In case you need to bring back large amounts of data, you can use the restore wizard from the Connector level. Here you can restore all groups and users.

We recommend you restore all groups and users together, as this ensures all relationships between the objects are recreated.


Restore all groups and users

1. Open the Connectors page.

2. Point to the connector and select the Restore icon.

3. Click Next.

4. Select a snapshot.

5. Choose what to restore and click Next.

6. Review the summary and click Restore. 


What happens when you restore all groups

  • Attributes restored
    Recreates (if missing) or updates (it still existing) their attributes, licenses, and photo.
  • Relationships reestablished
    Reestablishes the following relationships:
    • 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 IDs
    If groups no longer exist in Entra ID, they will receive new object IDs and creation times. However, if they are in the "Deleted groups" folder, they will be restored with their original IDs and creation times.
    Important: Restoring groups from the same snapshot will create duplicates for groups that still exist in Entra ID.


What happens when you restore all users

  • Attributes restored
    Recreates (if missing) or updates (it still existing) their attributes, licenses, authmethods, and photo
  • Relationships reestablished
    Reestablishes the following relationships:
    • Memberships - links to groups and admin units that the user is a member of 
    • Ownerships - links to groups that the user is an owner of
    • Role assignments - links to roles that are assigned to this user
    • Manager - the link to the user's manager
      Note: A relationship can be reestablished only if the linked object still exists in Azure AD.
  • New IDs
    If users no longer exist in Entra ID, they will receive new object IDs and creation times. However, if they are in the "Deleted users" folder, they will be restored with their original IDs and creation times.
    Note: Restoring users will recreate them with new IDs, but duplicates will not be created if restored from the same snapshot. Users are recognized by their attributes, and existing users in Entra ID will be overwritten.


What happens when you restore all groups and users together

Restoring groups and users will achieve the outcomes described above.

Additionally, restoring all groups and users preserves all relationships between them, as all linked users and groups (subobjects) are also restored. This ensures that all group members (users and groups) and group owners (users) are accurately linked.


What happens when you restore "deleted groups" or "deleted users"

Groups and users that have been deleted in Entra ID but which still reside in the "Deleted groups" or "Deleted users" folders (i.e., have not yet been permanently deleted) will be restored with their original IDs and original creation times (but deletion time property will change to null).