OneDrive shared folders are now links, not folders! How do I fix this?

Anonymous
2025-03-04T11:55:09+00:00

I have a number of folders shared with me by other OneDrive users. I've added these to My Files to appear alongside the folders on my OneDrive account. Up until yesterday, they appeared as folders on my PC, alongside the other folders which belong to my OneDrive account. Now these folders that are shared with me are appearing as shortcut links instead of folders on my PC.

This has happened to 3 different PCs which are all connected to the same OneDrive account. I have uninstalled OneDrive, cleared the cache, etc. and reinstalled on one PC, but the problem remains. I've removed shared folders, had them unshared by the owner, reshared back to me, and then added again to My Files, but this didn't work either.

How do I fix this?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-04-13T13:38:03+00:00

    Build 25.056.0324.0002 (64-bit)

    Some previously shared folders are still working in File Explorer as fully synched/local folders and files, some are showing as internet shortcuts from the same account that other shared folders work correctly. Zero consistency, same behavior or worse on other family computers where none of the previously working folder and files remain as local.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-04-13T12:57:28+00:00

    It's fixed here for me this morning. I opened my OneDrive folder and the two shared folders I use are now actual folders again not links

    What version of the OneDrive client do you show?

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-04-13T12:04:30+00:00

    I’ve seen folders come and go on family computers over past month. Just because today you believe they are back to normal don’t believe it. At any point they may revert to a shortcut again. Our family sharing is now completely broken. If this doesn’t get resolved soon we will have to seriously search for a different service.

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-04-13T10:30:36+00:00

    It's fixed here for me this morning. I opened my OneDrive folder and the two shared folders I use are now actual folders again not links

    Note that you can't select/unselect them in 'choose folders' in OneDrive settings (they don't show there) but are showing properly in OneDrive with File explorer

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  5. Anonymous
    2025-04-03T18:13:36+00:00

    I have the strange feeling that Microsoft: A) Don't have interest in solving this. B) Don't have competency to do so.
    Here's the "workaround", the only real one so far:
    Stop paying for OneDrive, buy a few SSDs for backups, use WeTransfer to send large files when needed.

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