Bought storage to unfreeze OneDrive now all my photos are gone??

Question

My One drive was frozen due to storage being full, I purchased more storage space and now everything is gone. All the photos and documents I saw in my Frozen OneDrive disappeared once I was able to access them with that added storage I purchased??

Answer 1

Thanks, Paul. I am hopeful these steps would work.

Please contact Microsoft Support for further assistance.

Please go to the https://support.microsoft.com/contactus page

Type "Chat with someone" option and press Enter.

Please click on the "Contact support" button at the bottom.

Select the Product and Category for support based on your requirements.

The available support methods will be shown to you.

I hope this information helps. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Otherwise, please take a moment to rate the answer. Wishing you good luck!

Answer 2

Thanks, Paul. I think Microsoft support can restore in that case. Since this is a user-user support forum, I recommend https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=528676 to email the Onedrive support team. The link would work if Onedrive for web is open in a browser tab.

Answer 3

Thanks for the update. Are you a Microsoft 365 subscriber?

Does the option exist to Restore Onedrive?

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/restore-your-onedrive-fa231298-759d-41cf-bcd0-25ac53eb8a15

Answer 4

Hi Paul,

This should surely not happen. Even if you are over the Storage quota files are never deleted.

Did you check OneDrive for web and the app both?

Are you sure you are logged in into the correct Microsoft account?

I’m eager to hear back and work together to find a solution.

Answer 5

Purchasing more storage does not delete OneDrive content. The situation is almost always one of these:

1. Signed in with a different Microsoft account
   • When an account is frozen, it is easy to later sign in with another personal Microsoft account (for example, one used for Xbox, Skype, or Outlook.com) and see an empty OneDrive.
   • Sign out of OneDrive on all devices and in the browser.
   • Sign back in using exactly the same email address that showed the “account frozen” message.
   • If unsure, check all personal Microsoft accounts in a browser at https://onedrive.live.com/ and see which one contains the files.
2. Still over or close to the storage quota
   • If the Microsoft storage quota is still exceeded, OneDrive becomes read‑only and, after a period, can be frozen again.
   • Go to Manage your OneDrive storage (from the OneDrive web interface) to see:
     • Total storage and used storage
     • What is taking up space
   • If still over quota, delete unneeded files or empty the OneDrive Recycle Bin to get back under the limit.
3. Files deleted after being over quota for a long time
   • If Microsoft storage or OneDrive storage has been exceeded for months, Microsoft may delete OneDrive content:
     • After 3+ months over the OneDrive limit, the account can be frozen.
     • After 6 months, OneDrive and all files in it may be deleted and are non‑recoverable.
   • If this happened, the files will not appear in OneDrive or its Recycle Bin.
4. Check the OneDrive Recycle Bin
   • In the correct account, open OneDrive in a browser.
   • Go to Recycle Bin and look for the missing photos/documents.
   • If present, select them and choose Restore.

If the correct account is in use, the storage quota is now under the limit, and the files are not in the OneDrive Recycle Bin, there is no native Microsoft method in the provided information to recover permanently deleted OneDrive content.

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References:

• What does it mean when your OneDrive account is frozen?
• My OneDrive says it's full
• Microsoft storage FAQs
• Why did I get a message saying my files will be erased?
• Microsoft storage quotas