Two weeks ago I installed eM Client on my PC. It connected with the mail server from my provider and downloaded the Inbox and Sentbox, 4 months of mails. Today I used eM Client and suddenly all emails except those of the last 2 weeks had disappeared. I checked the webmail server and here the mails were gone too. Later the emails in the Sent box returned. But the mails from the Inbox are still missing. If there is a bug in EM Client that would be bad, however it would be even worse if this bug affects the status of mails stored on the provider’s server !!
It can be caused by a few things.
If eM Client is responsible, it could be because of Automatic Archiving. If that is the case you will find an Archive folder in Local Folders, and the messages will be there. If Local Folders are not visible, you can enable them in Menu > Tools > Settings > General > Show Local Folders.
The other reasons could be that another device you have connected to the same account is responsible, or your server is set to archive messages, or most likely this is caused by some issue with your provider. I would check with the provider as this is not uncommon.
The programme uses the default settings. That means Automatic Archiving is OFF (as I verified in the menu). Furthermore there is no “Archive folder” in the Local Folders.
Sure, it is possible that an error occurred in the email server of my provider. However, this should only affect the mails stored on the server. It would be very strange if the server sent an instruction to the email programme, ordering it to delete a large number of emails. The way I see it, the whole purpose of having an email programme installed on your PC is to have unlimited access to (older) emails, due to the fact they are safely stored on the hard disc. The email programme must have safe-guards in its software to prevent accidental deletions and other catastrophes.
I see on this forum that other users of EM Client had similar experiences. I trust you are working on a solution? As for now, I don’t see how I can trust the programme. I will be looking for a more robust email programme.
If your account is setup as IMAP, then all eM Client does is offer a cached copy of what is on the server. If something is deleted from the server, it is automatically removed from eM Client as well. That is the way IMAP works and it will be EXACTLY the same with ANY email client.
If you want to store your messages on your computer, then you should be using the POP3 protocol, which means that once the messages are retrieved from the server, they are stored only on your computer so deleting anything from the server after that will NOT affect your message store in eM Client. All email clients work exactly the same.
Sorry you feel the eM Client is not a robust application. This forum is monitored by eM Client Inc. so maybe they will comment but that is not guaranteed.
Thank you very much for your two replies! They are very helpful and encouraged me to read more about IMAP and POP3 settings.
I now realize that I made an error with my computer set-up at home. I had temporarily connected my lap-top to the same modem as by PC. The laptop was “slumbering”, but apparently the email programme (which uses POP3) still became active, downloading mails from the server and deleting mails older than 2 weeks. As you explained in your response, this action immediately affects the mails on the server AND on the Inbox in the email programme on my PC.
I should be more careful about connecting PC and/or laptop to the modem, and I should be more careful about choosing IMAP or POP3 protocols.
I apologize for rushing into a conclusion that EM Client caused the incident.
It is a common issue. 
If you want to access the same account on more than one device or application, just make sure they are setup as IMAP, then they will all share the same folders and messages.
There is still some mystery about what happened with the Sent box.
Let us assume that I write and send 50 emails on the Webmail page of my provider. These mails are stored in the Sent box on the server. I also write 50 emails using EM Client. After sending them they are stored on my hard disc. Now if I use EM Client online (PC is connected to the internet), it will show 100 emails in the Sent box. However if I switch to off-line, there must be a sudden collapse since EM Client only sees 50 emails instead of 100. Hence the Sent box will disappear for a short time and then returns in a shorter reorganized version. If I reconnect to the internet, the reverse action should happen. Is this correct?
If the account is setup as IMAP, then eM Client will only keep a cached copy of what is on the server. These message should be visible there even if offline, but depending on your offline settings, you may only have the headers, or you may have to complete message will all attachments. Linked content is never visible when offline.
POP3 is a little different as it stores the sent messages only on your computer and generally they are not visible using the web interface for the account.
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