workspaces are gone with the new update

alexandre avaliani 85 Reputation points
2026-03-17T09:24:55.8833333+00:00

I opened Edge today and was greeted by a great surprise: my Workspaces are gone, vanished, deleted. Only trace of them I can find is some empty folders in favorites bar.

Can anything be done (besides manually rebuilding them obviously) to restore them?

I hope Microsoft has this information backed up somewhere.

It's inconvenient enough to make changes without any consent, but to add deletion of data to it is just next level. Very frustrating, to say the least.

This is second time Edge deletes my data like that. I've stayed loyal to edge despite them deleting my passwords earlier, but now they add this

Microsoft Edge | Favorites, history, and downloads | Windows 11
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AI answer

2026-03-17T09:25:14.2233333+00:00

Workspaces behavior changed with the recent Edge updates: the old, shared Workspaces implementation (which stored data in OneDrive/SharePoint and supported collaboration) is being migrated to a new, personal-only Workspaces architecture.

From the current documentation and release notes:

  1. The previous Workspaces version:
    • Stored workspace data in OneDrive/SharePoint.
    • Supported sharing, collaboration, and inviting others.
    • Required Edge version 114 or later.
    • Supported locking tabs.
  2. The new Workspaces version:
    • Is for individual use only (no sharing/collaboration, no inviting others).
    • Does not require OneDrive storage.
    • Does not support locking tabs.
    • Requires Edge version 144 or later.
  3. Migration impact:
    • Release notes describe a “Migration to improved V2 architecture for Workspaces,” including:
      • Migrating data for saved Workspaces from OneDrive/SharePoint to the Edge Sync service.
      • Removing collaboration/share functionality.
    • This change is tied to newer Edge versions and is part of the product evolution.

Given this:

  • The old collaborative Workspaces model is being retired and replaced by the new personal-only Workspaces.
  • The documentation does not describe any end‑user recovery mechanism for missing Workspaces beyond the normal sync mechanisms.
  • If Workspaces are no longer visible after the update, there is no documented supported way in this context to automatically restore the old Workspaces layout other than manually recreating them.

To minimize future data loss risk for tabs and organization:

  • Ensure Edge is signed in and sync is enabled so that favorites and other data are backed up across devices. See “Sign in to sync Microsoft Edge across devices” from the backup article.

For this specific loss event, the context does not provide a supported recovery path other than manual rebuilding.

References:

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  1. Wojciech Napierała 36 Reputation points
    2026-03-17T16:49:43.5+00:00

    how to get back to legacy layout? The current look doesn't satisfy me because I have 12 workspaces and I have to use scrolling, and in legacy I could see everything with one glance. Honestly, I am very disappointed with this change.

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