If you accidentally deleted document files, recovered them, and they are corrupted, you can easily recover them by following the trick below.
The Method: Use Microsoft OneDrive to Auto-Fix Corruption
When you upload a corrupted file to Microsoft OneDrive, the platform automatically attempts to repair it during the upload or when opened via Office Online. The cloud-based Microsoft servers seem to run a behind-the-scenes validation and recovery process.
Steps to Try It:
Go to onedrive.live.com
Upload your corrupted file
Open it using Word/Excel/PowerPoint Online directly from OneDrive
That’s it. In many reported cases, the file opens normally, and you can then download the now-fixed version to your computer.
—
Why This Works:
Cloud versions of Office apps often bypass local corruption errors and may even rebuild broken document structures, especially in .docx, .xlsx, or .pptx formats. Since these formats are basically ZIP archives of XML data, Office Online repairs them on the fly.
—
Tips & Extra Notes:
You can use a free Microsoft account—no need for a paid subscription.
This works best with Office-based files, but you might also try PDFs or others.
If OneDrive doesn’t work, some users reported success with Google Drive, but Microsoft’s tools appear more aggressive in repair attempts.
Always save a copy first, just in case.
—
This method is not widely known or documented—it appears to be a backdoor advantage of cloud editing tools designed for convenience but useful in recovery scenarios. Give it a try before resorting to expensive file recovery software.