How to retrive an excel file I deleted by mistake.

Benjamin Lebene Feddy 0 Reputation points
2026-06-05T11:26:52.3366667+00:00

I need your assistance to retrive an excel file I am working on but mistakenly deleted but can not be found in my recycle bin.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. AI answer

    2026-06-05T11:27:27.4233333+00:00

    Try the following options in order, depending on where the file was stored and how it was deleted:

    1. Check OneDrive (if files are synced)
    • If the Excel file was in a OneDrive-synced folder (e.g., Desktop, Documents, or a OneDrive folder), it may have been deleted from OneDrive rather than just Windows.
    • Go to the OneDrive website and sign in.
    • In the left pane, select Recycle bin.
    • Look for the deleted Excel file, select it, and choose Restore. This returns it to its original location.
    1. Check other OneDrive accounts
    • If there are multiple Microsoft accounts (personal and/or work/school), sign out and sign in with each account on the OneDrive website.
    • Use Search everything to look for the file name or parts of it.
    1. Check SharePoint/Teams (if the file was in a shared location)
    • If the file was stored in a Teams channel or SharePoint document library, open that site and check its Recycle Bin (and, if available, the second-stage recycle bin) and restore the file from there.
    1. Use Excel’s recovery options (if the file was never saved or Excel crashed)
    • Open Excel.
    • Go to File > Info.
    • Look for Manage Workbook / Recover Unsaved Workbooks and open any available recovered versions.
    • Save the recovered file with a new name.
    1. If the file was deleted locally and not synced
    • If the file was stored only on the PC and is not in Windows Recycle Bin and not in OneDrive/SharePoint/Teams recycle bins, there is no native Microsoft method in the provided context to recover it. A third-party recovery tool would be the only remaining option, but recovery is not guaranteed.

    If the original storage location is known (PC-only, OneDrive, Teams, or SharePoint), use the matching recovery path above first.

    References:

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  2. DaveM121 946.3K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-06-05T12:08:25.6+00:00

    If you deleted the file on your PC and also emptied the Recycle Bin, if you use OneDrive to sync your files online, log into OneDrive in a web browser (https://onedrive.live.com/) and check if the file is available there or in the OneDrive Recycle Bin online.

    If the file is also not available on OneDrive online, then the only hope you have is to use some 3rd party recovery utility to try to undelete and recover the file.

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