How To Recover Files From The SharePoint Recycle Bin

recycle bin
If you accidentally delete files from SharePoint or OneDrive, it’s not immediately obvious where you would go to recover them, especially if you are used to accessing them as synced files on your computer, as they do not get sent to the normal recycle bin. Here, we’ll quickly show you how to you can easily recover them.

How long are items available to recover?

Items deleted from SharePoint or OneDrive are available for 3 months (93 days) after which they are deleted permanently. If you have a separate backup on Microsoft 365 you will probably be able to recover them from there if the items expired, or if the recycle bin has been emptied.

View Online

If you accidentally delete files from a synced location in either OneDrive or SharePoint you’ll need to access the site via the web. Either navigate directly to the site location if you know where it is or right click the folder and choose OneDrive > View Online which will open the webpage.

Go to the site directly, or right click the folder and choose View Online
Go to the site directly, or right click the folder and choose View Online

SharePoint

At the top of the page, click on Site Contents. On the right hand side you’ll see the link to the Recycle bin

Click on Site Contents then Recycle Bin
Click on Site Contents then Recycle Bin

Select the files you want to restore and then click Restore to put them back into their original location. Be careful! The restore button is very close to the Delete button which will remove them from the recycle bin.

Select the items then click Restore
Select the items then click Restore

OneDrive

Recovering files in OneDrive is even easier, as the recycle bin is less hidden away. Just go to your OneDrive on the web, and it’s there on the left-hand side.

In OneDrive, the recycle bin is on the main page
In OneDrive, the recycle bin is on the main page

You’ll see you items in the same way as SharePoint, with the option to restore (again, right next to the ‘Delete’ button).

For more useful tips on OneDrive see our other articles here.

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