Recover files from OneDrive
Microsoft OneDrive enables you to store your files online, sync files between your PC and OneDrive, and access files directly by a web browser located at OneDrive.com. You need to understand how you can recover files from OneDrive that you have deleted.
Recovering files from OneDrive
If you accidentally delete a file stored in your OneDrive account, you can recover it by using Recycle Bin, which is available with OneDrive.com and on the local desktop of your PC. OneDrive automatically empties files from Recycle Bin after 30 days. If you delete a file by mistake, to prevent losing a deleted file, make sure you restore it within 30 days.
When you delete a file in OneDrive from one device, OneDrive deletes the file from all your OneDrive locations everywhere, including the OneDrive folder synced to File Explorer. If you move a file out of OneDrive to a different location, such as a local folder on a device, this removes the file from your OneDrive.
The OneDrive Recycle Bin can retain deleted items for a minimum of 3 days and up to a maximum of 30 days. The actual retention period is normally 30 days, but this depends on the size of Recycle Bin, which is set to 10 percent of the total storage limit by default. If you are running low on available OneDrive space or if Recycle Bin is full, old items will be deleted to make room for new items as they are added to Recycle Bin, and this might have an impact on the 30-day retention period.
To recover deleted files from your OneDrive.com, follow these steps.
- Browse to your OneDrive.com or right-click the cloud icon in the notification area and click Go To OneDrive.com.
- On the left side of the page, select Recycle Bin.
- If Recycle Bin is not visible, click the three horizontal lines in the top left corner of the screen and select Recycle Bin.
- Select the items that you want to recover.
- Click Restore on the menu.
- OneDrive restores the items, and they are removed from Recycle Bin.
Note: Recycle Bin Size
There is no setting for you to modify the size of Recycle Bin. If you increase the OneDrive space by freeing up space or purchasing additional OneDrive storage space, the 10% allocation for Recycle Bin will be increased.
When you delete files by using the web interface or directly from your OneDrive folders in File Explorer, the deleted files are automatically synchronized to OneDrive.com Recycle Bin and File Explorer Recycle Bin.
Just as with Recycle Bin in File Explorer, if you select items in Recycle Bin and delete them, you are warned that they will be permanently deleted.
Take care also when using Restore All or Empty Recycle Bin because these tasks are irreversible.
The Search Everything feature in OneDrive.com is a very powerful method of locating files stored in your OneDrive because it searches the file name and metadata. However, OneDrive search results do not include items in OneDrive Recycle Bin or File Explorer Recycle Bin.
Using Previous Versions in OneDrive
Earlier in this tutorial, you reviewed the Previous Versions feature in File Explorer. A similar feature exists when you use OneDrive. Whenever you store and modify Microsoft Office documents in OneDrive.com, OneDrive maintains a version history of these documents, similar to how Previous Versions behaves.
To view the available versions stored in OneDrive, navigate to and select a Microsoft Office file and then choose Version History from the context menu. OneDrive opens the file in a new browser tab, and you see the list of available versions in the left pane. You can review the contents of each file. If you open the document in Word Online, you can select Previous Versions from the settings menu on the right side.
The older versions are listed together with the date and time of when the file was last saved. If you edit the document online, OneDrive automatically saves the file when you make changes. If you select an older version of the document from the list of older versions in the left pane, OneDrive opens the older file into the tab. You can click the Download link under this older version.