Deleted Azure SQL Managed Instance database recovery

Question

Deleted Azure SQL Managed Instance database recovery

Richard Vernon 0

Issue:

On April 3, 2026, the original managed instance was unintentionally deleted and recreated. Two user databases were deleted with it:

What we already tried:

Azure portal > Managed Instance > Backups > Deleted backups
Azure CLI deleted-database listing
Direct restore attempts with Azure CLI

Result:

No deleted backups are visible in portal or CLI
Restore attempts fail with RestoreSourceDatabaseNotFound

Why we need escalation:

We are within the 5-day window for deleted SQL Managed Instance recovery
This appears to require support-assisted recovery from backup history of the deleted instance
The deleted source instance used Always-up-to-date policy, and the recreated instance uses SQLServer2022, so there may also be a restore target compatibility issue

Request:

Please escalate this to the Azure SQL Managed Instance backup/restore team and advise the fastest supported path to recover the deleted user databases from the deleted managed instance backup history.

I can provide exact delete timestamps, correlation IDs, and failed restore details in a private channel if needed.

Pilladi Padma Sai Manisha 6,740 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-03T20:45:01.5533333+00:00
Hi ichard Vernon,

Thanks for the detailed information.

Based on your scenario, this behavior is expected when a SQL Managed Instance is deleted and recreated. The backup chain is tied to the original instance, and once it’s deleted, the backups are no longer discoverable via portal or CLI. This is why you’re seeing no deleted databases and receiving RestoreSourceDatabaseNotFound.

Even within the retention window, point-in-time restore only works if the backup metadata is still accessible through the service.

Docs for reference:

https://dotnet.territoriali.olinfo.it/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/automated-backups-overview

https://dotnet.territoriali.olinfo.it/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/recovery-using-backups

At this stage, the only viable option is backend-assisted recovery. The Azure SQL Managed Instance team can check internal backup history and attempt a manual restore if backups are still retained.

Please share (securely):

Deleted instance name / resource ID Deletion timestamp Database names Subscription ID Correlation IDs

This is time-sensitive, so proceeding quickly gives the best chance of recovery.

Let me know once you have the details ready.
Pilladi Padma Sai Manisha 6,740 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-06T09:33:58.9933333+00:00

Hi ichard Vernon,
I hope you had a chance to review the information shared earlier, and I hope this information has been helpful! If you still have questions, please let us know what is needed in the comments so the question can be answered.

1 answer

Your answer

Pilladi Padma Sai Manisha 6,740 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-03T20:45:01.5533333+00:00

Hi ichard Vernon,

Thanks for the detailed information.

Based on your scenario, this behavior is expected when a SQL Managed Instance is deleted and recreated. The backup chain is tied to the original instance, and once it’s deleted, the backups are no longer discoverable via portal or CLI. This is why you’re seeing no deleted databases and receiving RestoreSourceDatabaseNotFound.

Even within the retention window, point-in-time restore only works if the backup metadata is still accessible through the service.

Docs for reference:

https://dotnet.territoriali.olinfo.it/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/automated-backups-overview

https://dotnet.territoriali.olinfo.it/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/recovery-using-backups

At this stage, the only viable option is backend-assisted recovery. The Azure SQL Managed Instance team can check internal backup history and attempt a manual restore if backups are still retained.

Please share (securely):

Deleted instance name / resource ID Deletion timestamp Database names Subscription ID Correlation IDs

This is time-sensitive, so proceeding quickly gives the best chance of recovery.

Let me know once you have the details ready.
Pilladi Padma Sai Manisha 6,740 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-06T09:33:58.9933333+00:00

Hi ichard Vernon,
I hope you had a chance to review the information shared earlier, and I hope this information has been helpful! If you still have questions, please let us know what is needed in the comments so the question can be answered.

Answer 1

Saraswathi Devadula 15,760 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello **Richard Vernon

**I have noticed that you have already opened the support ticket, and our MS engineer helped you in restoring the user databases.

Initially, you wanted to restore the databases of the Managed Instance deleted by your terraform script.

After investigating, our team requested you to create a new managed instance with the same service tier and hardware generation to begin the recovery of the user databases deleted during the MI deletion.

You later confirmed that you created the MI, and we initiated the recovery process, successfully restoring two databases. The third database was excluded, and we checked the possibility of recovering it. However, you confirmed that the third database can be recovered manually since you have a backup.

Saraswathi Devadula 15,760 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-09T04:13:42.0866667+00:00

Hello Richard Vernon

I hope you had a chance to review the information shared earlier, and I hope this information has been helpful! If you still have questions, please let us know what is needed in the comments so the question can be answered.

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Deleted Azure SQL Managed Instance database recovery

1 answer

Your answer