Accidentally deleted an important file from OneDrive? Donβt panic! This post will guide you step-by-step on how to recover deleted file from OneDrive. Whether it is a single document or the entire OneDrive, the post got you covered with easy-to-follow instructions to restore your files and get back to work in no time.
After you delete a file from OneDrive, it usually will go to the Recycle Bin on the OneDrive website or your computer. It will be kept in the OneDrive Recycle Bin for 30 days. But after this period, it will be permanently removed from your OneDrive.
During the 30 days, if you have manually deleted the file in the Recycle Bin, it will also be permanently removed from OneDrive. You cannot recover permanently deleted OneDrive files even if you have Microsoft 365 which can restore the entire OneDrive to the previous version.
Therefore, the answer is yes. The permanently deleted files will be gone forever and it is irreversible. However, if you download this file or backup it up to another cloud before, you can restore it from the local or the other clouds.
There are 3 ways you can try to recover deleted file from OneDrive. The most common way is restoring from the Recycle Bin. It allows you to restore deleted files in 30 days. Another way is restoring from the local backup. If you use the OneDrive desktop app and sync your desktop with OneDrive, the deleted files may have been backed up on your computer. In this case, you can upload them to OneDrive for restoration.
The third way is using Microsoft 365 to get back to the previous version of the entire OneDrive. However, this way can only restore the previous versions of your OneDrive files.
Step 1. Go to the OneDrive website and log in to your account.
Note: If you log in to a personal account, you can restore files from the Recycle Bin in 30 days. However, if you sign in to a work or school account, the deleted files can be kept for 93 days unless the admin changes the settings.
Step 2. Choose the Recycle bin tab in the left sidebar.
Step 3. Choose the deleted files or folders you want to restore. Then, click the Restore button to send it back to your OneDrive.
Note: If you cannot find the deleted files in the Recycle bin, you can find them in the Second-stage recycle bin if you subscribe to Microsoft 365. Files can be saved in this recycle bin for 93 days. Then, practice the same steps to restore files.
You may keep a copy of your OneDrive files on the desktop. Thus, you can restore files from this backup. Just drag the files from your desktop and drop them into the OneDrive folder if you have the OneDrive desktop app. If you do not have the app, you can go to the OneDrive website and upload them to OneDrive.
Another lucky situation is you can find the deleted files in your local Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac). Then, you can select and right-click the deleted files or folders in the Recycle Bin or Trash. Then, choose Restore (Windows) or Put Back (Mac) to let them go back to the original folder.
If you are a Microsoft 365 subscriber and do not mind turning everything on your OneDrive to the previous version. However, this way is less recommended to restore the permanently deleted files because OneDrive officially claims that permanently deleted files can never be recovered.
Step 1. Go to the OneDrive website and sign in to your account.
Step 2. Click the gear icon in the upper-right corner and choose Options.
Step 3. In the Options bar, select Restore your OneDrive.
Step 4. Choose a OneDrive version you want to restore by selecting the date. Then, check the changes you want to restore.
Step 5. Click the Restore button to restore your OneDrive to the previous version.
If you have backed up your OneDrive to another place before, you can effortlessly recover permanently deleted OneDrive files. As mentioned before, if you backed up to the local before, you can transfer the files for restoration. Except for backing up to the local, you can also backup files to the cloud. By backing up files to the cloud, you can access these files on another cloud on any device. Besides, it is easier to expand the cloud storage than the local storage.
To backup files from OneDrive to another cloud or OneDrive account, you can try a free but professional cloud file backup service – MultCloud. MultCloud can automatically transfer your OneDrive files to another cloud without downloading and uploading. Besides, if you want to restore the backups, you are allowed to choose your favorable version.
You can see a simple example of backing up OneDrive to Google Drive.
Step 1. Go to the MultCloud and sign up for a free account.
Step 2. Add OneDrive and Google Drive by clicking Add Cloud and the cloud logo.
Step 3. Select Cloud Backup in the left sidebar and choose OneDrive as the source and Google Drive as the destination. Then, click Backup Now to start moving files from OneDrive to Google Drive.
Step 4. When you want to restore files, select Task List in the left sidebar > choose the backup task > click the 3-line button > select Restore. Then, choose the restoring version and destination and click Restore to put back the OneDrive files.
Note: If you need to regularly backup OneDrive files to another cloud, you can utilize Schedule to set an auto-start time for the backup process.
There are 3 solutions on how to restore deleted OneDrive files. You can restore the deleted files from the OneDrive or your local Recycle Bin. Or, if you have a backup on your desktop or another cloud, you can easily restore the files by uploading files to OneDrive.
What’s more, if you plan to backup OneDrive files to another cloud, give MultCloud a try and it will pay back with its convenient cloud transfer process. Whether you want to backup OneDrive to another account or another cloud, using MultCloud Cloud Backup will change your way for file transfer.