Microsoft Entra ID

Recover Objects

In brief

Key details:

Documentation change

Key details:

  • A recovery ID identifies the recovery job.
  • Backups are created automatically once per day and retained for up to five days. Only backups within this retention window are available for recovery and for generating difference reports.
  • Only one recovery runs at a time. If another job (recovery job or difference report) is already running, you must wait for it to complete or cancel it before starting a new one.
  • Recovery History retains recovery details for 5 days after recovery completion date.
  • Audit logs record all recovery actions.

Prerequisites

To recover objects, you need the Microsoft Entra Backup Administrator role.

The tenant must have Microsoft Entra ID P1 or P2 licenses. To recover objects, you need the Microsoft Entra Backup Administrator role.

Recover from a difference report

:::image type="content" source="media/recover-objects/difference-reports-select.png#lightbox" alt-text="Screenshot of the Difference Reports page showing three completed reports with available backups.":::

Difference reports compare the selected backup with the current tenant state and show changed attributes and links.

  1. After inspecting the objects listed in the difference report, select Recover to start recovery.

    :::image type="content" source="media/recover-objects/recover-from-difference-report.png#lightbox" alt-text="Screenshot of the Recover from difference report dialog showing the list of objects that will be recovered, with the Recover button at the bottom.":::

Recover directly from a backup

Creating a difference report lets you preview changes before recovery. To skip this step, recover directly from a backup.

Creating a difference report lets you preview changes before recovery. To skip this step, recover directly from a backup. Only backups from the last five days are listed on the Backups page.

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Microsoft Entra Backup Administrator.

    :::image type="content" source="media/recover-objects/cancel-recovery-job.png#lightbox" alt-text="Screenshot of the Recovery History page showing completed and in-progress recovery jobs, with the Cancel button visible in the toolbar.":::

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