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Lots of files disappeared from my account - how can I get them back?
Hi, I have been using dropbox for many years and have many word files which I keep editing online. I noticed that many files had disappeared from different folders with some of them I surely used 2 weeks ago. I don't have any hard copy and all files have been online. My deleted file folder is empty. There is no way that I have accidentally deleted them.
I am desperate to retrieve the files as I have built up so much information into those files over the years. It is very frustrating to see the online platform that you may think is a safe place, loses your data.
I am on the basic plan hence limited support.
I would be grateful if you could help, please
Hi AN79,
Let's jump right in and see if we can troubleshoot this for you. Can you try the following steps for me:
- Double-check the following
- Sign out and back in; confirm the email shown under your avatar is the one you usually use.
- In the search bar, type a distinctive word from the file name (or even “.docx”) to surface anything that was moved.
- Deleted files (30-day window on Basic)
- Go to dropbox.com → Deleted files in the left sidebar.
- Change the filter from the default 24 hours to Last 30 days.
- Tick what you need and click Restore.
- Inside any folder you can also open the … menu → Show deleted files; grayed-out items can be restored the same way.
- Events log
- Visit dropbox.com/events (or append /events to the URL).
- Scroll back to the day you last remember using the docs.
- If you spot a bulk delete or move, click the ► arrow and choose Restore.
- If the event lists an unfamiliar device or location, change your password and enable two-factor authentication right away.
- Version history for a single file
- If the file name still exists but its content is wrong or empty, hover over it and click Version history.
- Pick a timestamp from before things went wrong and click Restore.
- Basic accounts keep 30 days of versions.
- Desktop cache (only if you run the Dropbox app)
- Recent edits often linger here for a few days even after deletion:
- Windows: C:\Users\<your-name>\Dropbox\.dropbox.cache\
- macOS: ~/Dropbox/.dropbox.cache/
- Copy anything you want out of that folder before it’s purged.
- Recent edits often linger here for a few days even after deletion:
- If the folder is shared
- Only the folder’s owner can restore permanently deleted items, so ask them to run these same steps in their account.
Let me know how you get on with these steps.
- Double-check the following
2 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- Mark
Super User II
What does http://www.dropbox.com/events show?
- Neal
Community Manager
Hi AN79,
Let's jump right in and see if we can troubleshoot this for you. Can you try the following steps for me:
- Double-check the following
- Sign out and back in; confirm the email shown under your avatar is the one you usually use.
- In the search bar, type a distinctive word from the file name (or even “.docx”) to surface anything that was moved.
- Deleted files (30-day window on Basic)
- Go to dropbox.com → Deleted files in the left sidebar.
- Change the filter from the default 24 hours to Last 30 days.
- Tick what you need and click Restore.
- Inside any folder you can also open the … menu → Show deleted files; grayed-out items can be restored the same way.
- Events log
- Visit dropbox.com/events (or append /events to the URL).
- Scroll back to the day you last remember using the docs.
- If you spot a bulk delete or move, click the ► arrow and choose Restore.
- If the event lists an unfamiliar device or location, change your password and enable two-factor authentication right away.
- Version history for a single file
- If the file name still exists but its content is wrong or empty, hover over it and click Version history.
- Pick a timestamp from before things went wrong and click Restore.
- Basic accounts keep 30 days of versions.
- Desktop cache (only if you run the Dropbox app)
- Recent edits often linger here for a few days even after deletion:
- Windows: C:\Users\<your-name>\Dropbox\.dropbox.cache\
- macOS: ~/Dropbox/.dropbox.cache/
- Copy anything you want out of that folder before it’s purged.
- Recent edits often linger here for a few days even after deletion:
- If the folder is shared
- Only the folder’s owner can restore permanently deleted items, so ask them to run these same steps in their account.
Let me know how you get on with these steps.
- Double-check the following
