SharePoint files sporadically reverting to older versions and newer version history disappearing

Question

SharePoint files sporadically reverting to older versions and newer version history disappearing

Felix Tsang 20

We have been experiencing a recurring and sporadic issue with SharePoint Online over the past three months.

Occasionally, multiple files within a SharePoint folder suddenly appear to revert to significantly older versions. This affects all team members, not just one user or one device.

Latest incident

The issue happened again today.

Last week, our team could access the files and they contained the latest changes. However, today multiple files in the folder have suddenly reverted to older versions.

For example, one affected file currently shows:

Modified date: 7 August

Modified by: Me

The file content has reverted to the older content from around that date.

When checking Version History directly in SharePoint Online using Edge, no versions newer than this are currently visible.

Other team members are seeing exactly the same older files/versions.

I am certain that these files were modified after 7 August, and the newer versions were accessible as recently as last week.

The unusual behaviour

This is not the first time this has happened. We have experienced the same problem sporadically several times during the past three months.

The most unusual part is that during previous incidents, we did not manually restore the files. After several hours, or sometimes by the following day, the files automatically returned to the correct/latest versions.

In other words, the pattern is:

Latest versions available → files suddenly revert to older versions for everyone → newer versions disappear from Version History → several hours/a day later, the correct latest versions automatically reappear.

Because all team members see the same behaviour directly in SharePoint Online, it does not appear to be a local browser cache, Office cache, or individual OneDrive sync issue.

Has anyone experienced this behaviour with SharePoint Online?

In particular, I would like to understand:

What could cause SharePoint Online to temporarily present an older state of multiple files to all users?

Why would newer versions temporarily disappear from Version History and then reappear later?

Could this indicate a SharePoint Online backend/service issue rather than a client-side synchronisation issue?

Are there specific Microsoft Purview audit events or SharePoint logs that our administrator should check when this happens?

Is there any known Microsoft 365/SharePoint issue that could cause this behaviour?

As this has now happened multiple times over approximately three months, we would like to identify the root cause rather than simply wait for the files to return to their latest versions.Title: SharePoint Online files temporarily reverting to older versions for all users, then automatically returning to latest versions

We have been experiencing a recurring and sporadic issue with SharePoint Online over the past three months.

Occasionally, multiple files within a SharePoint folder suddenly appear to revert to significantly older versions. This affects all team members, not just one user or one device.

As this has now happened multiple times over approximately three months, we would like to identify the root cause rather than simply wait for the files to return to their latest versions.

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Answer 1

Good day Felix,

Just to gently clarify before we go any further, this is a user‑to‑user support forum. I don’t have the ability to access or investigate individual accounts because this is a user‑to‑user support forum.

Currently, I checked the Microsoft 365 Service Health dashboard and there are no reported incidents that match this behavior.

Note: This page is accessible only to users with admin permissions.

Since this issue affects multiple users, impacts version history and appears to occur at the service level, I recommend that your organization's IT administrator open a support case with Microsoft through Microsoft 365 admin center > Support > Help & Support.

To reach a support engineer more quickly, disable Support Assistant, enter "Support" as the keyword, and select Contact Support.

User's image

In the ticket description, please clearly describe the issue. The admin can also attach screenshots or screen recordings.

Additionally, sharing their preferred contact times may help the support team handle the case more efficiently.

I also recommend reviewing Microsoft Purview Audit logs for the affected SharePoint site and files. Use a time range that starts before the latest versions were last confirmed and extends beyond the time when the files returned to normal.

Please review the following audit events by entering them in the Activities - operation names:

FileModified,FileDeleted,FileRecycled,FileRestored,FileMoved,FileCheckOutDiscarded,FileVersionRecycled,FileVersionsAllRecycled,FileVersionBulkDeletionStarted,TenantApplyFileVersionPolicyStarted

Note: The admin can include additional activities if desired.

User's image

Select the search results once the search has completed, then export the audit results and retain the AuditData field, as it contains additional details about the operation, including the account or process that performed the action.

User's image

This information is often critical when determining whether the behavior originated from a user action, a policy, an automated process or a service-side event.

Additional information is available in the following resources:

Search the audit log | Microsoft Learn

Audit log activities | Microsoft Learn

Detailed activity properties in the audit log | Microsoft Learn

Note: If you're an end-user or you don't have sufficient administrative permissions, please contact your Global administrator for assistance. In case you do not know who is your IT admin, kindly refer to this article: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions or need further support, please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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