Mailbox items permanently deleted with Shift+Delete
After hard delete Exchange Online keeps 14 days by default, extendable to 30. After that gone.
Try this first
- 1Ask admin for Recover Deleted Items on the mailbox
- 2Extend RetainDeletedItemsFor to 30 days on the tenant
- 3For longer retention: Litigation Hold or third-party backup
- 4Verify single-item recovery is enabled
When to bring us in
At 30+ days ago without backup or hold
See also
- We have backups but we do not know if they workA backup that cannot be restored is not a backup. Testing matters as much as taking the backup.
- Suspected ransomware: what to do RIGHT NOWThe first 30 minutes are critical. One wrong move spreads the damage. Read before acting.
- Someone accidentally deleted an important folderUsually fine to recover. The trick: do not save anything new on that drive until you know how.
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