You open Microsoft Edge and your favorites are gone. The bar is empty, or the whole list looks wiped. It’s alarming, but in most cases your favorites haven’t been deleted. They’re hidden, stuck in another profile, or waiting to sync.
This guide starts with the quickest checks and moves on to deeper fixes like restoring from a backup file. Work through them in order and stop when your favorites reappear.
First, Figure Out What Kind of “Missing” You Have
The fix depends on what you’re seeing:
- The favorites bar is gone, but favorites exist in the menu. The bar is just turned off (Fix 1).
- Everything is empty or looks like a fresh install. You’re probably in the wrong profile, or sync isn’t working (Fixes 2 and 3).
- Only some favorites disappeared. They were likely deleted or changed by a sync conflict (Fixes 4 to 6).
Turn the Favorites Bar Back On
If your favorites show up when you press Ctrl + Shift + O but not under the address bar, the bar is hidden.
- Open Edge and press Ctrl + Shift + B. This toggles the favorites bar on and off.
- If nothing changes, click the three dots (…) in the top-right corner and choose Settings.
- Select Appearance in the left menu.
- Under Customize toolbar, find Show favorites bar.
- Set it to Always. (“Only on new tabs” hides it on normal web pages, which is a common cause of this problem.)
Check That You’re in the Right Edge Profile
Edge supports several profiles, each with its own favorites. If you signed in with a different account (or Edge opened a guest or work profile), your usual favorites will look missing.
- Look at the profile icon to the left of the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
- Click it. You’ll see the profiles on this PC.
- Click your usual profile. Edge opens a new window using that profile.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + O to check whether your favorites are there.
If they are, you can set that profile as your default under Settings > Profiles.
Make Sure Favorites Sync Is Turned On
If you rely on a Microsoft account to carry favorites between devices, sync may have been paused, signed out, or switched off for favorites.
- Click the three dots (…) and choose Settings.
- Select Profiles, then click Sync.
- If you see “Sign in to sync,” sign in with the same Microsoft account you used before. Using a different account won’t bring your old favorites back.
- Make sure Sync is turned on and Favorites is toggled on in the list.
- Wait a minute or two, then press Ctrl + Shift + O to check.
Sync can take a little while, especially on a slow connection. If you use a work or school account, your organization’s policies may limit what syncs, so check with your IT admin.
Update Edge and Restart It
Sync glitches and display bugs are sometimes fixed in newer Edge versions.
- Click the three dots (…) and go to Help and feedback > About Microsoft Edge. You can also type
edge://settings/helpin the address bar. - Edge checks for updates automatically. If one is available, it downloads.
- Click Restart when prompted.
After the restart, check your favorites again.
Restore Favorites From the Bookmarks.bak Backup File
Edge automatically keeps a backup copy of your favorites in a file called Bookmarks.bak. It’s a snapshot of your favorites from the last time Edge started, so it’s most useful if favorites vanished recently. If you’ve already restarted Edge several times since the loss, the backup may reflect the empty state, so copy files before you change anything.
Before you start: If you use sync, turn off the Favorites toggle first (Fix 3, step 4). Otherwise, sync may overwrite the file you restore.
- Close Edge completely. To be sure, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager and end any remaining Microsoft Edge processes.
- Press Windows + R, paste the following, and press Enter:
%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default - If your favorites live in a different profile, open the folder named Profile 1, Profile 2 and so on instead of Default.
- Find the files named Bookmarks and Bookmarks.bak. If you can’t see file extensions, open View > Show > File name extensions in File Explorer.
- Copy both files to your Desktop as a safety backup.
- Back in the folder, rename Bookmarks to Bookmarks.old.
- Rename Bookmarks.bak to Bookmarks.
- Open Edge and press Ctrl + Shift + O to check your favorites.
If it didn’t help, close Edge, delete the new Bookmarks file, and rename Bookmarks.old back to Bookmarks to return to where you started.
Re Import Favorites From an Exported File or Another Browser
If you previously exported your favorites, or you used another browser such as Chrome or Firefox, you can import them back.
- Open Edge and press Ctrl + Shift + O to open the Favorites menu, or go to Settings > Profiles.
- Click Import browser data.
- Under Import from, choose the source: another browser installed on your PC, or Favorites or bookmarks HTML file.
4.If you chose a browser, make sure Favorites or bookmarks is ticked, then click Import.
5.If you chose a file, click Choose file, select your exported .html file, and open it.
Imported favorites usually land in a folder in your Favorites list, so check there if you don’t see them immediately.
Restore a Previous Version of the Profile Folder
If File History or System Restore was turned on before your favorites disappeared, Windows may have older copies of the Edge profile folder.
- Close Edge completely, as in Fix 5.
- Open the profile folder using the path from Fix 5 (
%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data). - Right-click the Default folder (or your profile folder) and choose Properties.
- Open the Previous Versions tab.
- If versions are listed, select one from before the problem and click Restore.
If the tab is empty, Windows doesn’t have earlier copies. This is common, since File History is not always enabled by default. Restoring replaces the whole profile folder, so you may also lose other recent changes, such as newer saved passwords or settings. Consider copying the current folder somewhere safe first.
What If Nothing Works?
If none of the fixes bring your favorites back, check any other devices where you were signed into Edge. If one of them still shows your favorites, export them from there (Favorites > three dots (…) > Export favorites) and import the file on the affected PC using Fix 6.
Avoid using Reset sync as a troubleshooting step, since it clears synced data from Microsoft’s servers and could remove the only remaining copy of your favorites.
How to Avoid Losing Favorites Again
- Keep sync turned on, and confirm Favorites is included.
- Export your favorites once in a while: open the Favorites menu, click the three dots (…), and choose Export favorites. Save the file somewhere outside the Edge profile folder.
- Always use the same Microsoft account on all your devices.
FAQs
1. Why did my Edge favorites suddenly disappear?
The most common causes are a hidden favorites bar, signing in to a different profile, sync being paused or signed out, or a profile problem after an update. Accidental deletion and sync conflicts can also be responsible.
2. Can I recover deleted favorites in Edge?
Often, yes. Try the Bookmarks.bak file, re-import from an exported file, restore a previous version of the profile folder, or export them from another synced device. Which one works depends on what backups exist.
3. Where does Microsoft Edge store favorites on Windows 11?
They’re saved in a file called Bookmarks inside your profile folder, usually C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default. The AppData folder is hidden by default, so use the Windows + R shortcut from Fix 5 to get there.
4. Do my favorites come back if I sign in to Edge again?
They can, if Favorites sync was on before and you sign in with the same Microsoft account. Give it a few minutes after signing in, then check the Favorites menu.
5. How do I back up my Edge favorites?
Open the Favorites menu with Ctrl + Shift + O, click the three dots (…), choose Export favorites, and save the HTML file to a safe location such as OneDrive or a USB drive.
