How to Recover Microsoft Forms Responses After Deleting Questions
Question details
The user deleted questions and edited a Microsoft Forms survey, resulting in the loss of all previously collected survey responses.
- Product
- Microsoft Forms
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Editing an active survey by deleting existing questions and modifying the messaging.
- Observed behavior
- Only the overall response count, average completion time, and status remain visible. The actual responses are gone and are no longer included when exporting the results to Excel.
Before proceeding, check your local downloads folder to see if you previously exported a backup copy of the responses to Excel prior to making changes to the form.
Contact Your Tenant Administrator for Microsoft Support
Because deleting a question in Microsoft Forms permanently removes its associated response data from the user interface and API, your only option is to escalate the issue for potential server-side recovery.
When you delete a question in Microsoft Forms, the platform automatically deletes all response data tied to that specific question. This data cannot be recovered directly through the Microsoft Forms settings or API by the end user.
To attempt recovery, you must act quickly and reach out to the IT department or Office 365 Tenant Administrator for your organization.
Identify your organization's IT department or the individual acting as the Office 365 Tenant Administrator.
Provide the administrator with the specific URL of the affected Microsoft Form, the exact time the questions were deleted, and the names of the deleted questions.
Request that the administrator immediately log into the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and open an official support ticket.
Ask Microsoft Support to investigate if backend server-side data recovery is possible for the deleted form responses.
Manage Your Survey Data Securely with WPS Office
While WPS Office cannot recover lost cloud data from Microsoft Forms, it serves as a highly compatible, lightweight, and free alternative to Microsoft Office. Use WPS Spreadsheet to securely back up, analyze, and store your exported survey responses locally before making structural changes to live forms.
- 1. Download WPS Office: Download and install WPS Office for free from the official website to your desktop or mobile device.
- 2. Open exported data: Use WPS Spreadsheet to open your downloaded survey response files securely.
- 3. Save local backups: Save your data locally in .xlsx format to prevent unexpected data loss from cloud synchronization or form edits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does undoing my edits in Microsoft Forms restore the deleted responses?
No. Microsoft Forms does not have an 'Undo' button that restores deleted questions or their associated response data. Once a question is deleted, the data is instantly removed from the active form interface.
Can I find the deleted forms data in the exported Excel workbook?
If you export the results to Excel after deleting the questions, the responses to those deleted questions will not be included in the new file. You can only view the data if you exported the Excel file prior to deleting the questions.
Is there a recycle bin for deleted questions in Microsoft Forms?
Microsoft Forms features a recycle bin for entirely deleted forms, but it does not have a recycle bin or version history feature for individual questions deleted from within an active form.
