How to back up and restore your Microsoft Teams files and channel data to prevent loss

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to back up and restore your Microsoft Teams files and channel data to prevent loss. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Microsoft Teams stores channel files in SharePoint and personal files in OneDrive for Business. Regular backups of these locations, combined with conversation exports, help protect your organisation against accidental deletion, malicious activity, and data loss. This guide covers the key methods for backing up and restoring Teams data.

Understanding Where Teams Data Lives

Before backing up, it helps to know where Microsoft Teams stores different types of data:

• Channel files — stored in the SharePoint site associated with your team
• Private chat files — stored in the sender's OneDrive for Business
• Channel conversations — stored in Exchange Online group mailboxes
• Private chat messages — stored in individual Exchange Online mailboxes
• Wiki tabs and OneNote notebooks — stored in SharePoint or OneDrive

Backing Up Channel Files via SharePoint

Every team in Microsoft Teams has an associated SharePoint site. You can back up files from that site manually or using built-in sync tools.

Manual Backup from SharePoint

1. Open Microsoft Teams and navigate to the team whose files you want to back up.
2. Select the Files tab at the top of the channel.
3. Click Open in SharePoint in the toolbar.
4. In the SharePoint document library, select the folders or files you want to back up.
5. Click Download from the top menu. SharePoint will compress the selection into a ZIP file.
6. Save the ZIP file to a secure location, such as an external drive or a separate cloud storage service.

Syncing SharePoint Files to Your Computer

1. Open the SharePoint document library for your team as described above.
2. Click the Sync button in the toolbar.
3. If prompted, confirm that you want to open Microsoft OneDrive.
4. Choose the folder location on your computer where the synced files should be stored.
5. OneDrive will now keep a local copy of all files in that SharePoint library. Any changes sync automatically.
6. To create a true backup, copy the synced folder to an external drive or secondary cloud location on a regular schedule.

Backing Up Personal and Chat Files via OneDrive

Files shared in private chats are stored in the sender's OneDrive for Business under a folder named Microsoft Teams Chat Files.

1. Open a web browser and sign in to office.com with your Microsoft 365 work or school account.
2. Click the App launcher (the grid icon in the top-left corner) and select OneDrive.
3. In the left navigation, click My files.
4. Locate the folder named Microsoft Teams Chat Files.
5. Select the folder and click Download to save a copy to your computer.
6. Alternatively, use the Sync button to keep a local copy on your device, then back up that local folder separately.

Exporting Channel Conversations and Chat History

Microsoft Teams does not offer a built-in export button for conversations. However, you can use the following methods to retain conversation data.

Using Microsoft 365 eDiscovery (for Administrators)

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Purview compliance portal with an account that has eDiscovery permissions.
2. In the left navigation, expand eDiscovery and select Standard.
3. Click Create a case and give it a descriptive name, such as "Teams Backup – June 2025".
4. Open the case and click Searches, then New search.
5. Name the search and choose the locations to include. Under Exchange mailboxes, select the user mailboxes and group mailboxes that contain Teams conversations.
6. Define your search criteria. To export all Teams messages, leave the conditions blank or specify a date range.
7. Click Submit to run the search.
8. Once the search completes, select it and click Export results.
9. Choose your export options and download the results. The export will include a PST file containing Teams messages.

Copying Individual Conversations Manually

For small-scale backups, you can manually copy message text:

1. Open the Teams channel or chat you want to back up.
2. Select the messages you want to keep by clicking and dragging over them, or use Ctrl+A to select all visible messages.
3. Press Ctrl+C to copy.
4. Paste the content into a Word document or text file using Ctrl+V.
5. Save the document to a secure backup location.

Restoring Teams Files from Backup

If you need to recover files after accidental deletion or data loss, use the following methods.

Restoring from the SharePoint Recycle Bin

1. Open the SharePoint site for your team (via the Files tab and Open in SharePoint).
2. In the left navigation, click Recycle bin.
3. Select the files or folders you want to restore.
4. Click Restore to return the items to their original location.

Restoring from the OneDrive Recycle Bin

1. Sign in to OneDrive for Business via office.com.
2. In the left navigation, click Recycle bin.
3. Select the files you want to restore and click Restore.
4. The files will return to their original location in your OneDrive, including the Microsoft Teams Chat Files folder.

Restoring from a Manual Backup

1. Locate the ZIP file or copied folder from your backup location.
2. Extract the ZIP file if necessary.
3. Open the SharePoint document library or OneDrive folder where the files originally lived.
4. Drag and drop the restored files into the appropriate location, or use the Upload button.
5. Verify that the files open correctly and that version history is intact where applicable.

Setting Up a Regular Backup Schedule

To prevent data loss, establish a routine backup process for your Teams data.

• Weekly — Download a copy of critical channel files from SharePoint and save to an external drive or secondary cloud service.
• Monthly — Run an eDiscovery export of Teams conversations for your organisation or team.
• Quarterly — Review your backup process and test a restore to confirm that files can be recovered successfully.
• Annually — Archive a full copy of all Teams-related SharePoint sites and OneDrive folders to long-term storage.

Troubleshooting Common Backup Issues

SharePoint Sync Is Not Working

• Ensure you have the latest version of the OneDrive sync client installed.
• Check that you have sufficient storage space on your local drive.
• Sign out of OneDrive and sign back in to refresh your credentials.
• If the sync continues to fail, stop syncing the library and set it up again from the SharePoint site.

Download Button Is Greyed Out in SharePoint

• You may not have the necessary permissions. Contact the team owner or your administrator to request download access.
• Some organisations disable downloading for compliance reasons. Check with your IT administrator if this is the case.

eDiscovery Export Fails or Times Out

• Large exports can take several hours. Check the export status in the compliance portal before retrying.
• Ensure your account has the eDiscovery Manager role assigned.
• Try narrowing the date range or limiting the number of mailboxes included in the search.

Restored Files Are Missing Version History

• Files restored from a manual download and re-upload will not retain version history. Only files restored from the Recycle Bin or from a proper backup solution preserve versioning.
• If version history is critical, use the Recycle Bin restore method whenever possible.

For further guidance on backing up other types of data, see our article on How to backup photos to external drive.

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