Loop Workspaces disappeared!

Question

Hi,

We have been using Microsoft Loop extensively in all our processes since its early days in 2023. Recently, several workspaces that we have (use relatively less), containing dozens of pages and valuable content, suddenly disappeared.

When I search for some of the pages I remember, I can somehow access them, but they don't appear to belong to any workspace. Therefore, I believe this is a technical issue.

I request support to restore these lost workspaces.

I would also like to learn how to back up the other workspaces that we use much more intensively now, where we conduct almost all of our work, and which, if lost like the others, could cause a disaster and put our business at risk.

I would also like to mention that I have lost my trust in Loop and, as a long-time advocate, am experiencing great disappointment.

Thanks,

Answer 1

Hi @CD,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.   

Thank you for reaching out. I am sorry for the inconvenience this situation has caused. I understand how disruptive it is when important Microsoft Loop workspaces disappear, especially when they hold pages your team depends on. You have invested time and trust in Loop since 2023, so seeing workspaces vanish while pages still appear in search is understandably worrying and not the experience you should have.

Here are suggestions you can try:

A. Recovery checklist

You can start with the following checks.

1. Verify licensing and OneDrive state for My workspace

The personal My workspace requires an active OneDrive site and license. If OneDrive was removed or the site is inactive, visibility and creation can be affected even though shared workspaces do not rely on OneDrive.

2. Look for workspaces in Loop web and mobile

If the Workspaces tab is not visible in Loop for web or desktop, open Loop on mobile (Android or iOS) and check whether your workspaces list there. In some cases, workspaces appear only under Recent or Favorites on web or desktop.

3. Ask your admin to check SharePoint Embedded Containers

Admins can manage membership, ownership, deletion, and restoration for Loop workspaces in the SharePoint Embedded Admin Center or by using PowerShell. This capability was introduced across 2024 and 2025 and applies to new and existing workspaces. This check will confirm whether the workspace still exists, was deleted, or if your membership was removed.

4. If the workspace was deleted: restore it

• Admin PowerShell steps (I’ll provide a ready-to-send snippet below):
  • Connect-SPOService -Url https://<tenant>-admin.sharepoint.com
  • Get-SPODeletedContainer
  • Restore-SPODeletedContainer -Identity <ContainerId>
• These commands recover a deleted Loop workspace (container).
• Note: Microsoft announced a user accessible Recycle Bin for Loop workspaces under Roadmap ID 421615. Timelines have shifted, so availability may vary by tenant.

5. If pages are missing or may have been deleted, check the correct Recycle Bin

Where a page or component was created determines its Recycle Bin.

• Loop app pages are in the corresponding workspace recycle bin.
• Items created in chats or emails are in the user OneDrive recycle bin.
• Items created in Teams channels are in the SharePoint site recycle bin.

Use the appropriate recycle bin to restore the content.

For more detail, please refer to:

• Microsoft Loop – Common Admin Management Tasks Enabled for all Loop workspaces
• How to Recover a Deleted Microsoft Loop Workspace
• How Loop Recycle Bin works

Note: Microsoft provides this information only as a convenience to users. These websites are not controlled by Microsoft, and Microsoft does not guarantee the quality, security, or suitability of any software or information on them. It is important to fully understand the risks involved before using any of the suggestions in the links above. 

B. Re‑associate pages that appear “orphaned”

• Use Add to workspace on the page to surface it in the correct workspace. This creates a linked view. Then use Duplicate on the linked page to create an independent copy inside that workspace.
• When a page is shared across workspaces, edits sync everywhere. Deleting the original removes it from all linked locations. It is important to distinguish a linked page from a duplicated page.

For your reference:

• Copy Microsoft Loop Pages between Workspaces
• Loop: Share Pages Across Workspaces

Note: Microsoft provides this information only as a convenience to users. These websites are not controlled by Microsoft, and Microsoft does not guarantee the quality, security, or suitability of any software or information on them. It is important to fully understand the risks involved before using any of the suggestions in the links above. 

C. Back up your other workspaces

1. User level

• Export critical pages as PDF using Loop → More options → Print and PDF export to keep an offline snapshot. This is fast and available to all users.

2. Admin level, tenant wide backups and exports

• Use Microsoft Purview eDiscovery to locate and export .loop and related items. This helps inventory and back up content across SharePoint Embedded containers, SharePoint sites, and OneDrive.
• Microsoft also enables export of content from SharePoint Embedded containers that back Loop workspaces using Purview and Graph. Admins can export in original .loop or .html formats for compliance and backup workflows.

3. Governance and ownership protection

• Apply Retention labels to Loop pages and components for lifecycle protection.
• Ensure every critical workspace has multiple owners. Promote members to owners where appropriate so a single account change does not orphan a workspace. For project spaces created in Teams channels, consider Microsoft 365 Group owned workspaces. Admins will be able to enforce group connected workspaces in 2026, which can improve lifecycle management.

4. Optional mirror to SharePoint pattern

• For mission critical content, share a page into a Team workspace or a SharePoint site and then duplicate it there to create an independent copy. This allows you to benefit from standard SharePoint and OneDrive backup and recovery tooling.

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.    

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you. 

I look forward to your thoughts on this. 

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