How to Recover Deleted Files in Microsoft 365

Have you accidentally deleted an important file? Don’t panic. In most cases you can get it back in a couple of minutes, as long as you act quickly.

Short answer: To recover a deleted file in Microsoft 365, check the OneDrive Recycle Bin first. If the file lived on a SharePoint site, check the SharePoint Recycle Bin instead, then its second-stage Recycle Bin. Both keep deleted files for 93 days. If the file was not deleted but overwritten or changed by mistake, use Version History to roll back to an earlier copy. The sooner you try, the better your chances, because once the 93 day window closes the file is gone for good.

Here is where to look and exactly how to recover your file in each place.

Where should you check first?

1. Recover a file from the OneDrive Recycle Bin

If the file was saved in OneDrive, this is almost always where it will be.

1. Sign in to OneDrive at office.com with your work account.
2. Select Recycle bin in the left hand menu.
3. Find the file you need, point to it, and tick the circle that appears.
4. Select Restore at the top of the page.

The file returns to the exact folder it was deleted from. Deleted items sit here for 93 days before Microsoft removes them permanently, so do not wait around.

2. Recover a file from the SharePoint Recycle Bin

If the file lived on a SharePoint site, a team site, or a shared document library, check there rather than in your personal OneDrive.

1. Open the SharePoint site the file belonged to.
2. Select Settings (the gear icon), then Site contents, then Recycle bin. On many sites the Recycle bin link also sits in the bottom left of the page.
3. Find your file, tick it, and select Restore.

Still cannot see it? There is a second layer. When a file is removed from the first Recycle Bin, it drops into the second-stage Recycle Bin. Only a site collection administrator can reach this one. At the bottom of the Recycle bin page, select Second-stage recycle bin, find the file, and restore it. The full 93 day retention period covers both stages combined, so a file deleted 80 days ago is still recoverable even if it has moved to the second stage.

3. Restore an earlier version with Version History

Sometimes a file is not deleted at all. Someone has overwritten it, saved over good content, or made changes that need undoing. Microsoft 365 keeps a record of earlier versions of your documents, so you can roll back without losing the file or starting again.

1. In OneDrive or SharePoint, right click the file.
2. Select Version history.
3. Review the list of saved versions with their dates.
4. Open the version you want, then select Restore to make it the current copy.

This works across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and most file types stored in Microsoft 365.

4. Restore your whole OneDrive after mass deletion

If a large number of files vanished at once, for example after a ransomware attack or a sync error, you do not have to restore them one by one. The Restore your OneDrive feature rolls your entire OneDrive back to an earlier point in time.

1. In OneDrive, select Settings (the gear icon), then Restore your OneDrive.
2. Choose a date to roll back to, such as yesterday or a week ago, using the activity chart to spot when the problem started.
3. Select Restore.

This option covers the last 30 days of activity, so it is best used as soon as you notice something has gone wrong.

How long do you have to recover a deleted file?

For OneDrive for Business and SharePoint, you have 93 days from the moment a file is deleted. That window spans both the first stage and second-stage recycle bins together, not 93 days for each. Once it expires, the file is permanently deleted and native recovery options no longer work.

There is one narrow extra option. If a business critical file has just passed that window, an administrator can ask Microsoft Support to roll the site back, but only within about 14 days of permanent deletion. Beyond that, the file cannot be recovered through Microsoft at all, which is exactly why a separate backup matters.

Why it matters

Accidental deletions happen every single day, and most of the time the built-in Recycle Bin saves you. The catch is that Microsoft 365 recovery is a safety net with a time limit, not a backup. After 93 days the files are gone, and Microsoft does not keep a copy beyond that.

For anything you genuinely cannot afford to lose, the Recycle Bin should be your first response, not your only protection. A dedicated backup that keeps copies outside the standard retention window is what protects you when a deletion goes unnoticed for months or when an attacker deliberately wipes data.

Need help recovering a file?

If both recycle bins are empty, the 93 day window has passed, or you are not sure where the file was stored, contact Lucidica. Depending on your Microsoft 365 configuration, retention policies, and any backup we have in place for you, there may still be options to get your data back. The earlier you reach out, the more we can do.