OneDrive data permanently deleted, but user could still access it days earlier - is any deeper review still possible?

Based on the documented OneDrive/SharePoint lifecycle, the behavior described is consistent with normal retention and deletion processes, and there is no additional supported recovery path once all of the following are true:

• The user object is no longer in Microsoft Entra ID (including Deleted Users).
• The personal OneDrive site is no longer in the active sites list.
• The personal OneDrive site is no longer in the SharePoint Deleted Sites list (Get-SPODeletedSite -IncludeOnlyPersonalSite returns nothing relevant).
• The OneDrive content is not in the OneDrive/SharePoint recycle bins.

Addressing the specific questions:

1. What service state might it indicate if the user could still access OneDrive on 17 Apr 2026?

The OneDrive deletion process is tied to user account deletion in Entra ID, not directly to license/subscription expiry:

• When a user is deleted from Microsoft 365/Entra ID, the OneDrive retention period starts. The default is 30 days, configurable via Set-SPOTenant -OrphanedPersonalSitesRetentionPeriod.
• During this retention period, the OneDrive remains accessible and shared content can still be accessed.
• After the retention period ends, the OneDrive is marked for deletion and then moved to the site collection recycle bin for 93 days, where it can only be restored by a SharePoint admin using PowerShell.

From the context:

• “When you delete a user… the user's OneDrive is retained for the number of days you specify… The default is 30 days. During this time, other users can still access shared content. At the end of the time period, the OneDrive remains in a deleted state for 93 days and can only be restored by a SharePoint Administrator.”
• “After seven days, the OneDrive for the deleted user is moved to the site collection recycle bin, where it's kept for 93 days.”

The fact that the user could still sign in and “access OneDrive” on 17 Apr 2026 most likely indicates:

• The Entra ID user account still existed (not deleted), even though the subscription/license had expired.
• OneDrive was still provisioned and reachable, but the underlying retention/deletion clock (tied to user deletion) may have already run or not yet been triggered, depending on when/if the user account was actually deleted.

Subscription expiry alone does not immediately delete OneDrive content; deletion is driven by account deletion and OneDrive retention settings. So the user being able to sign in does not contradict the possibility that the content was already in a late stage of the deletion lifecycle or had just been removed.

2. Could that have been real file access, or only account/interface access?

From the documented behavior:

• While the OneDrive is in the retention period (after user deletion but before the OneDrive is moved to the site collection recycle bin), “other users can still access shared content.”
• Once the OneDrive is moved to the site collection recycle bin, “users will no longer be able to access any shared content in the OneDrive.”

This implies two distinct possibilities for what the user saw on 17 Apr 2026:

• Real file access: If the OneDrive had not yet been moved to the site collection recycle bin, the user could still browse and open files.
• Interface-only access / empty OneDrive: If the OneDrive had already been deleted (or moved to the recycle bin and then permanently removed), the user could still sign in to the OneDrive interface, but would see no content (an empty or partially empty library). The sign-in experience can persist even when the underlying site or content is gone.

The context does not provide a way to distinguish retrospectively which of these occurred; it only defines that once the OneDrive is in the site collection recycle bin or permanently deleted, content is no longer accessible.

3. Is there any additional technical method to verify the final deletion timeline of the OneDrive/SharePoint content?

From the available documentation, the supported technical checkpoints are:

• SharePoint Deleted Sites: Get-SPODeletedSite -IncludeOnlyPersonalSite and Get-SPODeletedSite -Identity <URL> to see if the personal OneDrive site is still in the deleted sites collection and restorable.
• OneDrive/SharePoint recycle bins: First- and second-stage recycle bins for the site, where deleted sites are kept for 93 days after being moved there.
• Microsoft Support backup window: SharePoint Online retains backups of all content for 14 additional days beyond actual deletion. Within that 14-day window, an administrator can contact Microsoft Support to request a restore of the site collection.

From the context:

• “After seven days, the OneDrive for the deleted user is moved to the site collection recycle bin, where it's kept for 93 days… To restore the OneDrive, you need to use PowerShell.”
• “SharePoint Online retains backups of all content for 14 additional days beyond actual deletion. If content cannot be restored via the Recycle Bin or Files Restore, an administrator can contact Microsoft Support to request a restore any time inside the 14-day window. Restorations from backups can be completed only for site collections…”

If:

• The OneDrive site is not in active sites.
• The OneDrive site is not in Deleted Sites (Get-SPODeletedSite -IncludeOnlyPersonalSite shows nothing relevant).
• The 93-day recycle bin period plus the additional 14-day backup window have passed, or Support has already confirmed that no backup restore is possible.

Then there is no further supported technical method in the service to verify or roll back to an earlier state. The exact internal deletion timestamp is not exposed via additional public APIs beyond what has already been checked.

4. If the deleted site no longer appears in Deleted Sites, is there any other supported way to validate the final state?

According to the documentation, once a OneDrive site has:

• Exited the 93-day site collection recycle bin window, and
• Exceeded the additional 14-day backup retention window (or Support confirms no backup is available),

it is considered permanently deleted. There is no further supported mechanism to:

• View it in Deleted Sites.
• Restore it from service-side backups.
• Query a deeper “archive” state.

The only remaining validation is via Microsoft Support during the 14-day backup window. After that, the service treats the content as permanently removed.

5. Has anyone seen a similar case where user access was still possible shortly before permanent deletion was confirmed?

The provided context does not include case studies or examples of this exact pattern, but it does explicitly state that:

• OneDrive retention and deletion are governed by the user deletion event and the configured retention period, not by license expiry alone.
• Users can still access shared content during the retention period.
• After the retention period, the OneDrive moves to the site collection recycle bin for 93 days, during which only admins can restore it.

This makes it entirely possible for a user to:

• Still sign in and see or access content at some point close to the end of the retention window.
• Then find the content gone a few days later, once the OneDrive has been moved to the recycle bin and then permanently deleted after the 93-day + 14-day windows.

In summary, given that:

• PowerShell checks show no deleted personal site.
• The user and site do not appear in deleted objects.
• Microsoft Support has already indicated the data is permanently deleted.

The situation aligns with the documented OneDrive deletion lifecycle. There is no additional supported technical method in the service to further investigate or recover the content beyond what has already been attempted.

References:

• Restoring a deleted OneDrive site
• OneDrive retention and deletion
• Restore a deleted OneDrive
• Find lost or missing files in OneDrive
• How to recover missing, deleted or corrupted items in SharePoint and OneDrive for work or school