Permission & Access Issues

How to Restore SharePoint Site Access After Removing Permissions

Maira Mehtab Sep 22, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user removed users from a specific SharePoint folder and unexpectedly lost access to the entire SharePoint site, requiring a restoration of site ownership and permissions.

Product: Microsoft SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Modifying user permissions at the folder level inadvertently caused a site-wide lockout for the owner or members.
Observed behavior: Access to the entire SharePoint site was lost immediately after modifying permissions on a single folder.

Before you start

Ensure you have access to an account with SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator privileges in Microsoft 365, as standard site owners cannot restore access once they are locked out.

Solution 1Recommended

Restore Site Admin Access via SharePoint Admin Center

Use the backend SharePoint Admin Center to force-assign a new site administrator and regain control of the locked site.

When permission inheritance is not broken, removing users or groups from a folder can delete them from the site's main permission groups. A Microsoft 365 administrator must intervene from the admin center to bypass the lockout and reassign ownership.

Open SharePoint Admin Center

Log in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center using your administrator credentials. Click 'Show all' in the left navigation pane and select 'SharePoint'.

Locate the Affected Site

In the SharePoint Admin Center, expand the 'Sites' menu and click on 'Active sites'. Use the search bar to find the site where access was lost.

Manage Site Admins

Click on the site name to open its properties panel on the right side of the screen. Navigate to the 'Permissions' tab and click 'Manage' under the 'Site admins' section.

Assign Administrator Rights

Type the name or email of your admin account (or the original site owner who lost access) to add them to the list of site admins, then click 'Save'.

Restore Group Permissions

Navigate directly to the SharePoint site URL. Click the gear icon (Settings) > 'Site Permissions' > 'Advanced permissions settings', and manually re-add the required users to the Site Members or Site Owners group.

Access Restored: Once the user is added as a Site Admin, they will immediately bypass the lockout and regain full control over the site's contents and permission settings.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why did removing a user from a SharePoint folder lock me out of the whole site?

By default, SharePoint folders inherit permissions from the parent site. If you remove a user or a core permission group (like Site Owners or Site Members) from a folder without stopping permission inheritance first, SharePoint applies that deletion to the entire site.

Can a standard site owner restore access if they accidentally remove themselves?

No. Once a site owner loses access to the site, they can no longer access the 'Site Permissions' menu. A SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator must restore access via the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

How can I safely change folder permissions without affecting the entire site?

Select the folder, click the three dots (More options), and choose 'Manage Access'. Click the three dots again to go to 'Advanced settings', and click 'Stop Inheriting Permissions' in the ribbon. You can then safely remove or add users for that specific folder only.

Document & File Issues