In short
Microsoft Teams backup is really several backups, because Teams data lives in different places: channel files in SharePoint, chat files in OneDrive and messages in Teams' own chat service, with compliance copies in Exchange mailboxes. Microsoft 365 Backup does not cover Teams chats, and third-party platforms differ on messages, so check coverage item by item.
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Where Teams data lives
Microsoft's documentation describes Teams as using an Azure-powered chat service as the primary storage for chat and channel messages, with copies kept in hidden folders of Exchange Online mailboxes so compliance administrators can search them with eDiscovery. Files go somewhere else entirely.
| Teams data | Where it is stored | How it gets backed up |
|---|---|---|
| Channel files | The team's SharePoint site | A SharePoint backup of that site |
| Channel meeting recordings and transcripts | The team's SharePoint site, with the channel's files | A SharePoint backup of that site |
| Files shared in chats, and chat meeting recordings | The OneDrive of the person who shared or organised them | A OneDrive backup of that user |
| Channel messages | Teams' chat service, with compliance copies in a hidden folder of the group mailbox | Only platforms that back up channel messages |
| One-to-one and group chats | Teams' chat service, with compliance copies in a hidden folder of each participant's mailbox | Coverage varies by platform; check before you rely on it |
| Team structure, members and settings | The team's Microsoft 365 group in Entra ID | Platforms that back up team structure, and Entra ID backup |
Microsoft says those hidden mailbox folders are not designed to be directly accessible to users or administrators. They exist for retention and eDiscovery, which is why a retention policy can keep a chat for years and still give you no way to put it back into Teams.
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What Microsoft gives you for Teams
Microsoft's native options for Teams are about archiving and short-term undo rather than backup:
- Archive a team: activity stops but members can still view channels, files and chats, and the team can be reactivated later
- Restore a deleted team: Microsoft says you cannot directly restore a deleted team; you restore its Microsoft 365 group, which is kept for 30 days by default
- Retention policies: keep or delete chat and channel messages for compliance, searchable through eDiscovery
- Microsoft 365 Backup: does not cover Teams chats; because channel files live in SharePoint, a SharePoint site backup includes them
Microsoft's own advice is to archive a team first and delay deletion until you are sure it is no longer needed. That is sound practice, and a backup is the safety net for when it does not happen.
Teams backup coverage by platform
All five platforms we supply list Teams. What they mean by it differs, and the differences matter most for messages.
| Platform | What it backs up in Teams | Limits to know |
|---|---|---|
| Acronis Backup for Microsoft 365 | Teams, channels, channel files, team mailboxes, meetings and sites | Acronis says channel conversations can be downloaded as HTML but not restored back into Teams, and private one-to-one and group chats are not backed up |
| Axcient x360Cloud | Teams is listed among x360Cloud's Microsoft 365 workloads | Ask us for the item-level detail before relying on it for messages |
| NinjaOne SaaS Backup for Microsoft 365 | Teams structure, channel messages and associated files | Private chats are not listed in NinjaOne's material |
| Redstor backup for Microsoft 365 | Teams, channels, conversations, files and meeting recordings | Check how restored conversations are presented for your use case |
| Commvault backup for Microsoft 365 | Teams, alongside Exchange Online, OneDrive and SharePoint | Item-level coverage confirmed for your edition at quote |
| Microsoft 365 Backup (Microsoft) | Not Teams chats; channel files only as part of SharePoint site backups | No team structure or membership |
If chats matter to you, say so first. It is the area where the platforms differ most, and the right answer may be a combination: backup for channels and files, plus Teams chat archiving for a compliance record of chats.
Is Microsoft Teams backup the right fit for you?
We will check it against your systems and requirements and recommend the right option.
Teams chat backup vs Teams chat archiving
People often ask for "Teams chat backup" when what they need is a record: keep every chat for six years, find messages for a dispute, hand over a leaver's conversations. That is a retention and archiving question, answered by Microsoft Purview retention policies or a dedicated archive, and our email archiving site covers it.
A backup answers a different question: something has been deleted or damaged, how do we get it back? For files, team structure and, on some platforms, channel messages, backup is the right tool. For chats kept for compliance, archiving usually is.
How to restore a deleted team
While the team's Microsoft 365 group is still within its 30-day soft-delete period, Microsoft's own route works:
- Check whether it was archived, not deleted: an archived team can be reactivated from the Teams admin centre
- Find the deleted group: deleted Microsoft 365 groups are listed for 30 days, in the Microsoft 365 admin centre or with Microsoft Graph PowerShell
- Restore the group: from the admin centre, or with Restore-MgDirectoryDeletedItem and the group's ID
- Wait for Teams to catch up: Microsoft says it can take up to 24 hours for the team, its channels, tabs and private channels to reappear
- Check the content: confirm channels, files and private channel sites have come back
After 30 days the group, and with it the team, is gone. From there the route is your backup: recreate the team, restore its SharePoint site and files, and restore channel messages and structure where your platform supports it. The Microsoft 365 backup and restore guide covers related scenarios, including how to restore a deleted SharePoint site.
How to back up Microsoft Teams
- Back up SharePoint and OneDrive: this protects channel files, chat files and meeting recordings, whichever platform you choose
- Decide what you need from messages: restore of channel messages, a readable export, a compliance archive of chats, or all three
- Choose a platform that matches: compare message, structure and private channel coverage in the table above
- Protect the group behind each team: team structure, membership and settings depend on the Microsoft 365 group and Entra ID
- Set a deletion policy: archive teams first, delete later, so the 30-day window is a last resort
- Test a restore: restore a channel's files and messages to a test team and check what comes back
Teams data also overlaps with Exchange Online backup for group mailboxes and calendars, and with Entra ID backup for membership.
How we help
We start by asking what you would actually need back if a team disappeared tomorrow: the files, the channel history, the private chats or the structure. Then we recommend a platform, and where it fits an archive alongside it, can set it up, and can restore a test channel with you so you can see what comes back. Licences sit on one Forever Systems account, with terms confirmed at quote.
Contact us to talk about backing up Microsoft Teams.
How Forever Systems helps with Microsoft 365 backup
We are an independent UK IT and cyber security provider. We supply more than one Microsoft 365 backup product, so we can recommend what fits your tenant, your retention needs and your budget rather than one vendor's answer to everything.
- Review what you have: we look at your Microsoft 365 licences, retention policies and any existing backup before suggesting anything new
- Help you choose: we compare the backup products we supply against the workloads you need covered, such as Exchange Online, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams and Entra ID
- Set-up and onboarding: we can help connect the backup service to your tenant and agree what is protected and how long copies are kept
- Restore testing: we can help you plan and run test restores so you know how recovery works before you need it
- Licensing in one place: backup licences alongside your Microsoft 365 subscriptions, with terms confirmed at quote
We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations. Contact us to talk it through.
Frequently asked questions
Can you back up Microsoft Teams chats?
It depends on the platform. Microsoft 365 Backup does not cover Teams chats, Acronis says private one-to-one and group chats are not backed up, and other platforms differ. For keeping chats as a compliance record, a retention policy or an archive is usually the better tool.
How do I restore a deleted team in Microsoft Teams?
Restore the team's Microsoft 365 group within 30 days of deletion, from the Microsoft 365 admin centre or with Microsoft Graph PowerShell. Microsoft says the team can take up to 24 hours to reappear. After 30 days, restore from a backup.
Does Microsoft 365 Backup cover Teams?
Not Teams chats. It backs up OneDrive accounts, SharePoint sites and Exchange user and shared mailboxes, so channel files are covered as part of the team's SharePoint site, but messages and team structure are not.
Are Teams files backed up with SharePoint and OneDrive?
Yes. Channel files sit in the team's SharePoint site and files shared in chats sit in the sharer's OneDrive, so backing up those workloads protects the files.
Is archiving a team the same as backing it up?
No. Archiving makes a team read-only so it can be reactivated later. It does not protect against deletion of the team or its content, which is what a backup does.
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