deleted all replies submitted on a microsoft form

Hi @WOGAN, Alison (WHITCHURCH SURGERY)

I completely understand how frustrating and disheartening this must be, especially with 9,000 responses at stake. I'm truly sorry you're dealing with this situation. Unfortunately, when responses are deleted from Microsoft Forms, they are permanently removed. Forms does not have a recycle bin or undo option for deleted responses. 

Normally, the way to safeguard your data is through the "Open results in Excel" option within Forms. This creates a linked Excel file that automatically stores all your responses as they come in. If something goes wrong, you can restore the data from that Excel file using version history. However, since this connection was never set up, there is no backup copy of your responses to fall back on. 

For more details, please refer to: How to restore deleted response on microsoft form?

As a last resort, I'd recommend having your IT admin reach out to Microsoft Support through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center to check if any server-side recovery is possible. While this is not guaranteed, it's worth trying every available option. 

Here’s what your Microsoft 365 Global Admin (IT Admin) should do next:      

• Submit a Service Request: The Global Admin should create a service request with Microsoft support to get advanced technical assistance and diagnostics. For detailed instructions on how to get support, please refer to Get support - Microsoft 365 admin. 
• Find Your Microsoft 365 Admin: If you’re unsure who the Global Admin is within your organization, you can find guidance on locating them here: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin?    
• If your subscription is managed through a Microsoft partner or reseller, they can also assist with opening a support request and liaising with Microsoft on your behalf.     

Note: If you’re an end-user, please coordinate with your Office 365 Global Administrator to handle these steps. 

I apologize that this issue happened to you and hope this clears things up. If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out.

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Deleted responses in Microsoft Forms cannot be restored once they are removed from the form; there is no recycle bin for individual responses, only for entire forms.

Available recovery options are limited to:

1. Check for any existing Excel/OneDrive/SharePoint export
   • If Open in Excel was used previously on the Responses tab, an Excel workbook with the response data may already exist in OneDrive or SharePoint.
   • Open that workbook to see if it still contains the historic 9,000 responses.
   • If the workbook itself was deleted, try restoring it from the appropriate recycle bin (PC, OneDrive, or SharePoint/Teams), as described in the recovery guidance for Excel files.
2. Check if the entire form was deleted (not just responses)
   • Go to Microsoft Forms.
   • Open the Deleted forms tab (recycle bin for forms).
   • If the whole form was deleted, select More options on the form tile and choose Restore.
   • This restores the form and its responses. If only responses were deleted while the form remains, this option will not help.

If the form is still present and only the responses were deleted from within the form, and there is no prior Excel export or backup, the 9,000 deleted responses cannot be recovered.

References:

• How do I export my form responses?
• Delete a form or recover a deleted form
• Microsoft Forms and Excel workbooks
• retrieving an accidental Excel file deleted - Microsoft Q&A