Onedrive is not restoring files I need

Grant Murdoch 0 Reputation points
2026-03-06T12:38:29.78+00:00

The onedrive site allows selection of files to restore but then is not processing the activity.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows
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  1. AI answer

    2026-03-06T12:38:42.91+00:00

    Try these steps to get the restore to complete:

    1. Use the OneDrive web Recycle Bin
      • Go to https://onedrive.live.com and open the Recycle bin.
      • Scroll to the bottom so all items load.
      • Select the first item, then hold Shift and select the last item to select everything.
      • Click Restore and wait; large restores (thousands of files) can take time and may not show immediate changes on the PC while sync catches up.
    2. If restore still does not process, restore the entire OneDrive
      • On the OneDrive website, select Settings > Options (or Settings > Restore your OneDrive, depending on the experience).
      • Choose Restore your OneDrive.
      • Pick a date (or Custom date and time) from before the files were deleted/changed.
      • Use the activity chart/feed if needed, then confirm the restore.
      • This undoes actions on files and folders from the last 30 days. Files created after the restore point go to the OneDrive Recycle Bin and can be restored from there.
    3. Let sync complete on the PC
      • After a large restore, the OneDrive sync client may show Processing changes for a while while it re-syncs everything. This is expected if many files were restored.

    If the files do not appear after using Recycle Bin restore and full OneDrive restore, and there is no error message, there is no additional recovery method in the provided guidance beyond continuing to check Recycle Bin and restore points.


    References:

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