How to Recover Deleted Google Sheets: 4 Free & Easy Ways

Do you want to know know to recover deleted Google Sheets? In this tutorial, you will learn 4 effective ways to recover Google Sheets deleted within or after 30 days.

By @Lori Last Updated October 23, 2024

Can you recover deleted Google Sheets?

   
   
   
       

How can I recover the Google Sheets deleted two months ago? I thought it was useless so I moved it to the trash. However, I found some important information was stored in it! But when I opened the trash holder, it was gone forever. Can someone help me get this file back?

       

- Question from TechForum

   

It is a question from a forum user about how to recover deleted Google Sheets after 30 days. Yes, you can recover deleted Google Sheets even if it was permanently deleted.

Google Sheets is an online spreadsheet editor for personal and business use. Users can get insights together with secure sharing from any device and in real-time. With its most popular feature of collaboration, an increasing number of businesses feel inclined to save numerous data on Google Sheets.

However, you may find some wanted Google Sheets disappeared or were mistakenly deleted. Don't worry. Please read the following parts to find a suitable way to help you restore deleted Google Sheets.

How to Recover Deleted Google Sheets within 30 Days?

Users may ask: How to find deleted files when files are deleted from Google Drive by accident? Fortunately, there is a location called "Trash" on Google Drive. "Trash" stores all the deleted Google files (including Google Sheets).

If you have not manually emptied your deleted files within 30 days, they are still in "Trash". You can recover them via your Google Drive.

Recover deleted Google Sheets from Google Drive Trash

If you are on a computer, you can resort to a web browser to recover deleted Google Sheets. Directly access Google Drive Trash through Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or other online browsers. You can also open the Google Drive Trash to recover recently deleted Google Docs easily.

To restore a deleted Google Sheet from Google Drive Trash:

Step 1. Access Google Drive

Visit Google Drive and log into your Google account.

Step 2Navigate to Trash

Click Trash on the left panel and enter its recycle bin.

Step 3Restore the Google Sheets

Locate the spreadsheet you want. Right-click its name and click Restore. The deleted file will come back to your sheet list.

🌟Tips:

If you have a Google Drive app, it is also convenient to recover deleted Google Sheets via one tablet or a smartphone.

How to Recover Deleted Google Sheets after 30 days?

The method mentioned above only works for Google Sheets removed within 30 days. But how to recover Google files deleted for more than 30 days?

Or what if you have manually emptied the Google Drive trash? Try the following ways instead.

Method 1. Recover permanently deleted Google Sheets from data recovery software 🔥

However, if there is little time to wait for Google for a response or you are unable to contact the owner to send a restoration request, you still have another simple, fast, and secure way -

Find a professional Windows data recovery tool - MyRecover. It is a free and powerful data recovery software researched and developed by a professional IT team.

As long as you have once stored Google Sheets on your computer, this tool can recover them quickly and effectively without data loss.

With more than 12 years of experience, MyRecover has grown into an impressive Windows file recovery tool with a package of advanced features and user-friendly operations. In addition, you can use it recover 500MB of files for free. So, why wait? Download MyRecover now to enjoy it.

Download SoftwareWin 11/10/8/7/Server
Secure Download

Step 1. Launch MyRecover first. Hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan.

Step 2. Select the Sheets needed to recover. Use the filter to quickly locate your deleted files as you like.

  • Type: include all file types, such as images, videos, documents, emails, webpages, compressed files, etc.
  • Data Modified: support today, yesterday, last 7 days, last 30 days, and custom.
  • Size: filter file size from less than 128KB to 128KB ~1MB to 1MB ~ 512MB and above, or custom.

Step 3. Choose the wanted files under Deleted files or Recycle Bin > click Recover x files.

🌟Tips:
  • Please select a new location to save your recoverable files, avoiding data overwriting.
  • MyRecover lets you recover data for free up to 500MB. If you need more, you can upgrade your MyRecover.
MyRecover
Powerful File Recovery Software
  • Recover lost/deleted data from HDD/SSD with simple clicks.
  • Apply to all-inclusive data loss scenarios in Windows.
  • Restore 200+ types of data, such as photos, videos, office files, etc.
  • Embed advanced scan and recovery technology.
  • Support Windows 11/10/8/7 & Windows Server.

Method 2. Recover permanently deleted Google Sheets from version history

It is common to save multiple copies of your spreadsheets every time you make some changes. However, this operation may not only take up your disk space but also force you to spend extra time managing and recognizing these different versions.

Luckily, Google Sheets saves every edit to the cloud and keeps logs of every change automatically. So you could look them up and compare. And it's called version history.

With this beneficial feature, even if part of your Google Sheets disappeared, as long as the Google spreadsheet file that included it is still present, you are able to restore google sheets to the previous version and find this part back.

Here are the steps.

Step 1. Open the Google Sheets file where you have deleted partial contents.

Step 2. Click the File tab > Version history > See version history.

Step 3. Locate the version needed in terms of its name and time. Then click More actions > Restore this version. Now you have restored your spreadsheet to previous version and get the wanted data back.

Method 3. Recover permanently deleted Google Sheets from Google Drive Help

If you have permanently deleted the whole Google spreadsheet file and have no access to the previous version, go for Google Drive Help for file recovery. Apart from disappeared files, you can also ask Google Help Center for feedback, FAQs and other technical support services.

Step 1. Visit Google Drive Help and sign in with your Google account.

Step 2. Type the basic information required. And check the content box to submit your request.

Step 3. Google Drive Help is going to send you a confirmation email in consequence. It usually takes up less than 48 hours to recover your deleted Google Sheets.

🌟Tip:

You can apply this method unless you are the owner of the deleted spreadsheet. If you didn't keep a copy in advance, you can contact the owner to restore it.

Extension: Why can't I see version history in Google Sheets?

As has been mentioned above, the version history of Google Sheets saves every change made to work across all editors. Google sheets version history limit is set to protect privacy in consequence.

As for how to restore Google sheets to the previous version, only users with viewing permission have access to the previous versions.

Therefore, if you can't see the revision history of shared Google Sheets, it means that you don't have appropriate access rights.

Ask the editor to change your access rights from "can view" (or "can view only") to "can edit (or "can organize, add and edit").

Conclusion and suggestions

This article has introduced 4 ways how to recover deleted Google Sheets after 30 days or within 30 days in detail. For recently deleted spreadsheets, you can directly recover them from Google Drive Trash; for permanently deleted spreadsheets, you can restore them from version history, Google Drive Help, or MyRecover. 

Try MyRecover and you won't be disappointed! Its free version allows you to recover 500 MB of files for free, giving you a glimpse of its amazing potential.

Download Software Windows 11/10/8/7/Server
Secure Download

However, even though these ways are useful, data recovery always costs you extra time. So it is better not to lose them. Thus, some suggestions can be helpful.

  • Think twice about whether it is necessary to delete the file or not.
  • Do not empty Google Drive Trash manually unless your Google Drive is out of storage.
  • Keep a copy of the needed Google files if you are not the owner.
  • Back up important files to online and offline locations in advance.

The last suggestion is of the greatest importance. It is common sense that data loss may cause disastrous consequences, financial and mental. So developing a habit of backing up crucial data matters.

AOMEI Backupper is a professional backup, sync, and clone software. Some useful features, such as system/file/disk/partition/cloud backup and restore, can add an extra layer of protection to your data.