Recovering OneDrive Files After Trial Expiration

Question

A Microsoft trial expired over 30 days ago, and a subscription was paid for, but all OneDrive files seem to be missing.

The scenario involves not checking personal email regularly and losing a job, which resulted in minimal logging into Microsoft. Previously a month-to-month subscriber for ten years, there may have been an accidental switch to a trial for Business Premium instead of an actual subscription. After around 40 days post-expiration of the prior trial, a new trial license was assigned to the same account, but now it appears as if a completely new subscription was created.

Despite checking both the deleted and deleted deleted folders, no files are present. What steps can be taken to recover these files, considering their importance for employment?

Answer 1

Dear Kirk Davis

Thank you for posting your question in the Q&A forum.

Based on the information you provided, it appears you're facing a serious issue involving the loss of all OneDrive data after a trial subscription expired and a new subscription or trial was activated. I'm truly sorry to hear about this, especially considering the importance of the files for your employment.

From my research and understanding of Microsoft 365 behavior, I’d like to clarify a few points and offer some steps to help you investigate and possibly recover your data:

-Are you currently using the same Microsoft account (email address) for both the expired trial and the newly activated subscription?

-When the new subscription was activated, did it create a new tenant ID or organization name? If so, your old data may not be linked to the new environment.
-Are you an admin or a standard user in your organization?
If You Are an Admin:
You can try to regain access to the OneDrive files via the Microsoft 365 Admin Center:
-Go to https://admin.microsoft.com.
-Navigate to Users > Active Users.
-Find your user account and click on it.
-Under the OneDrive tab, click “Get access to files”.
-Then click “Create link to files” to generate a direct OneDrive link.
-Open the link and check if any data is still accessible. Also check the Recycle Bin and Second stage Recycle Bin

Please note:
-After a trial expires, Microsoft typically retains data for 30 days.
-After 30 days, the account enters a disabled state, and only admins can access it.
-After 90–120 days, the data is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered unless Microsoft intervenes early.
-You can find more detailed information here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/restore-deleted-onedrive

Please try the steps above and let me know if you find any updates or changes. I’m here to help you find the best possible solution.

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