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The Onedrive search is not working properly. I have a file called "Vegetarian moussaka recipe.docx" stored in Onedrive (created 9/4/26). When I search for this word in the Onedrive.com website on my laptop (Windows11), or on my Onedrive phone app it is not found, even though if I look for it manually, by going to the folder on Onedrive.com, it is clearly there. When I do the same search in File Explorer on my laptop it does show the file. An odd thing is that I then created a copy of the file, called: "Vegetarian moussaka recipe copy.docx", this is an exact copy and this one IS found, but not the original. I have contacted Microsoft support about it, and sent recordings, data etc as requested, but they don't know the answer. They have just told me to use a "workaround" which is just to use the copied version of the file instead of the original. Since then I've discovered another file this has happened with, called: "Tuscan chicken with beans.docx, created 9/5/26) this also doesn't show in the search in Onedrive.com but does show in a file explorer search. If I copy the file to my Desktop, without renaming it, it DOES show in the Onedrive.com search. Interestingly, the similarity between this file and the other one (Vegetarian moussaka recipe.docx) is that I created both files on my computer (Windows 11) by copying text from an internet page. (But I tried recreating this just now by creating a test and that file behaves normally).
Since April 16, 2026, OneDrive no longer syncs any new .lnk files
Hello, I have a strange issue with OneDrive and Windows shortcut files (.lnk). Since April 16, 2026, OneDrive no longer syncs any new .lnk files I create. All .lnk files created before that date still sync normally. Every new .lnk file immediately shows the “–” status (Not syncing). The target file is inside OneDrive, fully synced and available locally. Older .lnk files in the same folder sync correctly. The problem persists after full OneDrive reset, clearing cache databases, full resync of about 200,000 files, Windows 11 reinstall (Home, Pro, Insider), Windows 10 test on another PC, Smart App Control disabled, no third‑party antivirus. The issue is identical on all devices. The problem started exactly on April 16, 2026, right after several Smart App Control warnings that blocked opening documents through newly created shortcuts. Since that date, no new .lnk file has ever synced again, while all older ones still sync. This makes me think that a Defender cloud reputation flag or something similar may have been applied to my account and is now blocking new .lnk files at the server level. Could someone from the OneDrive team please check whether my account has a cloud security flag or reputation rule incorrectly applied, and reset it if needed? This issue has been going on for almost a month and prevents me from using shortcuts in my OneDrive structure. Post‑scriptum: Thanks to Copilot for helping me through multiple Windows resets and reinstallations to rule out every local cause. This message was also written with its assistance to request help from the community.
Onedrive replaced all versions with old file
Hello. Onedrive has replaced an Excel file with a old (from March, 2023) version of the file. I've looked at the version history, but all the versions there appear to be the same old file. How can I recover the latest version of the file please? Regards, Stuart
Files are gone, folderstructure is there
Dear community, I have a one drive account with a extensive folder structure. Today I noticed that the folderstructure is intact (on my laptop and online) but the files are mostly gone for 90%, here and there a folder with some files. My account is a personal 356, have 1 terrabyte. I tried to restore the drive through the instructions I found online by Microsoft, go to settings, one drive restore, check recycle bin, etcetera. Nothing helped. I did not deleted the files manually. I honestly do not know what to do? Tried to get in contact with Microsoft but that is totally impossible. Is there anyone that has expirienced this also? I use onedrive now for many years and never had this. Please help
OneDrive newbie
I have resisted using OneDrive for years because way back then it took photos from an amazing vacation off my phone before I was done editing them on my phone. I swear I did not have it set to automatically backup if I was running out of space on my phone, but that's what the customer service person said. And I can't batch download them back to my phone (to my knowledge), just one at a time. Why would a home user want to use OneDrive? Every time I try to open OneDrive to delete files there (just to keep it clean, and yes, not use it) it immediately starts synching to my computer, and if I stop that, I can't see my pictures on OneDrive. It says I have to be connected or something like that. Again, you can tell I'm a newbie because I'm not even sure what to do with it. Any information and advice would be incredibly welcomed. Thank you.My previous OneDrive post was incorrectly flagged as spam
EN: Hello, My previous post titled “OneDrive no longer syncs new .lnk files since April 16, 2026” was automatically flagged as spam. This is a false positive. Could a moderator please restore it so I can continue the discussion? Thank you. FR : Bonjour, Mon précédent message intitulé « OneDrive no longer syncs new .lnk files since April 16, 2026 » a été automatiquement marqué comme spam. Il s’agit d’un faux positif. Pourriez-vous le restaurer afin que je puisse poursuivre la discussion ? Merci.Shared links not downloading for others, just gives error text files
All of the sudden, any shared links from OneDrive are not allowing people to download the files. It just gives them a .zip of "OneDrive-2024-02-15.zip" that contains 2 text files. The 2 files are "Download Errors.txt" & "OneDrive_1.txt" and just say there was a problem downloading the file. I have moved files to different folders, renamed them. Nothing works. This is the first time in 5 years this has happened, I have always used the Share links with no issues. The only way it works is if I zip the files ahead of time and share the link to the zipped file. Sample Link : https://1drv.ms/f/s!ArOXzVQUkKVyudo32DXEn2z1ti8SEQ?e=upC70b
OneDrive stuck on "signing in"
Hi, I'm trying to use Onedrive and Onenote, but it seems to be really terrible 50% of the time. Sometimes when I log on my pc, it says I have to log in, and in doing so, is stuck on a "signing in" loop, until it says some error code about me not having an internet connection. Here's what I've tried: 1. Close and open Onedrive 2. Removing auth from the pc and adding it again 3. Reinstalling Onedrive 4. Change Wi-Fi 5. Do a /reset in Windows run AND cmd 6. Update drivers 7. Install the newest Onedrive from the website 8. Try the app-version found in Windows Store What am I supposed to do? I don't want to restart my pc every time it doesn't work, that's a terrible fix.
OneDrive Archival of Unlicensed Users
The change enforcing archival of unlicensed OneDrive users after 93 days was announced in January of last year but seems to be hitting tenants very gradually. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/unlicensed-onedrive-accounts?WT.mc_id=365AdminCSH_spo I'm curious what other organizations are doing to tackle this change and how widespread the rollout has been so far. When the change was announced, did your organizations do anything to prepare? For those of you who are already seeing archival in your tenant When did it actually begin? Particularly for very high volumes of unlicensed accounts, how are you handling this? Have you had any luck with Purview content search and export for retrieval of files?Critical OneDrive Data Loss – Files Disappeared Without Any Trace While Folder Still Exists
I am experiencing a serious data loss issue in OneDrive. One of my folders ("PHOTOGRAPHER") and all its subfolders still exist, but ALL files inside have disappeared completely. Important facts: Files were uploaded and confirmed to exist No deletion activity in logs Nothing in Recycle Bin Restore OneDrive does not recover them Personal Vault was never used This is NOT a user error and NOT a typical missing file issue. I have already contacted support multiple times, but I keep receiving the same template troubleshooting steps without any real investigation. My case was even closed without resolution. This appears to be a sync overwrite, corruption, or system-level data loss. As a paying customer, this raises serious concerns about data integrity and reliability of OneDrive. Has anyone experienced this before? Is there any way to recover data beyond the standard user tools? How can this be escalated to engineering level? This is critical data for me and I would really appreciate serious guidance. NB : I have attached a screenshot of the folder structure, including multiple subfolders, to clearly show that the folders still exist while all files inside them have disappeared.
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