I lost connection to my OneDrive (related to my ended business subscription). How can I retrieve the files?

Question

With my company, [Moderator note: personal info removed], I had for at least 2 years a business subscription for Microsoft 365.
I used OneDrive and to save space on my MacBook I basically stored everything in the cloud.
The mailaddress I used to pay software (and hardware) was: [Moderator note: personal info removed].

I still can see the files, but cannot retrieve them anylonger. I'm completely lost. It is about 21 Gb data, which I need. I did not get any warning to restore or download those files to secure them (and not loose them).

Please help.

I received phone calls from [Moderator note: personal info removed]. First 31 march and yesterday (6th of April).
I called this number, but I guess it doesn't pick up phone calls from customers.

My cell phone number is: [Moderator note: personal info removed]3 or, please send me a message at: [Moderator note: personal info removed].
I am not sure if the mail address [Moderator note: personal info removed] is still active. I am not that much into the technical details...

Answer 1

Hi Alwin Brands,

Good day and thank you for providing a clear explanation of your concern.

When a Microsoft 365 Business subscription is canceled or expires:

• The associated OneDrive for Business account becomes read‑only first, and then inaccessible.
• After this, Microsoft keeps the data for a limited retention period (typically around 90 days, depending on tenant configuration).
• Once that retention window passes, the data is permanently deleted.

If you can still see the files but are unable to download them, this strongly suggests that the Microsoft 365 tenant has expired but has not yet been fully deleted.

In this situation, you need to contact Microsoft Support, as only Microsoft can verify whether the tenant and OneDrive data are still within the retention period and assist with recovery through a live support session.

I have reviewed the status and can see that your account is currently marked as Active. If you're still able to access to Microsoft Admin 365 Center with your old account, please raise a ticket in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Support > Help & Support.

If you're unable to and you're the only admin in this tenant, in this situation, the Microsoft Data Protection Team has tools and processes in place to verify identity and regain access to administrator accounts. You can try reaching out to our Global Customer Service phone to raise a request for resetting your authentication method here: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support.

Please note that forum moderators do not have access to user account settings and cannot assist with logging in, resetting passwords, or changing access rights. While we do not have access to internal systems or administrative tools required to resolve account-specific or backend-related issues, we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.   

Here are some tips and an example of a prompt to help you navigate the IVR more effectively:     

IVR: What kind of problem are you concerned about?  

You: Authenticator.   

A: What products do you use?  

You: Office 365 for business.

Verification: Education or company account?  

You: For company

IVR: Are you an administrator?    

You: Yes.

IVR: Are there any other administrators in your organization?    

You: No.

IVR: Do you need a... Service request?    

You: Yes. I need to create a ticket. Please send me directly to the Data Protection Team.

If you cannot reach a live agent, there is still a workaround, you might consider registering for a new tenant by signing up for a trial subscription.

To set up a new tenant, please follow these steps:

Visit Microsoft 365 Business Plans and Pricing | Microsoft 365. This would allow you to create a new tenant following the prompts provided. Once set up, you can access the admin console of the new tenant and submit a support ticket requesting to speak with the Data Protection team on behalf of your previous tenant.

Follow the guided setup process to create a new account for a new tenant.

Once your tenant is created, you should be able to access the support portal and submit your ticket referencing your locked account without further issues.

In your ticket description, you'll need to clearly explain that you're trying to regain access to your previous Microsoft 365 tenant and need help from the Data Protection team. Here's a message you can use or adapt:

"Hello, I’m currently unable to access my previous Microsoft 365 tenant. I’m the global admin, but I’m locked out. I created this new tenant solely to request assistance. I kindly ask to be connected with the Data Protection team to verify my identity and help me recover access to the original tenant.

This is urgent, as I rely on Microsoft 365 for my work and have been unable to operate for several days. I’m available to provide any documentation or verification needed to support the recovery process."

Ticket Support: In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Support > Help & Support.

Please remember to cancel the trial subscription after your issue is resolved, as this will help you avoid any accidental billing. You may prefer the following resource for detailed instructions: Cancel your Microsoft business subscription in the Microsoft 365 admin center | Microsoft Learn

 

I hope this helps you regain access to your account and resolve the issue with your OneDrive quickly. I'm glad to assist and truly hope the information provided has been useful. Please feel free to reach out anytime if you need further assistance.

If you find my post helpful, kindly consider marking it as the accepted answer. Doing so can assist others in the community who may have similar questions in finding solutions more quickly.

Thank you for your kindness and contributions to the forum.

---

Note: To receive email notifications for updates on this thread, please follow the steps outlined in this documentation to enable email notifications.