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Restore deleted or overwritten OneDrive files

Open onedrive.com → Recycle bin first: Microsoft keeps deleted files 30 days on personal accounts and 93 days on work or school accounts unless the admin changed it (PR01). A changed file needs version history instead, and many changes at once need Restore your OneDrive.

9 min readOneDrive personal, OneDrive for work or school, SharePoint site filesChecked October 2026

Before you click restore. Work out which account the file lived in and whether it was deleted or changed — the routes differ. Do not empty any recycle bin while you look: once a file is permanently deleted from the OneDrive recycle bin it can’t be restored (PR03).

Your account and situation

Your OneDrive account or situation

Look in: onedrive.com → Recycle bin

Personal accounts can restore files or folders deleted within the last 30 days (PR01). Items from Personal Vault appear after Show Personal Vault items (PR07).

How many days ago did it happen?

Uses the choice above. Where a period depends on your plan or admin, the page says so.

Where a OneDrive copy may still exist

Possible places, not a guaranteed order. Which ones exist depends on the account type, your Microsoft 365 plan, your admin and the date.

Steps

Confirm the accountMicrosoft’s first check: are you signed in to the right Microsoft account — your file may be safely in another OneDrive (PR17). People with both a personal and a work or school account often look in the wrong one. On onedrive.com use Search everything at the top of the page before anything else (PR24).
Decide: deleted or changed?If the file is gone, use the recycle bin. If it is still there but the content is wrong, overwritten or encrypted, use version history or Restore your OneDrive. Microsoft lists files that were deleted, overwritten, corrupted, or infected by malware as cases for Restore your OneDrive (PR98).
Open the web recycle binonedrive.com → sign in → Recycle bin in the navigation pane (PR04) → point to each item and select the circle check box → Restore (PR27). Locked Personal Vault items show only after Show Personal Vault items (PR07). In the mobile app: Me icon → your account → Recycle Bin → select the files → Restore (PR26). The Me icon is in the upper left on iPhone and at the bottom right on Android (PR92).
Check the computer that synced itIf you deleted the file from a OneDrive folder on your PC or Mac, look in the Windows Recycle Bin or the Mac Trash (PR05). Windows: open the Recycle Bin, select the files, right-click → Restore (PR93). Mac: open the Trash, select the files, right-click → Put back (PR94). Files deleted in the cloud or marked online-only won’t be there (PR06).
Restore an earlier version of a changed fileonedrive.com → right-click the file → Version history (PR10) → select the ellipses (…) next to the version you want → Restore (PR95). One file at a time (PR10). The version you replace stays in the list, so this step can be reversed (PR11).
Roll back many changes at onceMicrosoft 365 only. Personal: Settings → Options → Restore your OneDrive (PR14); work or school: Settings → Restore OneDrive (PR13). Select a date from the dropdown list, such as Yesterday, or Custom date and time (PR96), then use the activity chart and activity feed to review what you want to undo (PR97) before you restore. Files created after the restore point go to the recycle bin (PR15).
Ask your admin if your own routes are used upOn a work or school account, an item deleted from the recycle bin may still be restorable by your admin (PR18). Give them the file name, folder and approximate date.

Which OneDrive route covers what

Route	Use it for	Period Microsoft gives	Who can use it
Recycle bin (web or app)	Deleted files and folders	30 days personal · 93 days work or school, unless the admin changed it (PR01)	The account owner; only files from your own OneDrive (PR02)
Computer’s Recycle Bin / Trash	Files deleted from a synced folder on that computer	The official help does not describe this	Whoever uses that computer (PR05)
Version history	Overwritten or wrongly edited files	30 days (PR08)	Personal and work or school; the admin may turn it off (PR09)
Restore your OneDrive	Mass deletion, overwriting, corruption or malware (PR98)	Last 30 days (PR12)	Microsoft 365 subscribers
OneDrive work or school, after the recycle bin was emptied	Items deleted from the recycle bin too	The official help does not describe this	Your admin (PR18)
SharePoint site, second-stage bin	Items deleted from a SharePoint site’s recycle bin	93 days from deletion from the original location (PR22)	Administrator or site owner (PR23)

Codes like (PR01) point to the quote in our fact journal. Microsoft’s help does not give a period for your computer’s own bin, or a separate period for the OneDrive work or school second-stage bin — ask your admin for the setting that applies to you. The 93 days in the last row apply to SharePoint sites only.

Shared files and other people’s OneDrive

The recycle bin only restores files that were in your own OneDrive, not files someone else shared with you (PR02). If the owner deletes a file they shared, it is no longer available to you (PR25) — only the owner can bring it back from their own recycle bin, so ask them. The reverse matters too: if you delete an item you shared, you delete it for everyone (PR21), and the copy that can be restored sits in your recycle bin, not in theirs. Microsoft support will not open files for you either — its agents are not allowed to access your files (PR20). Recovery here is always the account holder’s own job, done while signed in to their own account.

Limits: when nothing is left

Permanently deleted. Once a file is removed from the OneDrive recycle bin it can’t be restored through that route (PR03); on work or school accounts the admin may still have a copy (PR18).
Past the window. After 30 days (personal) or 93 days (work or school, unless changed) the recycle bin no longer holds it (PR01); version history and Restore your OneDrive also reach back 30 days (PR08, PR12).
No Microsoft 365. Restore your OneDrive needs a Microsoft 365 subscription (PR12); without it, use the recycle bin and version history file by file.
Inactive account. Microsoft says personal accounts inactive for two years may have been deleted (PR19).
Shared by someone else. You can only restore files that were in your own OneDrive, not files someone shared with you (PR02); if the owner deleted it, only the owner can bring it back (PR25).

Questions

How long does OneDrive keep deleted files?

Microsoft says personal accounts can restore files deleted within the last 30 days and work or school accounts within the last 93 days, unless the administrator changed the retention setting.

Where is the OneDrive recycle bin?

On onedrive.com, sign in and select Recycle bin in the navigation pane. In the mobile app, tap the Me icon, select your account and tap Recycle Bin — the icon is in the upper left on iPhone and at the bottom right on Android.

I saved over a file in OneDrive. Can I get the old one back?

Use version history: right-click the file on onedrive.com, choose Version history and restore the version you need. Microsoft says file version history is retained for 30 days.

Why isn’t my deleted OneDrive file in my PC’s Recycle Bin?

Files deleted from the cloud, including online-only files, don’t appear in the computer’s Recycle Bin or Trash. Check the OneDrive web recycle bin instead.

Can I restore a file someone shared with me and then deleted?

Not from your recycle bin — it only restores files that were in your own OneDrive. Ask the owner to restore it from theirs.

Does Restore your OneDrive delete my newer files?

Files created after the restore point are sent to the recycle bin, and you can undo the whole restore by running Restore again.

I emptied the recycle bin on my work account. Is it gone?

Not necessarily. Microsoft says your admin may be able to restore items deleted from the recycle bin, so contact your IT helpdesk with the file name and date.

Can Microsoft support open my OneDrive and find the file?

No. Microsoft says its support agents are not allowed to access your files (PR20).