How to Recover Deleted Favorites in Microsoft Edge

Arshmeet has been a tech tinkerer since childhood, but she realized her love for technology and writing about 5 years ago. Since then, she has been honing her skills and helping people figure out how things work, troubleshoot problems, choose the right app and products, and dig deep into the new and old concepts of technology. She is a self-professed Apple Enthusiast who loves debating what’s good and what’s not. It is her passion for finding techniques, hacks, apps, and products that make everyday life simpler.

Method 1. Use Undo to Recover Recently Deleted

Interestingly, recovering a recently deleted favorites folder/link in Edge is as simple as hitting undo. So, if you’ve un-favorited a webpage recently or accidentally deleted a favorited folder, here’s what to do.

Step 1: OpenMicrosoft Edge> click theFavoritesicon at the top bar.

Note: You can also use a keyboard shortcut to open the Favorites menu, pressCtrl + Shift + O.

Step 2: Click thethree-dot icon> selectOpen favorites page.

Step 3: TypeCtrl+Zto undo.

Notably, it doesn’t have to be super instant, either. We tried the hack after surfing the web for some time and could still recover the deleted favorites. Moreover, we could undo a few more times and recover older deleted favorites, not just the most recent ones.

There’s more. If you are organizing your Microsoft Edge favorites and accidentally delete a few bookmarks, you can recover them by clicking the Undo button that pops up.

Method 2. Use the Favorites Recovery Feature

Microsoft understands the importance of favorites, thus, it also sympathizes when your Edge favorites disappear. So, it incorporates a built-in tool to recover your favorites list, dubbed as favorites recovery feature.

However, there are two conditions here:

Step 1: OpenMicrosoft Edge→Favorites iconfrom the top bar.

Step 2: Tap theRestore deleted icon. Or click thethree-dot iconand selectRestore deleted favorites.

Step 3: Select thedeleted favorite folderorwebsiteto recover it.

Step 4: Next, clickRestore.

You’ll instantly find the recovered favorites folder back in the Favorites Bar. What’s more? You can also restore all deleted favorites or bookmarks in Edge, press Ctrl + A to select all deleted favorites → click Restore.

Method 3. Restore the Older Version of the Favorites Folder

There is a slim chance that you might not recover deleted favorites in Edge with the favorites recovery feature. Especially if you’re favorites disappeared in Edge after updating to a newer version of Edge.

Thankfully, there is a handy way to restore it on Windows; here’s how.

Step 1: OpenFile Explorerand go toThis PC. Here, navigate toC:\Users\UserName.

Step 2: Find theFavorites folderfrom the list.

Step 3: Right-click the folder and clickShow more options. SelectRestore the previous version.

Step 4: In the window, select the previous version (if available) and clickApply.

Once done, restart Edge and check if your Favorites are back. Hopefully, they are. Now, you can export the favorites, update Edge again, and import the favorites to ensure nothing is missing.

Note: Don’t worry about duplicate favorites. Edge has a neat tool to deal with that as well. Open Edge → Favorite → three-dot icon → select Remove Duplicate Favorites → Remove to confirm.

Method 4. Manually Restore Old Bookmark Backup

Note: This is a slightly technical method that might cause Edge to glitch later. If you have to reinstall the browser, ensure your Microsoft account sync is on.

Before we proceed, ensure that you’ve enabled hidden files. To do so, open FileExplorer→View(from the top bar) →Show→Hidden items.

Step 1: OpenFile Explorer→This PC→C Drive. Go toUsersand theYour Username.

Step 2: Next, clickAppData→Local→Microsoft→Edge.

Step 3: SelectUser Data→Default. Scroll down to find the file namedBookmarksandBookmarks.msbak.

Step 4: Here,

Step 5: Now closeMicrosoft Edgeand restart it again.

Hopefully, the bookmarks or favorites from your backup are reinstated, and you’ve recovered the missing favorites.

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Last updated on 18 July, 2024

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