Signs of OneDrive Sync Issues
When you’re syncing a large number of files, it’s sometimes hard to notice if you’re missing just one or two files. No matter whether you’re having issues with just one file or all files, you’ll notice some common signs that to let you know something’s wrong:
Files are missing in OneDrive or other devicesSyncing fails between OneDrive and any other deviceChanges to files aren’t savedYou get connection issue errorsOneDrive stops syncing completelyYou can’t access files from the appOneDrive randomly stops syncing, even with a strong Internet connectionYou receive any error messages
As soon as you noticed something suspicious, it’s time to start troubleshooting.
Troubleshooting Sync Issues
While it would be nice if there was just one fix for every type of sync issue, that just isn’t the case. In fact, you may need to go through multiple troubleshooting steps before your particular issue is fixed. Ideally, start with the simplest solutions before moving on to the more complex. After every solution, test OneDrive to see if the problem is solved. Also, OneDrive won’t delete any files that are already synced to the app. However, if you have files on your device that you haven’t synced yet, don’t remove them from your device until you’ve resolved your OneDrive sync issues. All methods described in this section can be applied to OneDrive on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
1. Check for Error Codes
While this doesn’t always solve the problem, OneDrive will often give you an error code or icon. When it comes to sync issues, you may see one of the following: This will all appear in your notification area of your applicable device. Microsoft provides general guidelines for each error icon, but you may still need to go through other troubleshooting steps. There are also actual codes and messages. All of them don’t apply to OneDrive sync issues, but they’re a great start to figuring out what’s going on if you have trouble with OneDrive. Sadly, you won’t always get any type of error icon, code, or message, so you’ll have to troubleshoot using more general solutions.
2. Verify Your Storage
It may seem obvious, but often the cause of sync issues is as simple as you’ve run out of space or you’re extremely close to your storage limit. By default, OneDrive users only get 5GB of storage space for free.
3. Close and Reopen
It’s one of the simplest solutions, but it often works. Sometimes, temporary sync issues are caused by a glitch with OneDrive loading, a network connection problem, or just a file that froze while syncing.
4. Ensure Your Account is Linked
If you’ve installed OneDrive on a new device or updated your PC, the problem might be with your linked account or device. In this case, you just need to re-link your OneDrive account with your device.
5. Update Windows and OneDrive
Ironically, updating Windows or OneDrive can also lead to sync issues. So, if you’ve recently installed a Windows update or a new version of OneDrive, this could be the problem. However, in most cases, the opposite is true. OneDrive sync issues happen because you need to install the latest Windows updates and/or the latest version of OneDrive.
6. Move a File or Folder
If syncing seems to freeze and won’t proceed. The connection might have been lost or a file is simply stuck. The easiest solution is to pick any file or folder and move it out of your OneDrive sync folder.
7. Ensure Files Meet OneDrive Requirements
You can sync most files and folders with OneDrive, but there are some restrictions. There are several main problems that may cause sync issues, such as:
Trying to sync files larger than 20GB, though this limit has increased to 250GB with the March 2021 updateFile names can’t contain illegal characters/symbols, such as “?”, “*”, “<“, or “>”File paths contain too many characters (the limit is 400)You have duplicate file namesTrying to sync too many files at once (the limit is 2,500 at a time)
Microsoft recommends only syncing what you actually need to. For instance, you can use OneDrive to backup files, but if you don’t need to sync them, just upload them without syncing with your PC.
8. Verify Account Access
Your OneDrive sync issues might be tied to an account access issue. This can happen if you’ve recently changed your password or the connection might have been broken after an update.
9. Prevent Network Bandwidth Restrictions
To prevent using too much bandwidth, OneDrive might set network bandwidth restrictions. This is most common on slower or limited connections. You can easily change this restriction, which can prevent sync issues like freezing, cutting off, slow syncing, and inability to sync at all.
10. Temporarily Turn Off Antivirus and Firewalls
Occasionally, your antivirus or firewall might conflict with OneDrive. This is especially true if you haven’t used it in a while or you’re suddenly syncing or downloading a large number of files. If you’re having OneDrive sync issues, try temporarily turning off both your antivirus and firewall. While they’re off, don’t do anything else online until the syncing process is finished. Turn them back on once your sync issues have resolved.
11. Whitelist OneDrive
Despite OneDrive being a Microsoft product, the Windows Firewall and Windows Security (formerly known as Windows Defender) might try to block the connection. Even if you’ve used OneDrive for years, a recent security update to Windows Security may cause the antivirus solution to see OneDrive as a threat. This is also true for any other antivirus or firewall you may be using. For other firewalls and antivirus apps, you’ll usually find an option to whitelist apps within the settings.
12. Repair OneDrive
If you’re having sync issues and OneDrive isn’t responding or the app just isn’t working correctly, you can try to repair it. This is only available on the desktop app from the Microsoft Store.
13. Reset OneDrive
If repairing doesn’t work, try resetting OneDrive.
14. Uninstall OneDrive
If the sync issues are with the app itself, repairing and resetting might not be quite enough. You may need to uninstall and reinstall OneDrive. You won’t lose any of your files and the app will need to re-sync once you reinstall it. You may also need to download the installation file from Microsoft or the Microsoft Store.
How to Stop OneDrive Syncing Permanently
If you’re constantly having sync issues with OneDrive or your issue is that you don’t want OneDrive to sync your files, you can stop OneDrive syncing permanently. There are several options, depending on whether you want to still use OneDrive or if you’d prefer to use something else.
Remove Source Files
Remove any files or folders from OneDrive that you don’t want to sync anymore. Without the source file, OneDrive has nothing left to sync.
Turn Off Automatic Backup
Depending on your sync folders, you might be able to stop OneDrive syncing by turning off backup features.
Uninstall OneDrive
If you’ve decided OneDrive isn’t right for you, uninstall it. This won’t remove any files from your PC’s local hard drive or in the cloud. However, if you have files stored on OneDrive that aren’t on your PC, you won’t be able to access them unless you login to your OneDrive account on the web.
1. Where is my OneDrive icon?
If you’re using the OneDrive app from the Microsoft Store, you won’t see an icon. If you’re using the OneDrive app downloaded from Microsoft.com or as part of Microsoft Office, you should see an icon in your notification tray. However, it does disappear sometimes. To fix the problem, start with our guide to restoring a missing icon. This should restore it. Also, you can access OneDrive’s settings by right-clicking the OneDrive folder in File Explorer. Select “OneDrive-> Settings”.
2. Why does re-syncing take so long?
OneDrive has to re-establish a connection with every file and folder you choose to sync. This means the more files and folders you have, the longer the process will take. Depending on how much needs to sync, the process can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours or more. This is especially true when you’re trying to sync or even upload over 100,000 files at once.
3. What if I’m having OneDrive sync issues on another device besides a Windows PC?
You can use most of the same troubleshooting steps. Common ways to resolve most sync issues on all devices include:
Restarting the deviceRestarting OneDriveVerifying your connection is workingMoving a file out of a frozen or stopped OneDrive sync folder and resuming the syncUninstalling and reinstalling OneDriveUpdating OneDrive
4. Can OneDrive sync issues be caused by a virus?
Yes. A virus can affect all areas of your PC. It’s a good idea to scan your PC just to be safe. However, sync issues don’t mean you do have a virus or any security problems. You should remember to use a strong password for your OneDrive account to prevent unauthorized access. You can also encrypt your files to add an extra layer of security. Image credit: Unsplash
