How to access Microsoft Excel sheet linked to an unused account

Hi @Olivia,

According to your concern, the error 404 means that the file link is no longer valid and can be happened because the file was moved, deleted, renamed or the account of that former employee was removed and that file stored in OneDrive wasn't valid anymore.

In this case, the only option is to contact administrator to try recovering the account. If the file doesn't belong to your company tenant (belong to other organization or a personal account), your organization cannot recover or take over the file since you don't have control over that external account.

If the account belongs to your company tenant, you can contact your IT admin and ask them to try recovering this account:

• Check whether the former employee account still exists in your tenant. If the license was removed but the account still exists, an admin can still open that user’s OneDrive files from the Microsoft 365 admin center.
• If the account was deleted, you can still recover it within 30 days since a deleted user’s OneDrive data is available for 30 days by default. After that, the OneDrive content is deleted unless it was restored/preserved.
• An admin can retrieve the files without the employee’s password. Your admin can go to Users > Active users > choose that user > OneDrive > Create link to files to access and preserve the content.
• An admin can also grant another employee access to the former employee’s OneDrive via SharePoint admin center > More features > User profiles > Manage User Profiles > Manage site collection owners.

Please note that these actions require admin privileges so contact you IT help desk to ask for assistance if you are an end-user. You can look for the way to find your admin through this link: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support.

I genuinely wish I could assist you further, but as a moderator, I don't have permission to access directly to your account or delve into the backend systems to diagnose and fix this for you. That said, I’ll be here if you have any other questions. I'll assist you however I can.   

Thank you for your patience and understanding. I'm looking forward to your response.

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The 404 error indicates the file or its SharePoint/OneDrive location has been moved, renamed, or deleted, not that the Microsoft account itself can be recovered.

Based on the details provided:

1. The former employee’s Microsoft 365 account is no longer recognized (“We don't recognize this one”), which means the account is likely deleted or closed and cannot be recovered through self-service.
2. The Excel file was probably stored in that user’s OneDrive for Business or in a SharePoint/Teams location where that account had access.

To try to regain access to the Excel file:

1. Contact the Microsoft 365/SharePoint admin in the organization
   • Ask the admin to check:
     • The former employee’s OneDrive for Business (if the account was recently deleted, OneDrive content may still be recoverable for a retention period).
     • Any SharePoint or Teams site where the file might have been stored or moved.
   • If the file or site was renamed, moved, or deleted, the admin may be able to restore it from the SharePoint/OneDrive recycle bin or from backups, depending on organizational policy.
2. Confirm where the file is supposed to live
   • If the Excel file is opened via a link (for example from SharePoint/Teams), provide that link to the admin so they can trace the original site/library and check if it was moved or deleted.
3. If the site/file truly no longer exists
   • If the SharePoint admin confirms the site or file has been permanently deleted and is beyond retention/recovery, there is no supported way to restore the former employee’s Microsoft account or the file from Microsoft’s side.

In summary, recovery depends entirely on what the SharePoint/Microsoft 365 admin can restore from OneDrive/SharePoint, not on reactivating the former employee’s account.

References:

• "Error: 404 File/Page not found" in OneDrive or SharePoint
• I forgot the account I use with Microsoft 365