Restoring an Entra ID group will update its attributes, links to members and owners, group and unit memberships, role assignments, and licenses.

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Restore an Entra ID group


Before you begin, ensure the Entra ID service account that was used to create the connector is assigned the global admin role.

  1. Open the Connectors page and select the desired connector. 
  2. Locate the group in your connector.
  3. Optional: If you want to restore an older version of the object, click the Snapshots Viewer icon, then select an earlier snapshot. You will now be viewing data from that particular time.
  4. Select ••• > Restore.
    Tip: To preview the attributes and relationships and to compare them to older versions, select ••• > Object metadata. You can also initiate the restore directly from this previewer. 
  5. Select whether to restore subobjects.
    Subobjects can be member groups, member users, and group owners. 
    1. If you select Restore only this object, click Next.
    2. If you select Also restore subobjects, click Next. Then select the restore method for the related items and click Next. 
  6. Review the summary and click Restore.


Restore all Entra ID groups


In case you need to bring back large amounts of data, you can use the restore wizard from the connector level.

Before you begin, ensure the Entra ID service account that was used to create the connector is assigned the global admin role.

Note: We recommend you restore all groups and users together to maintain relationships between them, as linked users and groups (subobjects) are also restored. 

  1. Open the Connectors page.
  2. Point to the connector and click the Restore icon.
  3. Click Next.
  4. Select a snapshot.
  5. Choose the items to restore and click Next.
  6. Review the summary and click Restore. 


What happens when an Entra ID group is restored

  • Attributes restored
    The group's attributes, licenses, and photo are recreated (if missing) or updated (it still existing).
  • Relationships reestablished
    The following relationships are reestablished:
    • Members - links to users and groups that are members of this group
    • Memberships - links to groups and admin units that the group is a member of
    • Owners - links to users who are owners of this group
    • Role assignments - links to roles that are assigned to this group
      Note:       A relationship can be reestablished only if the linked object still exists in Entra ID. 
  • New ID and creation time
    • If the group no longer exists in Entra ID, it will receive a new object ID and creation time.
    • If the group is in the "Deleted groups" folder (i.e., it has not yet been permanently deleted), it will be restored with its original ID and creation time.

Important: Restoring groups from the same snapshot will create duplicates for groups that still exist in Entra ID.


Restoring dynamic groups

When restoring a dynamic group, the membership rule will also be restored. Microsoft will automatically re-add members to the group based on this rule. 

Restoring a group with subobjects

A group's subobjects are its member users, member groups, and group owners. 

If subobjects restore is enabled, missing subobjects (users or groups) will be recreated with new IDs. Their attributes, relationships, and licenses (if applicable) will also be restored. Existing users or groups not present in the snapshot will have their links to the group removed, but the objects themselves will not be deleted from Entra ID.

Selecting create missing and update existing subobjects:

  • Recreates deleted users and groups.
  • Updates existing users with its attributes, link to manager, role assignments, group ownerships, group and unit memberships, and licenses.
  • Updates existing groups with its attributes, links to members and owners, group and unit memberships, role assignments, and licenses.

Selecting only create missing subobjects:

  • Recreates deleted users and groups.
  • Does not update attributes, relationships, licenses, and authentication methods of existing users and groups.

Note: We cannot reestablish deleted users' memberships to distribution and mail-enabled groups. In this case, the restore job will be marked as incomplete, and these relationships will be skipped.


Restore limitations

  • Distribution groups and mail-enabled security groups are not restored
  • Group photos are not restored