OneDrive is Microsoft's cloud storage offering integrated into Windows 10. The fact that it's free and has Office integration makes it a popular and easy choice for many people.
However, sometimes there are problems when synchronizing your files. If you experience some or all of your Microsoft OneDrive files not synchronized, we have collected easy solutions to help fix the problem.
However, sometimes there are problems when synchronizing your files. If you experience some or all of your Microsoft OneDrive files not synchronized, we have collected easy solutions to help fix the problem.
1. Try Accessing OneDrive Online
The first thing to check is that the problem is with your system, not the OneDrive service itself.
To do this, right-click the OneDrive icon in your notification area and click View online. This must open your OneDrive file in your browser. If they don't load, or you get an error (and not a general network error, which indicates that your internet is down), that might be a problem at the end of Microsoft.
You can check this by visiting the Microsoft 365 Services health page. This tells you if OneDrive is active and running - if you see a green check mark, everything is fine.
If the problem is with OneDrive itself, all you can do is wait until it's finished.
2. Restart OneDrive
Have you tried turning it off again? Often just closing and opening a program can fix it.
Right-click the OneDrive icon in your notification area and click Close OneDrive. Then open Start, search for OneDrive, and open it.
3. Make sure you have enough storage space
OneDrive offers 5 GB of storage for free, even though you may have 50 GB, 1 TB or 5 TB if you have upgraded or have an Office 365 subscription.
Even though it may seem like ample space, you will be surprised how quickly the space is filled. Thus, you must check that your OneDrive account is not in capacity.
To do this, right-click the OneDrive icon in your notification area and click Settings. Switch to the Account tab and see how much storage space you use.
Even though it may seem like ample space, you will be surprised how quickly the space is filled. Thus, you must check that your OneDrive account is not in capacity.
To do this, right-click the OneDrive icon in your notification area and click Settings. Switch to the Account tab and see how much storage space you use.
If you don't have any free space at all, or close to the limit, delete some files from OneDrive or increase your capacity.
4. Check for Incompatible Files
First: Make sure there are no individual files that you want to sync more than 20 GB or larger than your OneDrive space left. If yes, try compressing the file first. See a list of our free compression tools if you need help.
Second: All file paths (including file names) may not exceed 400 characters. This can happen if you have lots of very long nested folders or folders or file names. To fix this, rename the file or move it to the top-level folder.
Third: File and folder names cannot contain these characters:
" * : < > ? / \ |
For more information on file name restrictions.
For more information on file name restrictions.
5. Update Windows and OneDrive
You must always update Windows and OneDrive to get the benefits of the latest features and bug fixes. Both must be updated automatically, but you can do this manually too.
To update Windows, press the Windows key + I to open Settings. Click Update & Security, then Check for updates. You will only be served an update because it becomes compatible with your system.
Look for the message "Need to reinstall?", Run the installer, follow the guide to complete, and then log back into your Microsoft account on OneDrive.
6. Relink OneDrive
There might be a problem with the connection to your OneDrive account. We recommend removing the OneDrive link from your computer and then connecting again to see if it resolves the problem.
Don't worry, this won't delete anything from your OneDrive account. Your data is safe.
Right-click the OneDrive icon in your notification area and click Settings. On the Account tab, click Disconnect this PC Link> Disconnect account.
You will then see a guide to setting OneDrive. Enter your email address and follow this to unlink your OneDrive account.
7. Turn off Temporary Protection
A Windows firewall or your antivirus software might conflict with OneDrive. You can deactivate it temporarily to find out if it's true.
To turn off Windows Defender Firewall, press the Windows + I button to open Settings and go to Update & Security> Windows Security> Firewall & network protection. Select the network that is labeled active, and slide Windows Defender Firewall to Off.
Then, to deactivate Windows Defender antivirus, keep the same window open and click Virus & threat protection from the left navigation. Click Settings for virus protection & threats and slide Real-time protection to Off.
Remember to revive your firewall and antivirus after seeing if it fixes your OneDrive sync problem.
8. Move the Exit Stuck File from OneDrive
Do you know which files are causing synchronization problems or not, moving some files from the OneDrive sync folder can help.
First, right-click the OneDrive icon in your notification area and click Pause sync> 2 hours.
Next, open a folder that you are trying to synchronize and move the file to a location on your PC that you did not synchronize. Right-click OneDrive again and click Continue synchronization. After synchronization is complete, move the file again.
9. Disable Upload Office
If the problem is synchronizing you with Microsoft Office files specifically, Office upload cache might interfere with OneDrive. You can disable the settings on OneDrive to see if it fixes the problem.
Right-click the OneDrive icon in your notification area and click Settings. Open the Office tab and uncheck Use Office 2016 to synchronize Office files that I open and click OK.
Disabling this means that any changes simultaneously to Office files on OneDrive you will not join automatically. Of course, if it doesn't solve the synchronization problem, just enable the reset settings.
10. Fully Reset OneDrive
Resetting OneDrive will return all your settings to default, including the folders that you have chosen to synchronize, but that can resolve synchronization issues. Besides that, it won't delete your files, so don't worry.
To start, press the Windows key + R to open Run. Enter the following and click OK:
Resetting OneDrive will return all your settings to default, including the folders that you have chosen to synchronize, but that can resolve synchronization issues. Besides that, it won't delete your files, so don't worry.
To start, press the Windows key + R to open Run. Enter the following and click OK:
%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset
You might see the Command Prompt window appear. If you do it, wait until it's gone.
Next, open Start, search for OneDrive and open it. Follow the wizard through to manage your account settings. Remember to configure your settings again, such as choosing which folders to synchronize.
Next, open Start, search for OneDrive and open it. Follow the wizard through to manage your account settings. Remember to configure your settings again, such as choosing which folders to synchronize.
