I want to restore my Azure database from a restore point from one day ago, but I can only select up to 1 hour ago

Question

I have accidentally dropped by data it seems, and have spent a couple of hours trying to realise why. Now when I want to restore my DB to yesterdays backup, I cannot despite having a 7 day retention. I can only restore up to 1 hour ago from the dropdown list of restore points. My earliest restore point appears to be from when the DB was dropped and recreated.

How can I choose an older backup and restore it?

Answer 1

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A

Hello Vic Johnston,

This is a terrifying moment, but the good news is that your data is likely safe. You are currently unable to see the older history because of how Azure handles "Dropped" resources.

When you "dropped and recreated" the database, you effectively destroyed the original resource (Resource ID A) and created a brand new one (Resource ID B).

• The Problem: You are currently looking at the "Restore" blade for the New Database. Since this new database was only created ~1 hour ago, its transaction log history only goes back 1 hour. It does not inherit the history of the previous database, even if it has the same name.

The Solution: Restore the "Deleted" Database You need to restore from the Deleted resource, not the current active one.

1. Go to the SQL Server Blade: Do not stay on the "Database" page. Navigate up to the logical SQL Server resource that hosted the database.
2. Find Deleted Databases:
   • In the left-hand menu, look under Data Management (or "Backups" depending on your portal version).
   • Click on "Deleted databases".
3. Locate & Restore:
   • You should see the entry for the database that was dropped yesterday/earlier today.
   • Select that specific entry and click Restore.
   • This will allow you to pick a time before the drop event (e.g., yesterday).

Note: You will likely need to restore this as a new database name (e.g., MyDatabase_Restored), and then rename it or swap connection strings after verification.

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Answer 2

Hi Vic Johnston

The behavior you’re seeing is expected in Azure SQL Database.

When a database is dropped and then recreated — even with the same name — Azure treats it as a new database instance with a new backup chain. Point-in-time restore (PITR) works per database instance (database ID), not per database name. That’s why the restore dropdown only shows restore points from about one hour ago — those belong to the newly created database.

The backups from the original (deleted) database are still retained for your configured 7-day retention period, but they must be restored from the Deleted databases section, not from the active database blade.

• Go to your SQL Server resource in the Azure Portal.
• Select Backups → Deleted databases, then restore the dropped database to a point in time from yesterday.

The restore will create a new database (you cannot overwrite the recreated one).

Helpful References:
https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-sql/database/recovery-using-backups
https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-sql/database/recovery-using-backups#restore-a-deleted-database

Hope this helps, Please let us know if you have any questions and concerns.