how to recover file from my deleted recycle bin

Melisande Flores 20 Reputation points
2026-06-15T19:48:41.95+00:00

I am trying access my excel file and it says that it was deleted. I've recently emptied my recycle bin and upon checking the file was on the recycle bin last June 7. How do I recover the file?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows
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EmilyS726 269.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-06-15T20:22:28.89+00:00

Hello,

Is it OneDrive recycle bin?

Is this a personal account or a work/school account?

If it is personal account, unfortunately once deleted from Recycle Bin, it is gone. It works as it is designed to do, the files cannot be recovered.

If this is a work/school account, it might be recoverable, depending on each organization's retention policy. Reach out to your organization's IT support team, they would know what the retention policy is for your organization and can recover for you if it is still within the defined retention period.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-06-15T19:48:52.76+00:00

    Once the Windows Recycle Bin has been emptied, there is no built-in Microsoft feature that can directly restore that deleted Excel file from local storage.

    Try these options, depending on where the file was originally stored:

    1. If the file was in OneDrive
    • Go to the OneDrive website and sign in.
    • In the left navigation, select Recycle bin.
    • Look for the Excel file, select it, and choose Restore.
      • Items in a personal OneDrive recycle bin are kept for 30 days.
      • Items in a work or school OneDrive recycle bin are kept for 93 days (unless the admin changed this setting).
    1. If the file was in a SharePoint/Teams location
    • Go to the SharePoint site or Teams-connected document library.
    • Open the site Recycle bin and look for the file.
    • If not found there and it was deleted recently, a site collection administrator may be able to restore it from the site collection recycle bin.
    1. If the file was only on the local PC (not in OneDrive/SharePoint)
    • After emptying the Windows Recycle Bin, the only remaining option is to try a file recovery tool.
    • Windows provides Windows File Recovery, a command-line app from the Microsoft Store, which can attempt to recover deleted files from local drives if the disk space has not yet been overwritten.
      • For the best chance of success, minimize using the PC before running recovery, because new files can overwrite the deleted data.

    If the file cannot be found in any recycle bin (Windows, OneDrive, or SharePoint) and recovery tools do not locate it, it is unlikely that the file can be restored.

    References:

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