How do I restore lost saved data in MSFS 2020?

To restore lost saved data in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, first copy the entire accessible local data set, then confirm the original platform and Microsoft/Xbox gamertag. Allow cloud synchronisation to finish before restoring only local files such as .PLN, .FLT and Community add-ons; never overwrite a good cloud profile.

Do this first: preserve, identify, synchronise, then restore

The order matters because launching MSFS 2020 with a blank local profile can synchronise that blank state before you have protected the older files.

1. Preserve everything accessible. Close MSFS, Steam and the Xbox app. On PC, copy the entire relevant configuration or user-data folder, the actual Packages directory and any Steam user-data folder listed below. Copy rather than move them. If access to a protected folder is denied, do not change its permissions merely to obtain a backup.
2. Confirm the original platform and identity. Establish whether the installation came from Microsoft Store/Xbox or Steam, then find the Microsoft/Xbox gamertag previously used inside the simulator. A different gamertag creates an apparently new profile even when the same PC and email address are involved.
3. Attempt a normal online synchronisation. Start the correct platform client, confirm it is online and launch MSFS. Allow every “Syncing data” or Steam Cloud operation to finish. Do not cancel it or start changing options while it runs.
4. Inspect before changing anything. Check the displayed gamertag, logbook, activity progress and controller presets. If they are still empty, close the simulator rather than creating a replacement profile.
5. Restore local files separately. Once the correct cloud profile is present, copy back saved flights, flight plans and compatible Community add-ons. Do not copy an old protected save cache wholesale over the working profile.

On Xbox, never choose Delete everywhere unless you deliberately intend to erase the cloud copy. Use Delete from console only when the cloud save is known to be intact.

What MSFS 2020 saved data can actually be recovered?

Cloud synchronisation can restore account-linked profile data, but it cannot reconstruct files that existed only on an old PC or drive.

Aircraft and scenery packages can normally be installed again. A manually saved flight, an unsynchronised controller preset or a local log cannot be recreated unless another copy still exists.

My game is on Steam

If your situation is “meu jogo é da Steam”, three separate identities and storage systems may be involved: Steam ownership, the Microsoft/Xbox identity used inside MSFS, and Steam Cloud.

• Steam ownership determines which Steam account can install and launch that edition.
• The in-game Microsoft/Xbox identity supplies the gamertag and account-linked MSFS profile. The correct Steam account does not guarantee that the correct Xbox identity is signed in.
• Steam Cloud synchronises files managed by Steam. Its “Up to date” status does not prove that you selected the original Xbox identity or that an older profile version still exists.

If the Steam edition opens with an empty profile, do not create new controller presets or progress. Check the following in order:

1. Confirm the Steam account. Make sure Steam is running under the account that owns MSFS 2020.
2. Read the gamertag shown inside MSFS. Compare it with the gamertag used before the data disappeared. Similar email addresses or display names are not enough.
3. Check Steam Cloud. In the game’s Steam properties, confirm cloud synchronisation is enabled. Fully exit MSFS and wait for Steam to finish uploading or downloading before relaunching.
4. Treat conflict prompts cautiously. If Steam asks whether to use local or cloud files, choose only the copy known to contain the wanted data. A newer timestamp is not proof: a newly created blank profile may be newer than the good copy. If uncertain, cancel where possible and back up the Steam user-data directory first.
5. Do not rely on file verification. Verifying game files repairs the programme installation. It does not recover an overwritten cloud profile, a missing .PLN file or the original Xbox gamertag.

A repeated Steam synchronisation prompt often means Steam has not finished processing the previous session, another PC is using the same library, or local and cloud files disagree. Close MSFS on every PC, preserve the local Steam user-data folder, let Steam reach a settled cloud status and only then launch again.

There is no Sign in button / нету кнопки войти

MSFS 2020 does not always display a dedicated Sign in button because authentication is normally inherited from the platform or retained from an earlier session.

For a Microsoft Store or Xbox app installation on PC, close the simulator and open the Xbox app. Check the gamertag shown in its profile area. Then check the Microsoft Store account that owns the game or supplies the relevant subscription. The Store account and Xbox gaming account can be different, but the gaming account must be the one that held the missing MSFS profile.

For Steam, ownership is managed by the Steam client, while Microsoft/Xbox authentication occurs inside or alongside the simulator. Steam Cloud is not a Microsoft account sign-in control. If MSFS skips the sign-in screen, inspect the gamertag shown in the simulator’s profile area rather than looking for a button under General Options.

If the simulator exposes no account control and the gamertag is wrong, quit without creating progress. Sign out of the Xbox app, restart Windows, sign back in with the original gaming account and relaunch from the correct platform client. If the wrong gamertag remains, do not reset or delete save data in an attempt to reveal a sign-in button; first resolve access to the original Microsoft account.

Where are MSFS 2020 files stored on PC?

The default locations differ between Microsoft Store/Xbox and Steam editions, and the large Packages directory may have been placed on another drive during installation. Paste paths beginning with an environment variable such as %LOCALAPPDATA% into File Explorer’s address bar.

The active Packages root contains the Community folder and an official-content folder. If those folders are on another drive, back up that custom root as well. Package files can be very large, so copying them is optional when redownloading is acceptable.

Can I restore the entire folder?

You may back up the entire Microsoft Store application-data folder, the entire Steam Microsoft Flight Simulator folder and the relevant Steam 1250410 folder while all clients are closed. An entire-folder backup preserves evidence and gives you more recovery options.

Do not blindly copy the whole folder back after a successful cloud synchronisation. In particular, do not overwrite wgs, Steam’s remote directory or the complete configuration root with an older copy. That can reintroduce a blank profile, an obsolete package path or corrupt settings.

Restore individual .PLN and .FLT files, known-good local configuration files and selected Community add-ons instead. The Community folder itself can be copied, but restoring add-ons in batches makes it easier to identify an outdated package that prevents startup. For a PC replacement or old Windows drive, our precautions for preserving simulator files before reinstalling Windows explain what else is worth retaining.

How do I force the MSFS 2020 cloud save to restore?

There is no universal force-sync button; the safe method depends on the platform and requires confidence that the cloud copy is better than the local one.

1. Close and back up first. Quit the simulator and platform client completely. Preserve the folders above before deleting, renaming, repairing or resetting anything.
2. Try a normal sync. Reopen the correct client while online, launch MSFS and allow synchronisation to finish. If offered a local-versus-cloud choice, use the copy known to contain the wanted progress, not automatically the newest one.
3. On Microsoft Store/Xbox PC, use Repair before Reset. Windows application settings provide Repair and Reset controls for the simulator. Repair is the less destructive first step. Reset removes local application data and may make MSFS forget a custom Packages path, so use it only after backup and only when the cloud profile is believed to be intact. Do not manually edit the wgs files.
4. On Xbox console, remove only the console copy. From the console’s saved-data management screen, choose Delete from console for the affected user, then relaunch online and wait for the cloud download. Never choose Delete everywhere when trying to recover the cloud copy.
5. On Steam, use the existing sync process. Back up the 1250410 user-data folder, confirm the correct gamertag and resolve any Steam Cloud conflict in favour of the known-good copy. Do not manufacture a conflict by randomly deleting the remote directory.
6. Verify before restoring local files. At the main menu, check the logbook, activities and each controller preset. Only then restore flight files, add-ons or a known-good local configuration.

If there is no conflict prompt and the simulator repeatedly shows the same empty profile, changing local files may not help. The usual causes are a different gamertag or a blank state that has already replaced the wanted cloud copy.

I am already in Settings — what should I check inside MSFS?

Use the in-simulator Options screens only to inspect the state of the profile; stop making changes if the gamertag or cloud data appears wrong.

1. Check every controller separately. Open Options, then Controls Options. Select the keyboard, mouse, joystick, yoke, pedals and throttle one at a time. Read the preset or profile name selected for each device and change the filter from assigned controls to all controls if the page merely appears empty. If the old custom preset is listed, select it. If only Default appears, do not immediately save a replacement over the missing preset.
2. Look for a local graphics reset. Under General Options and Graphics, check the display mode, resolution, render scaling, anti-aliasing choice and overall quality preset. Several values returning to defaults together usually means UserCfg.opt was recreated; it does not by itself prove that the cloud logbook was erased.
3. Separate data settings from saved progress. Online Functionality and the rolling cache affect streamed scenery, not the pilot profile. Clearing the rolling cache will not restore a logbook or controller preset. Our explanation of online data settings and rolling cache behaviour covers missing streamed scenery without confusing it with save recovery.
4. Stop if packages suddenly look uninstalled. If Content Manager shows previously installed packages as absent, or MSFS asks to download the base content again, quit to desktop. Do not select a new content location yet.
5. Verify the package path while MSFS is closed. Open the edition-specific UserCfg.opt shown in the table and inspect its final InstalledPackagesPath entry. It should point to the existing directory that contains Community and the official-content folder. MSFS can rewrite this file when it closes, so do not edit it while the simulator is running.

Close the simulator immediately if the displayed gamertag is wrong, the logbook is unexpectedly empty, a custom controller preset has disappeared or the Packages path appears to have reset. Options can be saved and synchronised quickly; continuing to configure a blank profile makes recovery harder. For controls specifically, use our detailed guidance on backing up and restoring controller presets rather than replacing every assignment at once.

How do I restore recovered flight plans, flights and add-ons?

Restore ordinary local files only after the correct account-linked profile has returned.

• Flight plans and saved flights: keep the recovered .PLN and .FLT files outside protected save storage. Use the World Map’s load function to open them, or place copies in a convenient personal folder. Our guide to opening recovered flight-plan and saved-flight files covers file-type and location problems.
• Community add-ons: copy them into the active Community directory while MSFS is closed. Restore a few at a time if they came from an older installation.
• UserCfg.opt: restore it only when it contains a known-good graphics configuration or Packages path. Keep a copy of the newly generated file before replacing it.
• Official and Marketplace packages: point MSFS to the existing Packages root where appropriate, or redownload them through the owning account. These files are not substitutes for the pilot profile.

Why did my data disappear after reinstalling or changing PCs?

After a reinstall or PC move, missing MSFS 2020 data usually comes from an identity mismatch, an interrupted sync or files that were local to the old Windows profile.

• The Xbox app is using a different gamertag even though the Microsoft Store account looks familiar.
• The correct Steam account is active, but MSFS is signed into a different Microsoft/Xbox identity.
• A blank new installation synchronised before the older computer finished uploading.
• .PLN, .FLT and Community files remained under the old Windows user account or on another drive.
• UserCfg.opt was recreated and now points to a new, empty Packages directory.
• Windows detected a controller under a different hardware identity, so MSFS selected its Default preset.

If the old PC or drive remains available, keep it offline until its local files have been copied. Do not launch the simulator there and allow a questionable sync merely to see whether the profile still appears.

Can an overwritten or deleted cloud save be recovered?

Usually not through MSFS 2020 itself, because the simulator does not expose a user-accessible history of earlier cloud-save versions.

If a blank local state has already replaced the cloud copy, search every old Windows profile and drive for .PLN, .FLT, Community content and configuration backups. Also check File History and any personal backup system that covered the original save folder. Preserve an older PC’s files before reconnecting it.

Marketplace ownership, platform achievements and installed packages are separate records and may still return with the correct account. They do not recreate deleted logbook entries, activity progress, controller presets or flight files that never reached a recoverable backup.