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

Subject: Assistance Needed – OneDrive Shared Folders Only Opening as Web Links

Hi Nadav,

Sorry to hear about your OneDrive issue. It sounds like your shared folders have switched to "Files On-Demand" mode, meaning they are now only available online instead of being stored locally. Here are a few steps to try and restore local access:

1. Check OneDrive Sync Settings

1. Click on the OneDrive icon in your system tray (bottom-right corner).
2. Go to Settings > Sync and Backup.
3. Ensure that "Files On-Demand" is turned OFF (if you want all files stored locally).
4. If the option is enabled, toggle it off and restart OneDrive.

2. Re-Sync the Shared Folders

1. Open OneDrive Web (https://onedrive.live.com).
2. Locate your shared folders.
3. Right-click the folder and select "Add shortcut to My Files" (if not already done).
4. In your OneDrive desktop app, check if the folder is now available for local syncing.

3. Reset OneDrive

If the above steps don’t help, try resetting OneDrive:

1. Press Win + R, then type:

    shellCopyEdit%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe /reset
   

2. Press Enter and wait for OneDrive to restart.
3. Reconnect your account if necessary.

If the issue persists, please let me know what happens after trying these steps. Happy to assist further!

Best,

Hi Jerry

I was hoping to make this work, but my onedrive settings icon does not include an option to turn on and off the Files On Demand part. Is this accurate for everyone else?

I include a snapshot.

Thanks!

Azucena

One new thing I just found out!

If you try to use the web interface to copy a file between a folder you own and a folder shared by an account on the "wrong server", you can't, the button to copy is greyed out.

If you try to do the same with the two accounts on the same side of the invisible Chinese Wall, it works.

So, it goes beyond the client implementation but it also affect the web interface. And, of course, the shared folder from the "same server" works normally like before. It will be a pain to move 1 TB around. 😬

Can anybody test it out?

How did you copy the files from one account to another? I tried to do that via web interface, so I'd not have to use my bandwidth to transfer 700 GB of files, then another 300 something later, but the system won't allow me to do that when I select the destination to copy.

I did a quick search and I read it's "by design" not allowed.

Also, there was a folder that was shared with me and working fine until a couple of hours ago.

Nothing changed but the folder turned into a pumpkin link. My main account is the "new" type with search. I assume the account that shared that data with me was also new because it was working until this afternoon.

I wonder if they're going to require us to only access those files manually via web interface, so they get more web traffic on their site while also making us use much less resources as we're forced to do things at a very slow pace.

I don't think they're incompetent to the point of letting something like this happen accidentally. To me it sounds like intentional inconvenience to force people who can afford to pay 10 dollars more, per month, to get an extra TB, or even 50 for their 5 TB package.

Even if they get one out every 3 customers to upgrade while causing a headache for everybody else and losing a third of their users they'll profit in the end.

Intentional enshitification or incompetence? Vote below.

I currently have 3 accounts using the same shared folder with my 365 Family subscription. I can confirm the only account experiencing this issue is the one with the more modern looking share dialog, the one with the settings wheel button at the top-right corner.