OneDrive creating new 'entries' after syncing from Microsoft Teams

Question

OneDrive creating new 'entries' after syncing from Microsoft Teams

Kjell Lannoo 0

In our company we have various different teams created in Microsoft Teams.

One of our users is synchronizing the files of teams X, Y and Z to her Mac, for every teams she tries to sync it creates a new 'entry'.

Her entries look like this;

OneDrive-[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]-Company

OneDrive-[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]-OneDrive-[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]-Company

Folder X
Folder Y
Folder Z

OneDrive-[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]-OneDrive-[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]-OneDrive-[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]-Company

Folder X
Folder Y
Folder Z

Whilst on my Mac (same OS)

My entries look like this;

OneDrive - Company

Onedrive - [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed] - Company

Folder X
Folder Y
Folder Z

As soon as a new teams is synced, the other entry appears and the previous made entries don't sync at all anymore.

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

This pattern usually indicates the sync relationship is being recreated instead of reusing the existing local library folder. In OneDrive for work or school, if a library is stopped and synced again, OneDrive can create a new folder name such as a copy. Microsoft also notes that duplicate files or folders with the device name appended can occur when synchronization conflicts happen, and refreshing credentials can help.

For this Mac, use this cleanup path:

Check whether the user is syncing the Teams libraries by Sync instead of using shortcuts.
- For SharePoint and Teams files, Microsoft recommends OneDrive shortcuts when available because they are more versatile and offer improved performance than using the sync button.
Stop adding more Team libraries until the current sync state is cleaned up.
- Each new sync appears to be creating another local library entry, which matches a broken or duplicated sync relationship.
Unlink and relink OneDrive on the affected Mac.
- In OneDrive Preferences, go to Account and use Unlink this Mac.
- Then reopen OneDrive from Applications and sign in again.
- This is a standard step for persistent Mac sync issues.
If the issue continues, reset the OneDrive client on the Mac.
- Quit OneDrive completely.
- In Finder > Applications, locate OneDrive, right-click it, choose Show Package Contents, then go to Contents > Resources.
- Run the available reset script for the installed build.
- Reopen OneDrive and sign in again.
Reconnect the libraries carefully.
- If possible, prefer Add shortcuts to shared folders in OneDrive for work or school rather than repeatedly using Sync for Teams libraries.
- If sync must be used, reconnect once after the reset/relink and verify that only one shared libraries entry is created.
Do not rename synced folders after sync is established.
- Microsoft explicitly warns that renaming the synced folder breaks the sync relationship.
If old local library folders remain after stopping sync, keep in mind what happens next.
- Stopping sync disconnects the folder from the library, but files remain both locally and in the library.
- Before syncing again, the old local folder may need to be renamed so the expected name is available; otherwise OneDrive may create another copy-style folder name.
- Use caution here so local content is not confused with the active synced folder.
If duplicate items include the Mac name in the filename or folder name, refresh credentials.
- Microsoft documents this as a sync-conflict symptom.

If the problem affects only this one Mac while another Mac on the same OS behaves normally, that points more to a damaged local OneDrive sync configuration on that device than to a Teams library issue.

If the relink/reset does not stabilize the shared library entries, the next step is organizational support: for work or school accounts, contact the organization's IT helpdesk or admin support path.

Answer 2

Liora 1,630 Independent Advisor

Dear @Kjell Lannoo,

I hope you’re having a good day.

Thank you for the detailed explanation.

Based on your description, it appears that the issue is occurring only on the affected user's Mac. The repeated creation of additional "OneDrive - Shared Libraries" entries and the fact that previously synced libraries stop syncing suggests there may be an issue with the local OneDrive sync configuration rather than with Microsoft Teams itself.

As a first step, I would recommend the following:

Stop syncing the affected Teams libraries

In the OneDrive client, stop syncing the Teams/SharePoint libraries that are creating the duplicate entries.

Unlink the OneDrive account

Open OneDrive Settings.
Select Account.
Choose Unlink this Mac.

Sign in again and test with a single library

Sign back into OneDrive.
Sync only one Teams library first.
Verify whether it appears under a single "Shared Libraries" location and continues syncing normally.

Add the remaining libraries one at a time

After confirming the first library works correctly, add the remaining libraries individually and check at which point the additional nested entries begin to appear.

Verify the OneDrive client version

Please also confirm that the affected user is running the latest available OneDrive sync client for macOS.

To help narrow this down further, could you also let me know:

Does the issue occur with every Teams library or only certain ones?
Was the user able to sync these libraries successfully in the past?
Does the problem return after unlinking and reconnecting the OneDrive account?
Is the user syncing only one work account, or are multiple Microsoft 365 accounts configured in OneDrive?

Please understand that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

Looking forward to hearing back from you with any updates or additional details.

Warm regards,

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Liora 1,630 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-26T10:22:24.7433333+00:00

Hi Kjell Lannoo,

I hope you're having a great day.

I'm following up to see if you've made any progress with this issue or if there are any updates you'd like to share.

Wishing you all the best, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards.
Mike Hemmes 0 Reputation points

2026-09-02T15:37:01.61+00:00

I'm having the exact same experience on my Mac. I followed all instructions, completely remove the application and reinstalled, I also ran the ResetOneDriveApp.command from the package. Nothing helps. This started happening with one of the most recent updates.
Mike Hemmes 0 Reputation points

2026-09-02T22:39:59.17+00:00

This is what keeps happening every time we add a new shared site, or even a subfolder. Keeps adding more and more locations. This started happening recently, the second to last update or so.
Liora 1,630 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-03T11:13:37.9366667+00:00

Hi @Mike,

Based on the additional information you provided, especially the fact that the issue persists after reinstalling OneDrive and running the reset utility, and appears to have started after a recent OneDrive update, I suspect this may be related to the OneDrive sync client itself rather than a simple local configuration issue.

If multiple users in your organization are experiencing the same behavior, I would strongly recommend opening a Microsoft support case so that the relevant OneDrive logs can be collected and reviewed.

In the meantime, I would still encourage creating a separate thread, as your environment and symptoms may differ from the original poster's and deserve focused investigation.
Sacha Goodwin 0 Reputation points

2026-09-04T16:52:26.4466667+00:00

Yep, have been seeing this too.

It also seems to be a bit random. What I've discovered is if the sync'd channel folder creates the duplicate instance, remove that folder (e.g. stop sync) from the OneDrive client as soon as this happens, e.g. don't download any files - and then add it in again. 2nd time seems to put it in the right place.

Also this has been happening on multiple machines, previously had to uninstall, clean out the config cruft and reinstall. Whatever it is, it's still there.
Liora 1,630 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-06T13:36:11.93+00:00

Hi Sacha,

Thank you for sharing your findings.

It's helpful to know that you're seeing the same behavior across multiple machines and that the issue persists even after reinstalling OneDrive. Your workaround of stopping the sync immediately and then re-adding the library is also valuable information and may help others experiencing the same issue.

At this point, the reports from multiple users do seem to suggest this may be related to the OneDrive sync client rather than an isolated configuration problem.

I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with the community.

Kind regards.