox

Adam Garrett
Dec 8, 2023
1 min read

Updated: May 17, 2024

General Tips for All Email Options if You're Not Finding an Email from Someone Who Sent you an Email

Text them your email address to ensure that they are sending an email to the right email address.
Run a search for either the email address of the sender or the sender's name, especially if they included their full name in their signature at the bottom of the email.
If a sender is using more than 1 email address (i.e. real estate agents setting up MLS feeds), be sure to have that information.

Locate, Move, & Whitelist Sender for SPAM on Gmail Desktop View:

Locating Emails You Don't See in Your Inbox On Desktop View

On the top left, click on the "More" Drop Down:

Click "All Mail" if you know what you are looking for but think it might have gotten filtered in something other than SPAM. Alternatively, click on "Spam".

Here's my view once I click on "Spam":

If I wanted to search my SPAM for a name, I'd do it at the top after "in:spam" that is present automatically if you are in the SPAM folder:

I could search in the same way in my regular inbox or in all mail.

Whitelisting Email Address after spotting it in SPAM

Once signed into Gmail, and finding an email in SPAM that shouldn't be there, select it, then click on the 3 dots near the top of the screen:

Select "Filter Messages Like These:

If the "From" field isn't filled in, input the email address of the person trying to reach you (in my case, agarrett@garrettrealtypartners.com ) then click "Create Filter" at the bottom right:

Mark it as "Never send it to Spam", if applicable apply it to matching conversations, and select "create filter":

Whitelisting Email Addresses from Scratch

Once signed into Gmail, click on the cog in the top right of the screen:

Click "See all settings:

Click "Filters & Blocked Addresses:

Scroll down to (or do a search for) "Create a new filter" & click on it:

Input the email address you want to whitelist (in my case, agarrett@garrettrealtypartners.com ) , then click "Create Filter" at the bottom right:

Mark it as "Never send it to Spam", if applicable apply it to matching conversation, and select "create filter":

Locating Gmail in Mobile View & Reporting Not SPAM

On the mobile version, click the 3 bars in the top left of the Gmail app once signed in.

2. Scroll down to "Spam" and click it.

3. Use the search bar at the top of the screen, i.e. entering "agarrett@garrettrealtypartners.com"

4. Tap on your findings and hold down on it.

5. Tap "report not spam".

Keep in mind that this method is not as thorough as the option from desktop view and you may find emails from the sender in your SPAM again.

Locate, Move, & Whitelist Sender for SPAM on AOL

AOL in Desktop/Laptop View

From the desktop view:

sign in
go to your SPAM folder on the left (see red box below):

3. If you don't see the email you are looking for in SPAM, ask the sender when they sent it or ask them to send it to you again. Aol's searching option within SPAM doesn't seem to work well.

4. If you see the email you are looking for, click on the left box beside the email to select an email.