My Microsoft Copilot has been essential to my college course brainstorming- Will it be stored today?

James Fehlauer 0 Reputation points
2026-11-13T01:26:05.88+00:00

I was in the process of working on a final ADOBE InDesign project this afternoon when the dialog screen went black. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling Copilot, closing it, taking it the task bar, putting it back on... and tried to follow the restoring to no success. I found out it may be a bigger Microsoft 365 issue. I have almost 6 months of dialog, brainstorming, and notes saved in my Copilot. Will it be restored, and how do I put the update/fix properly to fix this and resume to my college class? I have color swatches, size recommendations, and document brainstorm notes I would like to get back...

Microsoft Copilot | Other
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  1. AI answer

    2026-11-13T01:28:05.5433333+00:00

    Microsoft is reporting a Copilot service disruption affecting chat loading and responses on web and desktop today, November 13, 2026, so the black window and unavailable history are more likely temporary service unavailability than evidence that six months of chats were deleted; no local update or reinstall can repair a Microsoft-side outage.

    What to do now

    1. Do not uninstall or reset Copilot again. You have already reinstalled it, and further local repair will not resolve a service-side incident.
    2. Check the public Microsoft service health status page and wait until Copilot service is shown as recovered. ^1^
    3. Try the appropriate browser version while the desktop app is unavailable:
      • College/work account: open Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat in a browser and sign in with the same college account. Copilot supports access through the browser as well as Microsoft 365 apps. ^2^
      • Personal account: open Copilot in a private/incognito browser window and use exactly the same Microsoft, Google, or Apple sign-in method previously used.
    4. If another device or the browser displays the conversations, immediately copy the essential swatches, dimensions, and project notes into your InDesign project notes, OneNote, Word, or another separately saved document.

    Temporary invisibility is not the same as deletion. For Microsoft 365 Copilot, prompts and responses are stored as Copilot activity history; closing the application ordinarily does not remove messages. ^3^

    If this is a personal Copilot account

    The updated personal Copilot app is also migrating eligible chats and content. Sign in to the updated app with the same account by December 31, 2026 to preserve eligible content. This deadline applies to the updated personal Copilot experience, not automatically to a college-managed Microsoft 365 account. ^4^

    After the service incident is resolved:

    1. Verify the exact original sign-in method:
      • Microsoft account → use Microsoft sign-in.
      • Google account → select Continue with Google.
      • Apple ID → select Continue with Apple.
    2. Open the left navigation and check the chat list.
    3. Follow any in-app link offering access to existing chats while migration continues.
    4. Allow time for migration and synchronization, particularly with six months of content.
    5. If your work was saved under Projects, look under Notebooks; Projects was renamed and existing Projects should appear there. ^4^

    Eligible chats normally move automatically, but permanent recovery cannot be guaranteed if a conversation was explicitly deleted, its activity history was cleared, or the content belonged to a retired feature such as Group Chat.

    If this is a college-managed account

    Ask the college’s Microsoft 365 administrator to:

    1. Open Microsoft 365 admin center → Health → Service health and monitor the Copilot incident.
    2. Open a Microsoft support case if your history remains absent after Microsoft marks the incident resolved.
    3. If the institution has the necessary licensing, retention configuration, and permissions, have its compliance administrator check Microsoft Purview Content Search or eDiscovery for the relevant Copilot interactions.

    Purview may locate retained interaction data, but availability depends on the college’s retention policies and licensing, and finding data there does not guarantee that it can be restored directly into the Copilot chat interface. ^5^

    If Copilot remains black after service recovery

    Run the supported connectivity diagnostic:

    1. Open Windows Get Help.
    2. Search for Copilot connectivity troubleshooter.
    3. Start it and follow its recommendations; it checks for firewall rules and other connection blockers. ^6^
    4. In Copilot, select … → Send feedback → Report a problem and include the time the issue began, Windows version, account type, and a screenshot. ^4^
    5. If this is a personal account and the history still does not return, open the Windows Get Help app and request Microsoft Support after completing the diagnostic. Feedback reports the defect, while a support request is the appropriate route for account-specific investigation.

    References

    1. Microsoft service health status
    2. Explore Microsoft Copilot Chat
    3. Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft Copilot
    4. Troubleshoot Your Content in the Updated Copilot App | Microsoft Support
    5. Learn about retention for Copilot & AI apps
    6. Copilot troubleshooters | Microsoft Support
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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