When a user send me files through one drive our sharepoint it says that I don't have access when I do

Luis Oddy 20 Reputation points
2026-06-25T10:41:20.06+00:00

Hi,

I am having a strange issue where I can't access files that are shared to me from one particular user within our organization on sharepoint or onedrive and we have both checked that the files have the correct access rights attached to them to enable me to see them but it still says that "I can't access this site or item"

What is the issue here?

Microsoft 365 and Office | SharePoint | For business | Windows
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Abhay 255 Reputation points
2026-06-25T11:19:04.4466667+00:00

Hi there. The issue you are experiencing is likely a Site User ID Mismatch within SharePoint and OneDrive. Even though you both verified the visible sharing settings are correct, SharePoint operates behind the scenes using hidden, numeric internal IDs rather than email addresses to track permissions. If your Active Directory account was ever deleted and recreated, or if your profile was moved between organization units (OUs), your visible email address stayed the same but your backend security ID changed.

Because this is a tenant-level identity cache issue, you cannot fix this yourself. You will need to ask a Microsoft 365 or SharePoint Administrator in your IT department to resolve it.

Hope this helps :)

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  1. Huy-K 13,985 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-06-26T05:20:49.4733333+00:00

    Dear @Luis Oddy,

    I understand how inconvenient this issue can be, and I appreciate your help in checking a few scenarios so we can identify the root cause more accurately.

    Could you please try sharing the file with another user and confirm whether they experience the same issue? Also, please ask another user to share a file with the affected account to see whether the affected user can access it successfully.

    These checks will help me determine whether the issue is related to the affected account or to the original sharing process. In the meantime, please also try sharing the same file again. If the issue continues, kindly create a copy of the file and share the copied version to check whether it opens successfully.

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