A file appears on the laptop and the phone, so it feels as though there are two copies. Then someone deletes a folder, the deletion travels, and both places reflect the same mistake.
Sync is useful because it keeps work aligned. Recovery asks a different question: can you get the right version back after something goes wrong? A good plan answers both.
Name what you need to recover
Start with a short list: family photos, invoices, dispatch records, project files, or the spreadsheet the office uses every morning. Find out where the originals actually live. A shortcut on the desktop may point somewhere else entirely.
For business files, include the applications and account access needed to use them. Recovering a folder is only part of the job if the business also needs a licensed program and a usable login.
Understand the recovery features of the service
Cloud services may include recycle bins, version history, or broader restore features. Microsoft documents recovery options for OneDrive, with availability and limits depending on the account and subscription. Do not assume every cloud service or plan keeps everything indefinitely.
Ask what happens after an accidental deletion, an unwanted overwrite, and loss of the account. Those are different failure cases. The word backup in a product description is less useful than an answer to each scenario.
Keep another recovery path
For important material, plan a separate copy with a recovery method that does not depend entirely on the same everyday access. That might involve a managed backup service or appropriately protected offline storage. The right design depends on what must survive and how quickly it must return.
A drive permanently attached to the same computer is exposed to some of the same incidents as that computer. A drive in the same room also does little for a building-wide loss. Think about the event the extra copy is meant to survive.
Prove it with a harmless test
Choose a small non-sensitive test file. Record its contents, preserve it through the intended backup process, and restore it into a separate location. Open it. Check that it is the expected version and that you can find the recovery instructions again.
For photos, open the recovered images rather than judging by filenames. For business files, ask the person who uses the material to confirm it is usable. Do not overwrite live work while testing.
Give the plan a review date
Assign someone to notice failed backups, changes in storage, and accounts that need renewal. Repeat a recovery test after major changes.
The goal is not to stop using sync. It is to use sync for convenience and a tested recovery plan for the day convenience is no longer enough.