Restore your OneDrive
Applies ToOneDrive (work or school) OneDrive (home or personal) OneDrive for Mac OneDrive for Windows

OneDrive's Restore your OneDrive feature helps Microsoft 365 subscribers undo all the actions that occurred on any files and folders within the last 30 days. 

If any OneDrive files or folders were deleted, overwritten, corrupted, or infected by malware, you can restore your entire OneDrive to a previous time.

If you don't want to restore everything, you can also restore deleted files from the OneDrive recycle bin or restore a previous version of a file.

Important: 

  • If a file has been permanently deleted from your OneDrive Recycle Bin, it can never be recovered.

  • When restoring, any files or folders created after the Restore point date will be sent to your OneDrive Recycle Bin.

Restore OneDrive to a previous time

To restore your entire OneDrive, you'll need to have Microsoft 365. 

  1. Go to the OneDrive website. (Make sure you're signed in with the correct account.)

  2. If you're signed in with a personal account with a Microsoft 365 subscription, at the top of the page, select Settings Settings: update your profile, install software and connect it to the cloud > Options, and then select Restore your OneDrive from the left navigation.  

    Note: This option isn't available without a Microsoft 365 subscription. See plans.

  3. On the Restore your OneDrive page, select a date from the dropdown list, such as Yesterday, or select Custom date and time. If you're restoring your files after automatic ransomware detection, a suggested restore date will be filled in for you.Restore your OneDrive by selecting a date range.

  4. Use the activity chart and activity feed to review the recent activities that you want to undo.

    Restore your OneDrive file activities.

    The daily activity chart shows the volume of file activities in each day for the last 30 days. It gives you an overview of what has happened to your OneDrive over time, and it can help you identify any unusual activities. For example, if your OneDrive was infected by malware, you can look for when it happened.

    The activity feed shows individual file and folder operations in reverse chronological order. You can scroll down to see previous days or move the slider below the daily activity chart to quickly move to a specific day.

    Tip: Use the expand and collapse arrow next to each day in the activity feed to show or hide activities for that day.

  5. If you selected Custom date and time, select the earliest activity that you want to undo. When you select an activity, all other activities that occurred after that are selected automatically.

    Note: Before you select Restore, scroll to the top of the activity feed to review all the activities you are about to undo. When you pick a day in the activity chart, the more recent activities are hidden in the feed, but they're still selected when you select an activity.

  6. When you’re ready to restore your OneDrive, select Restore. This action will undo all the activities you selected.

    Your OneDrive file(s) will be restored to the state before the first activity you selected.

    Notes: 

    • When restoring, any files or folders created after the Restore point date will be sent to your OneDrive Recycle Bin.

    • If a file has been permanently deleted from your OneDrive Recycle Bin, then it can never be recovered.

    • If you change your mind about the restore you just did, you can undo the restore by running Restore again and selecting the restore action you just did.

    • Albums are not restored.

Learn more

If you don't want to restore everything, you can also restore deleted files from the OneDrive recycle bin or restore a previous version of a file.

For files in SharePoint or Microsoft Teams, you can restore a document library.

Enable and configure versioning for a list or library.

Need more help?

Contact support icon

Contact Support For help with your Microsoft account and subscriptions, visit Account & Billing Help.

For technical support, go to Contact Microsoft Support, enter your problem and select Get Help. If you still need help, select Contact Support to be routed to the best support option.

Work or school badge

Admins Admins should view Help for OneDrive Admins, the OneDrive Tech Community or contact Microsoft 365 for business support.

Need more help?

Want more options?

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.