OneNote notebook completely empty, unable to access, or location doesn't exist after recently being there.

Ryan Finley 0 Reputation points
2026-07-03T04:59:34.0466667+00:00

My 365 subscription expired, but I could still access notebooks on OneNote and see what was there. Recently, I went on OneNote and some of my notebooks are there, but completely empty without any sections. On PC, it says I can't access the file. It is the same Microsoft account I created them with and renewed the subscription when I realized it expired. My OneDrive is also mostly completely empty. Notebooks I created before those I am looking for are still accessible and all the information is there.

I need the notebooks I'm missing. How do I get them back?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | Other | Other
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  1. Sivakumar Asitha Kumar 0 Reputation points
    2026-07-03T05:04:34.12+00:00

    f your notebooks disappeared after your Microsoft 365 subscription expired, the data is not necessarily lost. It may be a sync or OneDrive issue.

    Try these steps:

    1. Sign in to OneDrive with the same Microsoft account and check whether the notebooks are still there, including the Recycle Bin.
    2. In OneNote, go to File > Open (or Open Notebook) and see if the missing notebooks are listed.
    3. Check whether you're signed into the correct Microsoft account in both OneNote and OneDrive.
    4. If the notebooks are still missing from OneDrive, contact Microsoft Support as soon as possible—they may be able to help recover your files if they were affected by account or sync issues.

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