Lost Files on OneDrive for Business? See How to Recover Them

Accidentally deleting files from OneDrive is a common mishap, but thankfully one that is easy to recover from – even if the files are no longer in the Recycle Bin.

OneDrive for Business

OneDrive is widely used by businesses and is available to every Microsoft Office 365 account holder. Files are synced across multiple devices such as the Mobile App or Desktop versions. So, deleting a file from your phone, will also delete it from your desktop. Obviously if you have regular backups, then restoring deleted files is easy. If you haven’t, you’ll need to follow these instructions.

Restoring files from the Recycle Bin

The Recycle Bin will retain any deleted files for 30 days, after which those files are automatically moved to the second stage Recyle Bin. Restoring files that are less than 30 days old is easy. Simply select the Recycle Bin on the left hand side, select the files you want and click Restore. This will restore files to their original location. Even if the files have subsequently been deleted from the Recycle Bin, the Undo option, found in Settings can recover these. You’ll have to select the desired time period to restore. Make sure though you have a reliable backup of any recent data, before restoring to a specific date.

Restoring deleted files from Second Stage Recycle Bin

After 30 days, the deleted files are moved to the Second Stage Recycle Bin, which only retains files for a further 30 days. By selecting Recycle Bin then Second Stage Recycle Bin, you can access these files.

Recovering permanently deleted files from OneDrive for Business

When files are deleted from the recycle bin, they can still be restored within 30 days with the Undo option. This feature is often used in scenarios like server crash, malicious activity, or accidental deletion. Follow the below steps to use this method:

Recovering files using professional data recovery software

If you still can’t recover your files, there is software that may help restore the original files you are looking for. Third party file recovery tools are available, that can recover from the storage device that saved the original copy of the deleted files on OneDrive. We discuss the best software in other blogs.

OneDrive Recycle Bin