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: Added the folder for synchronization again: This results in a link, not an actual sync. Updated the OneDrive client: I have installed the latest version of OneDrive, but the problem persists. Reinstalled OneDrive: I uninstalled and reinstalled OneDrive to fix any potential issues, but the problem remains. Cleared cache and stored credentials: This did not resolve the issue either. Checked the settings for a solution: I have reviewed all relevant options, but haven’t found a solution. Questions: Was this feature intentionally changed by Microsoft, or is this a bug? Is there any way to reverse this change or make shared folders sync locally again like before? Is it possible to sync shared folders without the online link appearing? 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!

Hello Dear User Welcome to the Microsoft Community. I realize that you've encountered a problem with OneDrive shared folders and I understand how you feel. Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback on the shared folder anomaly issue. We are sorry that you are experiencing this issue, and we fully understand the distress this situation has caused to your work and life. We take the situation you described very seriously. At present, Microsoft has confirmed that this is a known issue, and the engineering team has now stepped in to deal with it, but as the fix needs to be synchronized to verify the stability of multiple platforms, the complete solution will still take a certain period of time. Please rest assured that this issue is always in the high-priority queue, and we will synchronize the latest developments through the official website and service push. Thank you again for your understanding and tolerance, your feedback is an important motivation for us to continue to optimize the experience. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask me, I will do my best to help you. Best Regards. Lee-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist How can you just ignore this big issue?!? So many users that have shared folders in Onedrive and are syncing them to their windows devices and you just krasch this feature? Horrible! There are a lot of storage services to change to these day, would be interesting to see your numbers after this... https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/fixes-or-workarounds-for-recent-issues-in-onedrive-36110213-f3f6-490d-8cb7-3833539def0b#id0ebbt=windows

According to this post updated 17th they have given up on fixing sync for shared folders on Windows devices and say you should use Onedrive as a service. Previous text from 4th of april said "investigating". Link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/fixes-or-workarounds-for-recent-issues-in-onedrive-36110213-f3f6-490d-8cb7-3833539def0b#id0ebbt=windows If they don't fix it I will change storage provider as well...

Still waiting. I'm considering migrating to another cloud storage provider. It's outrageous.

I don't have any shared folders or links on my PC anymore, the shared folders just disappeared from my Windows Explorer. Just to clarify your steps, you went One Drive on Web, went to My Files, deleted the shortcut to the Shared Folder, then recreated the shortcut to your shared folder in My Files, (still on the Web), and it started syncing to your pc? Did you have to take any steps on your PC to be able to see the files?

OneDrive – Shared folders can no longer sync locally since yesterday

Anonymous

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:

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

Questions:

Was this feature intentionally changed by Microsoft, or is this a bug?
Is there any way to reverse this change or make shared folders sync locally again like before?
Is it possible to sync shared folders without the online link appearing?
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!

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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137 answers

Anonymous

2025-04-22T20:20:06+00:00

Hello Dear User Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

I realize that you've encountered a problem with OneDrive shared folders and I understand how you feel.

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback on the shared folder anomaly issue. We are sorry that you are experiencing this issue, and we fully understand the distress this situation has caused to your work and life.

We take the situation you described very seriously. At present, Microsoft has confirmed that this is a known issue, and the engineering team has now stepped in to deal with it, but as the fix needs to be synchronized to verify the stability of multiple platforms, the complete solution will still take a certain period of time. Please rest assured that this issue is always in the high-priority queue, and we will synchronize the latest developments through the official website and service push.

Thank you again for your understanding and tolerance, your feedback is an important motivation for us to continue to optimize the experience. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask me, I will do my best to help you.

Best Regards. Lee-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

How can you just ignore this big issue?!? So many users that have shared folders in Onedrive and are syncing them to their windows devices and you just krasch this feature? Horrible!

There are a lot of storage services to change to these day, would be interesting to see your numbers after this...

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/fixes-or-workarounds-for-recent-issues-in-onedrive-36110213-f3f6-490d-8cb7-3833539def0b#id0ebbt=windows
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Anonymous

2025-04-22T20:14:14+00:00

According to this post updated 17th they have given up on fixing sync for shared folders on Windows devices and say you should use Onedrive as a service. Previous text from 4th of april said "investigating".

Link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/fixes-or-workarounds-for-recent-issues-in-onedrive-36110213-f3f6-490d-8cb7-3833539def0b#id0ebbt=windows

If they don't fix it I will change storage provider as well...
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Anonymous

2025-04-22T04:10:32+00:00

Still waiting. I'm considering migrating to another cloud storage provider. It's outrageous.
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Anonymous

2025-04-21T15:12:19+00:00

Any update on this?
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Anonymous

2025-04-17T12:54:18+00:00

I don't have any shared folders or links on my PC anymore, the shared folders just disappeared from my Windows Explorer. Just to clarify your steps, you went One Drive on Web, went to My Files, deleted the shortcut to the Shared Folder, then recreated the shortcut to your shared folder in My Files, (still on the Web), and it started syncing to your pc?

Did you have to take any steps on your PC to be able to see the files?
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