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

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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
    2025-05-15T11:58:10+00:00

    And to add to this, sharing a folder between two V2 users works as expected !!!!!

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-05-15T18:10:39+00:00

    Some person affected told, everything was corrected without the need to do anything. I needed to recreate the sync (while leaving the sharing itself untouched). I am also able again to move files between shared folders - this even did not work using the web app.

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-05-15T18:55:51+00:00

    Thanks for this useful information, Christian_153. I see that my shared accounts appear to have migrated, but not my main personal account. I have offloaded most of my OneDrive storage to local devices for now so I have < 100GB on OneDrive. Hoping that will finally allow my account to migrate. Fingers crossed.

    One question for you - by "re-create the sync" do you mean:

    1. Pause, then restart OneDrive syncing on the local machine or
    2. Unlink the PC from OneDrive and then sign in again or
    3. something else?

    Thanks again in advance,

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  5. Anonymous
    2025-05-16T01:46:15+00:00

    @Christian_153, I'm not sure how indicative this V1 or V2 is. Maybe I don't understand when you think this change would happen.

    I have a Family subscription. One account is used as the family account under which the subscription is purchased. My account is different but in the same plan. The family account has shared folders to two other family members with their own account, mine being one of them. Since at least mid-December, the shared folder from the family account has shown in mine as a linked folder, which has been a disruption. The link was restored at the end of April after I returned from overseas.

    My Settings > Options shows Restore... at the bottom, so V2? In our family account, it showed Search. I thought it would show the V2, assuming the righting of the linked folder in my account to a dynamic folder was due to the family account having been migrated. I then clicked Search to see what was there because I have never used it, and I noticed the Search item in the menu disappeared. I clicked back to Restore... and realised there was no way back to the contents that were under Search. I had not clicked on anything in the content area of that Search menu, but it no longer exists, at least for now.

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