A shared folder in one drive, cannot be synced to explorer. Option no longer available

Anonymous
2024-06-17T23:34:45+00:00

Good morning,

I am an experienced IT professional.

I have already confirmed permissions to one drive folders are fine.

And, one drive has been reinstalled etc.

The account in question is just a free outlook.com account.

Issue - You used to be able to see a sync option on the web access for any shared folders.

The folder was shared from another free one drive account.

This is no longer there.

I can add a shortcut, that is all.

And while the user can in indeed click on the shortcut to access files, the access is ONLY web access.

From my reading of other blogs, I assume that Microsoft no longer allow one drive free to sync shared folders to explorer?

And I need to advise my client to move to sharepoint. - or, a 365 business account.

Thank you.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-03-27T18:53:50+00:00

    The next phase of the 'update' appears to have happened for me last night - OneDrive (Microsoft) has deleted the links to the shared folders that were put in place of the synchronised folders so that I now have no access to the shared files from Explorer. The Internet shortcuts are now sitting in the Recycle Bin while OneDrive tries to process the [two] changes - it has been sat for hours today [not] doing that ...

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-03-13T05:28:26+00:00

    I have also reported this issue on the AskWoody forum, topic [Windows 11 version 24H2] OneDrive shared folders in File Explorer.

    Here is a recent reply post I got March 8th.

    AskWoody Sat, Mar 8, 2025 at 5:24 PM
    To: ******@askwoody.com
    lmacri wrote: <br> <br>From the 07-Mar-2025 Neowin article Microsoft finally has update on OneDrive shared folders turning to internet shortcut links: <br>It has nearly been ten months with no fix in sight still for the issue. However, Microsoft finally has another update on it thanks to a response from the Microsoft OneDrive product group, and it is supposedly due to a backend migration issue that the tech giant is currently still performing. <br> <br>However, it does not give any specific clue as to when this migration phase will be completed, though Microsoft is trying to "speed things up": The message reads: <br><br><br>"This is related to a backend migration we are currently doing. Unfortunately, we do not fully support syncing shared folders when one user has migrated and the other has not . We are doing everything possible to speed things up so that the issue can be resolved as quickly as possible for users of the feature. When the accounts are migrated, there is an automatic logic that ensures that they return to a synced folder within a few days."<br> <br> <br>----------- <br>[size=9]Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5487 * Firefox v136.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.25010.11-1.1.25010.7 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.7.167-1.0.5160 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783[/size] <br> <br>Post Link: https://mailing.askwoody.com/ls/click?upn=u001.xFifJ3qfRCKvnlj6d8CZ7L-2BgoqZEukSCn5sjqj9NI2txFaZI4Vk-2F64MWvDNPQbrmViicws4vX0ojrezTp823NN-2FrpfHlVgmxac1dn7RyFqLOuFnqBeDzbIeBTmdujGY7jGCnvgKcSuTnr4ipKvuw-2Fg-3D-3DhVXZ_H-2Bt62Fht6xBgIOwfiSMJc9uasYyxH-2BYJbns-2B-2F7vRIMIK9A8fveHPc9BY8AUHHu3-2Fx-2F5zqXMhgvKx4Akun6KQRmATPxSPclpF4L3T9HB9nvtqtJDToNVTNfmovs9qyKKPdKFJbDRuxT51Dfumqo3CpDzgKQbq1AJjA8wInfxP3hbo41KAEoO6LNENApu8mt-2FkAuddm5ZVojwQh0Y8-2BdKw-2Fw-3D-3D <br> ---

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-03-12T17:52:06+00:00

    They already "conceded" that this is a fault months ago.

    The reality is that you received an automated response from a chatbot and they closed your ticket.

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-03-12T09:02:41+00:00

    I submitted this as a formal fault report to Microsoft Support and received the following response:

    "Thank you for contacting OneDrive support. We hope you are doing well! We apologize for the inconvenience caused. We assure you of best assistance and anticipate your co-operation in getting this fixed.

    Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We understand how frustrating it can be when shared folders turn into links to the website. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.

    Our engineering team is aware of this problem and is actively working on a fix. Unfortunately, we do not have an estimated time of arrival (ETA) for when it will be resolved. In the meantime, we recommend accessing the shared folders from OneDrive for Web as a workaround.

    For now, we are archiving your case. If you experience any further issues with OneDrive, please do not hesitate to write us back.

    Thank you for your understanding and patience.

    Have a wonderful day!"

    So, they are aware and at least concede that it is a fault that they must fix ...

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  5. Anonymous
    2025-03-12T05:04:08+00:00

    Not just new accounts. My family has been using OneDrive to sync across computers for many years. It stopped working in Feb 2025. II have tried many things to fix it over several weeks without success.

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