Folders Shared with me are syncing as internet shortcut in OneDrive on Windows PC

For those who have joined this conversation, but are daunted by the 239 pages of comments and so don't read through everything, this needs to be repeated - this problem is on the Microsoft server side. The "work around" and "hacks" aren't going to solve your long term problems, only MS can do that.

WHAT HAPPENED:

Around May/June of 2024, MS started deploying a new version of the OneDrive servers. The old system is V1.0, and the new one is V2.0.

They began slowly migrating people.

THE ISSUE

The sharing of folders and documents with local copies is incompatible between the two systems. Did MS know this? It's hard to tell, however, they never admitted that this was the problem, instead leaving people wondering why it's taken them 1 year to solve a problem that is critical to so many people.

The number of reported cases increased as the migration to V2.0 progressed. In particular, for people, say, on a family account, there is no coordination between when family members migrate.

THE SOLUTION

There isn't one except to wait until everyone you share with or shares with you has been migrated.

When everyone is migrated, those useless links should turn back into real files. Unfortunately, that means up to 300 million people's OneDrives downloading all those files again. The time to download all of that is probably not going to be short, as the bottleneck will be MS's own servers.

Given this fiasco, you can either jump ship on Office + OneDrive and move to alternative Office and Cloud solutions, or wait this out.

As this gets lost in the swamp of new messages, I thought I'd just repeat it with an addendum, because the proposed solutions are temporary bandaids, just lipstick on the gorilla.

Some people are replying that even when everyone is one V2.0, problems still arise in synchronization. The best solution seems to be:

1. Stop sharing the folder(s).
2. Create new ones.
3. Move all the content form the previously shared folder(s) top the new ones, and delete the old ones.
4. Share the new ones.

To know if you are on V1.0 or V2.0,

1. use the web interface, click on the settings (cog wheel) in the top corner and select options.
2. If the left-hand side navigation ends with "search", the account is still on V1.0, otherwise, it is on V2.0
3. There is a more complex solution using the inspection mode of your browser to check folders shared with you. (from Petr Vyskocil) Open OneDrive on the web, open browser's dev tools (F12 key), switch to network tab.

Click on the folder belonging to user you want to investigate (yours or any of the shared folders). You'll see bunch of requests fire off. One of them will start either withhttps://api.onedrive.com/v1.0/drives/(legacy OneDrive, this URL has been used since like forever) orhttps://my.microsoftpersonalcontent.com/_api/v2.0/drives(migrated new OneDrive).

Thank you very much for your message.

Based on your summary, I realized that my personal OneDrive account has not yet been migrated to version 2.0, while the accounts that had shared folders with it have already been updated. I also checked that for people who are already on 2.0, the folders continue to work normally. However, in my case, they have turned into links.

Now I’m unsure whether I should migrate my entire personal account to a new one that is already on 2.0 or if I should wait.

At least, I found a valid usecase for copilot...

Prompt: copilot, please write me a forum post about the issue that microsoft messed up synchronization of shared folder in onedrive and does nothing to fix it. The only advice is to wait until the issue goes away some day. I would like to express my frustration about this situation.

Subject: Seriously Frustrated with OneDrive Shared Folder Sync – Microsoft, What’s Going On?!

Hey everyone,

I’ve reached my limit with OneDrive’s shared folder synchronization. For the past few weeks, my shared folders have inexplicably turned into lifeless internet shortcuts—files that once seamlessly updated on my File Explorer now just open a browser window. My personal files may sync fine, but these essential shared folders are left hanging in a perpetual state of limbo. It feels as if Microsoft decided that our business-critical data doesn’t deserve the reliable sync we were promised and instead swapped out functional folders for useless links.

What really infuriates me isn’t just the malfunction itself—it’s Microsoft’s complete lack of accountability. When I dove into support articles and community threads, the only advice I got was to “wait until the issue goes away someday.” That’s it. No concrete timeline, no workaround, just a bland and dismissive suggestion that we all play the waiting game while productivity plummets. Reports from other users echo the same sentiment: an endless cycle of broken shared folder functionality and vague promises that nothing definitive is being done to fix it.

It’s unacceptable that a company of Microsoft’s caliber could leave us stranded without a proper solution. Instead of offering proactive support or clear communication on when—or if—this issue will be resolved, we’re stuck with a “wait it out” mentality. This isn’t just a minor hiccup; it’s a critical flaw that disrupts workflow, endangers our data management process, and forces us to seek inconvenient alternatives to get our jobs done. Our trust in a tool that's supposed to streamline our work is being completely undermined.

I’m hoping this thread resonates with others who are similarly affected. Let’s use this space not only to vent but also to share any temporary fixes or workarounds you might have stumbled upon, however slim the chances may be. If Microsoft ever decides to acknowledge the issue in real terms, we deserve a transparent plan rather than the current “just wait” response. Until then, we’re all stuck in this frustrating limbo with no end in sight.

Cheers, [Your Name]

Why do people still keep answering with wrong hints?

YOU CAN NOT DO ANYTHING ELSE TO SOLVE THIS THAN WAIT!

Hello,

I encountered this problem back in June 2024. I share folders with colleagues to collaborate on projects. It saved us tons of time not emailing back and forth spreadsheets and ensuring the original copied remains synced in the group. One colleague first experienced the problem of the shared folder converted into a linked folder. They were unable to access the files from their PC, with only access through OneDrive online. This has now made collaboration difficult.

I messaged Microsoft for a solution and this was their response:

Hello there,

Thank you for contacting OneDrive consumer support. We hope you are doing good!

We understand the importance of being able to access shared folders directly from your desktop via the "Add Shortcut to My Files" feature where a link is generated instead, leading you to OneDrive Online.

We would let you know that we are aware of this and please rest assured that our engineering team is still working on a fix. However, at this time, we do not have an estimated timeframe for when the fix will be implemented. Hope it should be fixed in upcoming updates on OneDrive. So, we request you to please keep your OneDrive and OS versions are updated to the latest. The .url internet shortcuts will automatically convert back to a folder when the issue is resolved.

Workaround: You can still access the shared folder content, but it will be via OneDrive.com as of now.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work towards resolving this matter. Please let us know if you need even a slightest of help related to your OneDrive in future. Please feel free to raise a new ticket and we will be happy to assist you.

Thank you for your time and patience in this matter.

We hope you have a lovely day ahead!

Thank you,

Tahir H

OneDrive Team.

That was back in July 2024. No further updates were provided. As of yesterday, (March 3, 2025) another team member encountered the same problem and now can only access the files from OneDrive online.

The team is now considering dropping OneDrive and migrating the files to DropBox or some other platform.

Microsoft needs to provide a solution ASAP!