How To

How To Decrypt Outlook PST File? Complete Guide

Fact-checked and reviewed in accordance with our Editorial Policy

Outlook PST files hold emails, attachments, contacts, calendars, tasks and other mailbox data. If the user’s Outlook PST is locked with password, then use decrypt Outlook PST File to access their Outlook data again. If users know the password, then Outlook lets users change or decrypt PST file.

Microsoft does not offer an option to recover or reset PST password once it has been forgotten. In such cases, users can go for an automated solution to unlock protected PST file and restore access to its data.

Quick Way to Decrypt Outlook PST File

Users looking for the easiest way to remove PST encryption can use BitRecover PST Unlock Wizard. It is built to remove forgotten password from Outlook PST files. The application operates independently & offers batch processing that allows users to decrypt multiple PST files at the same time.

Why Do Users Often Decrypt PST Files?

There are several reasons why users want to remove PST encryption:

• Users might forget the password, so they need to recover access to Outlook data.
• Access historical emails & other data from password-protected archives.
• Prepare PST data for transfer to another account or email service.
• Convert PST emails into formats like PDF, EML, MSG, MBOX or HTML.
• Users may remove password from PST file before splitting them into smaller files.

Manual Method to Remove PST Password

Following are the steps to unlock password protected PST file.

1. If users know password , open Microsoft Outlook on your PC.
2. Now Click File Tab.
   
3. Select the Account Settings>Account Settings.
   
4. Select the Data Files tab..
   
5. Choose PST file you want and click Settings.
   
6. Enter your current password into Old password field.
7. Leave New password and Verify password boxes completely blank,

Note: This method works if you know the current PST password. Microsoft does not offer password-recovery option for forgotten password.

Limitations of this Manual Method

Depends on access to PST settings in Outlook.

• It is not suitable if the current password is unknown.
• It can be time-consuming process if you are handling multiple PST files.
• This process requires users to process PST files one by one.
• Outlook needs to be installed on the system where PST file is stored.
• Cannot directly help to recover a forgotten password.

How to Decrypt Outlook Email?

1. Firstly, download and run the dedicated tool mentioned.
   
2. Click Select and choose the locked PST file and Press Open button.
   
3. Enable Remove Password and click Unlock to decrypt Outlook PST file.
   
4. Click OK after PST is successfully unlocked.
   
5. Now to add a new password, enable Set New Password and click Unlock.
   
6. Click OK to complete the process.
   

Key Features of the tool

• Unlock PST File Password Instantly: Using this software, users can decrypt PST file forgotten or unknown passwords from Outlook PST file. It can unlock PST files that are locked without any file size limit.
• Universal Outlook Version Support: The software is compatible with PST files from Outlook 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024 & later versions. The software supports both ANSI and Unicode PST files. This makes it suitable for PST files created under different Outlook configurations.
• Offline and Safe Process: The application operates completely offline & processes PST files directly on your devices. Your data stays safe throughout entire process when you decrypt Outlook PST File.
• Support Batch Mode: It can handle PST files without size limitations and lets users recover passwords from multiple files at the same time. It makes it suitable for large-scale recovery tasks.
• Maintains Data Integrity: Keeps the original folder structure, email details, metadata and timestamps without any data loss.
• Independent Utility: It runs independently without depending on Outlook or other programs. It makes it suitable for systems where Outlook is unavailable or damaged.

Conclusion

A PST file that is locked can be difficult to access when original password is forgotten or unavailable. Using manual method, users can only remove an unknown password, but there is no built-in recovery method to Decrypt Outlook PST File. In such situation where the user wants to decrypt multiple PST files they can use the dedicated tool mentioned in the article. These tools may help restore access to PST data and users can easily perform tasks such as migration, conversion and file management.