How to Recover a Missing Excel File After Microsoft 365 Tenant Migration
Question details
The user needs to locate and recover an Excel spreadsheet that went missing following a migration to a new Microsoft 365 tenant.
- Product
- Microsoft 365
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Migrating organizational data and user accounts to a new Microsoft 365 tenant.
- Observed behavior
- Certain Excel files are missing from the new environment, requiring retrieval from the original SharePoint or OneDrive sites.
Verify with your IT department whether the original Microsoft 365 tenant is still active and check if the migration occurred within the standard 93-day retention period.
Contact the Administrator to Restore from the Original Tenant
The most reliable method is to have a SharePoint or Global Administrator recover the files from the old tenant's SharePoint or OneDrive sites before the retention period expires.
During a Microsoft 365 migration, some files might fail to transfer. As long as the original tenant hasn't been permanently deleted, administrators can usually recover OneDrive files for up to 93 days. Additionally, deleted SharePoint sites can be restored via PowerShell commands if acted upon promptly.
Confirm with your IT team that the original Microsoft 365 tenant is still accessible and hasn't been permanently decommissioned.
Ask a Global or SharePoint Administrator to log into the old tenant and manually search the original SharePoint document libraries or the user's OneDrive folders for the missing Excel file.
If the specific SharePoint site was deleted during the transition, the administrator can use the 'Get-SPODeletedSite' and 'Restore-SPODeletedSite' PowerShell cmdlets to bring back the site and its contents.
For missing personal files, have the administrator access the old OneDrive admin center to restore the specific user's files within the 93-day recycle bin retention window.
Try WPS Office for Seamless Spreadsheet Management
While recovering files from a Microsoft 365 migration can be complex and depends heavily on IT administrators, using WPS Office provides a free, lightweight, and user-friendly alternative for your spreadsheet needs. It helps you manage files locally or on your preferred cloud, bypassing complex tenant migration risks.
- 1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website to download the free installation package tailored for your operating system.
- 2. Install the Software: Run the downloaded installer and follow the simple on-screen prompts to set up WPS Office on your computer.
- 3. Open Your Spreadsheets: Launch WPS Spreadsheets to seamlessly open, edit, and save your existing Excel files with zero formatting loss.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to recover deleted files in Microsoft 365?
By default, deleted files in SharePoint and OneDrive are kept in the recycle bin for 93 days. After this period, they are permanently deleted unless specific organizational retention policies were implemented.
Can I recover an Excel file if the old tenant is completely deleted?
No. Once a Microsoft 365 tenant is permanently deleted and deprovisioned by Microsoft, all associated data, including SharePoint sites and OneDrive files, is destroyed and cannot be recovered.
Do I need admin rights to restore an entire SharePoint site?
Yes, restoring a deleted SharePoint site requires Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator privileges to access the SharePoint admin center or to run the necessary PowerShell cmdlets.
Why didn't my Excel file migrate to the new tenant automatically?
Files can be left behind during a tenant migration due to synchronization errors, unsupported characters in the file name, exceeding file path length limits, or simply being excluded in the migration tool's mapping rules.
