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How to Recover a Permanently Deleted OneDrive Folder
Question details
The user needs to restore a OneDrive folder that has been deleted and is missing from the primary recycle bin.
- Product
- OneDrive
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to recover an important folder that was accidentally deleted and does not appear in standard version history or the main recycle bin.
- Observed behavior
- The folder is completely missing from the primary and second-stage recycle bins, and standard restoration methods through version history fail to display it.
Ensure you are signed into the correct Microsoft account. Do not reset or reinstall the OneDrive application until you have checked all online recovery options, as doing so will not restore permanently deleted files.
Check Recycle Bins and Use OneDrive Restore
Check the second-stage recycle bin (for work/school accounts) or use the 'Restore your OneDrive' feature to roll back your account to a previous state.
Microsoft 365 subscribers can restore their entire OneDrive to a previous time within the last 30 days. For work or school accounts, a second-stage recycle bin often holds files after they leave the primary bin.
Go to the OneDrive website, sign in to ensure you are on the correct Microsoft account, and click 'Recycle bin' in the left-hand navigation pane.
Scroll to the bottom of the Recycle bin page. If you have a work or school account, click the 'Second-stage recycle bin' link to look for the missing folder.
Click the Settings (gear) icon at the top right, select 'Options', and then 'Restore your OneDrive'. Choose a date prior to the deletion and click 'Restore'.
Check Local Device Backups and Shared Libraries
Locate the missing folder in locally synced device trash bins or SharePoint shared libraries.
Contact Microsoft Support or IT Administrator
If the folder is permanently deleted and retention periods have expired, reach out to support or your organization's IT admin for backend recovery.
Try WPS Office for Secure Document Management
If you are concerned about losing important documents, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a highly compatible, free alternative to Microsoft Office, featuring its own built-in WPS Cloud service to ensure your work is automatically backed up and easily recoverable.
- 1. Download and Install: Visit the official WPS Office website to download and install the free software on your preferred device.
- 2. Enable WPS Cloud Backup: Create a free WPS account and turn on Cloud Sync to automatically back up your documents as you work.
- 3. Open Your Files Seamlessly: Open, edit, and save your existing .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files directly within WPS Office without format conversion.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does OneDrive keep deleted files?
For personal Microsoft accounts, deleted items are kept in the recycle bin for 30 days. For work or school accounts, items are retained for 93 days unless the storage quota is exceeded.
What is the second-stage recycle bin in OneDrive?
The second-stage recycle bin is an administrative feature for work and school accounts. When files are emptied from the primary recycle bin, they are sent here for the remainder of the 93-day retention period before being permanently deleted.
Can a permanently deleted folder be recovered without a backup?
Once a folder is purged from the second-stage recycle bin and the 14-day administrative grace period has passed, it is generally permanently unrecoverable without a local hard drive backup or a third-party backup service.
Does reinstalling or resetting OneDrive recover my deleted folder?
No. Reinstalling or resetting the OneDrive application only resolves local synchronization issues; it does not trigger the recovery of files that have been permanently deleted from the cloud server.
