Recovery of permanently deleted files from OneDrive

Question

Recovery of permanently deleted files from OneDrive

Eduardo Nieto Medina 5

Recovery of permanently deleted files from OneDrive.

Please help me out recovering photos deleted permanently from the last 4 month if it’s possible please. It seems somehow some photos were erased involuntarily.

Adalgisa Pinto 0 Reputation points

2026-09-01T23:09:32.9566667+00:00

Hello. I need help recovering a large number of personal photos that were deleted from my OneDrive after my Microsoft 365 1 TB trial ended.

I originally had approximately 329 GB of photos/files stored in OneDrive under a 1 TB trial. When the trial ended, my account went over the 5 GB free storage limit. I was given a grace period, but unfortunately I could not purchase additional storage at the time.

The files were subsequently removed from my OneDrive. My OneDrive Recycle Bin is now empty, and my account shows less than 0.1 GB used.

However, the old photo filenames are still appearing in OneDrive search. When I select one, OneDrive says "File may not be available."

On my Windows computer, the old photos also still appear in my OneDrive Pictures/Camera Roll folder, but they are 0-byte OneDrive placeholders and cannot be opened.

I would like to know whether Microsoft can restore or recover the deleted OneDrive data from the account/backend, even if this requires purchasing a Microsoft 365 subscription or paying for a recovery service.

These are important personal photographs, and I am willing to pay for a legitimate recovery option if one is available.

Could you please check whether the deleted OneDrive data is still recoverable on Microsoft's side?

2 answers

Your answer

Adalgisa Pinto 0 Reputation points

2026-09-01T23:09:32.9566667+00:00

Hello. I need help recovering a large number of personal photos that were deleted from my OneDrive after my Microsoft 365 1 TB trial ended.

I originally had approximately 329 GB of photos/files stored in OneDrive under a 1 TB trial. When the trial ended, my account went over the 5 GB free storage limit. I was given a grace period, but unfortunately I could not purchase additional storage at the time.

The files were subsequently removed from my OneDrive. My OneDrive Recycle Bin is now empty, and my account shows less than 0.1 GB used.

However, the old photo filenames are still appearing in OneDrive search. When I select one, OneDrive says "File may not be available."

On my Windows computer, the old photos also still appear in my OneDrive Pictures/Camera Roll folder, but they are 0-byte OneDrive placeholders and cannot be opened.

I would like to know whether Microsoft can restore or recover the deleted OneDrive data from the account/backend, even if this requires purchasing a Microsoft 365 subscription or paying for a recovery service.

These are important personal photographs, and I am willing to pay for a legitimate recovery option if one is available.

Could you please check whether the deleted OneDrive data is still recoverable on Microsoft's side?

Answer 1

Recovering permanently deleted files from OneDrive can be challenging, especially if they were deleted more than 30 days ago. Here are some options you can consider:

Check the OneDrive Recycle Bin: Deleted files are typically moved to the Recycle Bin and can be restored from there within a certain period. For personal accounts, files are kept for 30 days, while for work or school accounts, they are kept for 93 days.
Files Restore Feature: If you have a OneDrive for Business account, you can use the Files Restore feature to restore your OneDrive to a previous point in time within the last 30 days. This feature allows you to roll back all your files to a specific date.
Contact Support: If the files are not available in the Recycle Bin and you cannot restore them using the Files Restore feature, you may need to contact Microsoft support for further assistance. They may have additional recovery options available.

Unfortunately, if the files were permanently deleted and are no longer in the Recycle Bin or recoverable through the Files Restore feature, recovery may not be possible without third-party recovery tools, which can be hit or miss.

References:

Answer 2

Dear @Eduardo Nieto Medina,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

I’m really sorry you’re going through this. I understand how stressful and upsetting it is to lose photos, especially when the deletion wasn’t intentional.

May I please double confirm that are the photos stored in a personal OneDrive account or a work/school OneDrive account?

When files are deleted from OneDrive, they are first moved to the Recycle Bin. For work or school OneDrive accounts, deleted items are typically retained for up to 93 days before they are permanently removed, unless the administrator has changed the setting. For reference: Restore deleted files or folders in OneDrive. See more information about how long deleted items are kept for work or school accounts.

In this case, because your photos were deleted around four months ago, this timeframe is beyond the documented retention window. Unfortunately, this means the photos are no longer recoverable from OneDrive.

If your OneDrive is part of a work or school account, there may be a small possibility that a retention policy or eDiscovery hold exists that preserves deleted content in the background. Only your IT administrator can verify this. I recommend contacting your IT administrator and asking them to check whether any OneDrive retention or compliance policies apply to your account. For reference: Learn about retention for SharePoint and OneDrive and Learn about retention policies and retention labels

Moreover, you can ask your IT administrator to create a support ticket with Microsoft Support on your behalf. Your IT administrator has the required permissions to submit the request and can work directly with Microsoft Support. Once the ticket is raised, Microsoft Support will be able to review the backend systems, including retention settings and account‑level details, to determine whether any additional recovery options are available. For reference: Get support for Microsoft 365 for business

Note: Please understand that as a forum moderator, my role is to provide general guidance and troubleshooting support. I don’t have access to internal systems or backend tools, and I appreciate your understanding of these limits.

I hope the information shared helps point you in the right direction. I know this may not be the outcome you were hoping for, and I truly wish there were better news. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out again.

The first response may not always resolve the issue right away, but with your help and more details, we can work toward a solution.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. I'm looking forward for your reply.

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