OneDrive – Shared folders can no longer sync locally since yesterday

Anonymous
2025-03-06T21:28:30+00:00

I have been experiencing an issue with the synchronization of shared OneDrive folders that started yesterday. Until now, I could successfully add shared folders to my OneDrive and have them sync locally, but now the folder is only appearing as a shortcut/link and is no longer treated as a regular folder in my OneDrive storage.

Problem:

  • Until yesterday, I could add shared folders to my OneDrive folder, and they would automatically sync so I could use the files directly on my PC.
  • Since yesterday, the shared folder is now only appearing as a link/shortcut, and it is not syncing locally.
  • The folder remains visible as an online link in the OneDrive Explorer, but I can't use it as a normal folder.
  • This affects all shared folders, both from external users and internal ones.
  • This change occurred suddenly on March 5, 2025, and was not present before.

What I have tried:

  1. Added the folder for synchronization again: This results in a link, not an actual sync.
  2. Updated the OneDrive client: I have installed the latest version of OneDrive, but the problem persists.
  3. Reinstalled OneDrive: I uninstalled and reinstalled OneDrive to fix any potential issues, but the problem remains.
  4. Cleared cache and stored credentials: This did not resolve the issue either.
  5. Checked the settings for a solution: I have reviewed all relevant options, but haven’t found a solution.

Questions:

  1. Was this feature intentionally changed by Microsoft, or is this a bug?
  2. Is there any way to reverse this change or make shared folders sync locally again like before?
  3. Is it possible to sync shared folders without the online link appearing?
  4. What steps should I take to resolve this issue?

Additional Information:

  • I am using OneDrive for Personal and syncing multiple folders from different users.
  • The files are still available online, but I am no longer able to use them offline as I did before.

I would greatly appreciate your assistance in resolving this issue. Thank you for your support!

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
    2025-05-15T11:51:28+00:00

    Wow, great observation! You are right, I just noticed that there is a difference between the accounts! Three of our accounts all seem to be on V2, one on V1. I'm wondering whether one of the accounts is still on V1 because it has 800GB of data (longer migration).

    Three accounts have (V2?):

    Image

    And one account has (V1):

    Image

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-05-15T11:24:27+00:00

    Many thanks Christian for both the re-assurance that at least your family's OneDrives have now re-started offering proper local sync of mapped/shared directories from other users again.

    And for the the simple way to work out your OneDrive's backend version via online Settings > Options menu options 😎

    Following that method it looks like my main OneDrive changing to only online URL shared links is because the main shared folder I map is now on OneDrive v2 (with 'Restore your OneDrive' as last option inside OneDrive Web > Settings > Options left menu) whereas my main OneDrive is still v1 backend (with 'Search' as last option inside OneDrive Web > Settings > Options left menu)

    As both OneDrives are part of the same OneDrive Family Plan I'll keep my fingers crossed my main account migrates soon 🤞

    Meantime as a workaround I've created a 2nd Windows login for that other MS account on my PC, then Pinned as Quick Access in File Explorer that resultant other user's OneDrive folder in my main login 😶
    But now I'll need to login to 2 accounts on my PC every day! So that 2nd account's OneDrive will keep up to date with whatever changes I make in that favourite profile's OneDrive. The only good news is that if you are logged into both windows accounts at the same time, then when you access a file of the 2nd account's OneDrive it will download it (if needed) as part of the open request from main account. So you don't need to pre-sync locally all the 2nd account's files, they will work via On Demand.

    Obviously that's a pretty horrible workaround! So please Microsoft hurry up with this migrations 🙏

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-05-15T04:56:08+00:00

    It looks to me like they have removed the shared folder "Sync" functionality from OneDrive. The Sync button is still present on Sharepoint but is missing from OneDrive.

    My conclusion is that MS have decided to remove a very critical function from OneDrive without actually announcing that they would be doing it. Looks like we will all need to move to Google Drive to get the necessary functionality of syncing and accessing a shared drive.

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-05-11T04:47:33+00:00

    I can appreciate that such a migration takes a while, but it's been months where this is not working properly. It's beyond frustrating especially if you pay for this service.

    Surely there is a project plan with a timeline when this is due to be completed that can be shared with the community.

    Also, in my case it seems like accounts that belong to the same 'Family'/subscription are not migrated at the same time. I just hope it was at least considered but technically not feasible.

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  5. Anonymous
    2025-04-28T18:38:24+00:00

    My issue has finally been fixed. Restarted my computer after advice from someone on this thread, and the shared folders started syncing.

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