Recent Discussions
The difference between backup/mirror and move
The terminology used by Microsoft to describe what OneDrive does is seriously flawed. To most people, the concept of backup means duplicating files to another location or archive file. That is a backup provides a mirror copy of files being backed up. OneDrive doesn't backup or mirror files, it moves them to the cloud. They are no longer available offline. You can of course disable syncing which is also wrong terminology because files are not synced, they're moved, which is a copy operation followed by a delete. No problem. You can turn off folder/file syncing and copy the relevant folders/files to your hard drive so they're accessible offline. I then uninstalled OneDrive to make certain. The trouble is, a few days ago my Outlook 365 broke because of a webview2 error which made editing drafts unusable. No problem, I did a repair which didn't fix it, and finally uninstalled office and reinstalled. When I reinstalled office, it also reinstalled OneDrive with the default settings, so OneDrive promptly reenabled folder redirection and the files/folders on the local drive disappeared. 12 months' worth of email, a bunch of documents, gone. No file date/time check to determine the direction of synchronization so that newer files replaced older files, no intelligence whatsoever. I won't quote what I said when I found out because there might be ladies present. Luckily my email service uses MAPI so some time in the future I'll have my emails back, I hope. But updated and new files are gone. Did I have a current backup? I did until someone borrowed my backup drive for something they thought was more important. It wouldn't have mattered if OneDrive had left the newer file copies alone, but the files on OneDrive had all the old date/time stamps from when I turned OneDrive off and that was it. Then there are the little things like if folder redirection was done properly so even the command prompt was appropriately redirected. Not so with OneDrive. Amateur. Backup should not mean my files are moved so there is only a single copy left, ditto with synchronization. So not only is the wrong terminology used, but the implementation of OneDrive also has major room for improvement which may never happen. I also have a MacBook Pro and while I'm much more conversant with Windows, Mark Russinivich's Sysinterbals tools etc, and have done extensive Windows application debugging. I would hope my experience is simply due to ignorance about OneDrive, but I that must be true for a lot of people. It's far from foolproof.
"People section" turning on by itself and digging into my old photos without permission
I have used OneDrive on Android for years and just now I had a notification appear with an old picture of someone in my family asking me to type in her name and if other pictures of her are also her. I was shocked and irritated at this apparent privacy violation. I found out a "feature" called "People section" where "OneDrive uses AI to recognize faces in your photos" just turned itself on and decided to send me a notification. How utterly irritating. Microsoft should understand how unnerving it is to have your phone seem to just start digging into your photos without your permission. Why couldn't it just have a notification asking me if I want to turn on the feature and explain what it is? Why show my personal family pictures?
OneDrive embedded PowerPoint slides showing blank page or error
I embed PowerPoint files from OneDrive into eLearning courses using the standard embed links. As of today, all of them have stopped working. All my embedded PowerPoint slides are currently down across several live eLearning courses. What I've tried: Tried in a private/incognito browser window - still broken Created a brand new embed link from scratch - still broken Tried a completely different PowerPoint file - still broken So it doesn't seem to be a problem with one specific file or link - it's affecting all my embeds at once. What I see: Sometimes the page shows: "Something went wrong. This is a temporary issue, so try again in a few minutes." with reference codes: Ref A: 137479770EE248B2BD8767C1500F6314 Ref B: SG2EDGE2019 Ref C: 2026-08-25T04:41:15Z Other times the page just loads completely blank, with no error message at all. I also checked the browser's technical console, and it shows one of the files OneDrive needs to display the slides is failing to load (a 404 error on Microsoft's side), which is likely why the page won't display anything. Has anyone else run into this, or is there a known issue being tracked? Happy to share more detail if it's useful.
OneDrive no longer creating functional iframe sharing links
I've noticed that none of the excel spreadsheets I have on one drive that I had shared are working any longer. No frame appears. After banging my head against the problem, I selected one sheet, deleted it, uploaded a fresh copy and shared it via link for view only. Then, inside the sheet I shared one of the tabs in an embedded iframe. That has the exact same failure to show anything. The permissions on the file seem correct. Anyone with the link should be able to view it, but nothing seems to work. What am I missing?OneDrive Android stuck on "We need to update your account"
Hi, Since a few days ago, I can no longer use OneDrive on my Xiaomi phone. When I open the app, I get the following message: "We can't display this item. We need to update your account. This operation should only take a few moments." When I select OK, nothing happens. No sign-in window appears and I can't access any of my files. I've already tried: uninstalling and reinstalling OneDrive clearing the app cache and data restarting the phone checking my network connection The problem remains. What's strange is that OneDrive seems to remember my account because it opens directly on the "My files" screen instead of asking me to sign in again. Has anyone else seen this recently on Android? Thanks.
Windows Explorer shows "OneDrive - Tenant" for one tenant but "FirstName - Tenant" for others
Hi everyone, I'm trying to understand how Windows Explorer determines the display name of OneDrive accounts in the navigation pane. Environment Windows 11 (fully up to date) Latest OneDrive sync client One Windows user profile Four OneDrive accounts connected simultaneously: Roy - Tenant A Roy - Tenant B Roy - Personal OneDrive - Tenant C The strange part is that only one business tenant is displayed as "OneDrive - Tenant", while the others are displayed as "FirstName - Tenant". What I've already verified Microsoft 365 Display Name is correct ("Roy Möllers") Organization (Tenant Display Name) is correct User Principal Name is normal OneDrive license is assigned The tenant is a normal Microsoft 365 tenant (Nonprofit in this case) OneDrive The account is a normal OneDrive account (not just a SharePoint library) The account synchronizes correctly The issue only affects the display name in Windows Explorer Local folder All business accounts use the same folder naming convention: C:\Users\<User>\OneDrive - <Tenant> So the local folder name is not the cause. Registry I compared the registry entries under: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\OneDrive\Accounts\BusinessX The values such as look normal. DisplayName UserName UserFolder I also checked the corresponding CLSID entries under: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID The (Default) value is "OneDrive - <Tenant>" for all business accounts, including the tenants that Explorer displays as "FirstName - Tenant". Therefore, Explorer is clearly not using the CLSID default value directly. OneDrive cache I completely removed the local cache for the affected account: Unlinked only the affected OneDrive account Closed OneDrive completely Deleted only the corresponding BusinessX folder under: %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\OneDrive\settings Signed in again The display name remained: OneDrive - Tenant C Configuration files I compared between the working and affected tenants. No meaningful differences related to naming. Global.ini ClientPolicy.ini My question: Does anyone know where Windows Explorer actually gets the navigation pane display name from? I have not been able to find any Microsoft documentation explaining this behavior. Any technical insight would be greatly appreciated.How do you remove OneDrive Photos
I was reading how the OneDrive Photos app was stealth installed with no announcement and no opt-out functionality. Then I discovered that the program had installed itself on my desktop servers running OneDrive for Business and is labeled as a beta product. Since we are using a non-persistent VDI environment, it is never a good thing when programs install without our knowledge or approval. We have change control and testing procedures we need to follow. It is particularly worrying that Microsoft would push beta software to corporate production environments. I need to remove this software and block reinstallation until it can be vetted, but I cannot find an independent uninstall function nor can I find instructions a command line tool like DISM. It looks like it is integrated into OneDrive. A quick response is requested. Thank you in advance
OneDrive suddenly became empty after university storage policy change Is recovery still possible?
Hello everyone, I am looking for technical guidance regarding a serious OneDrive for Business issue under Microsoft 365 Education. Environment - Microsoft 365 Education tenant. - University-managed account. - OneDrive for Business. - My account is still active and I can sign in normally. What happened On July 16, 2026, I signed into my OneDrive and discovered that my entire "My files" folder was empty. I verified the following: - I am signed into the correct account. - "My files" is completely empty. - The OneDrive Recycle Bin is empty. - "Restore your OneDrive" does not show any mass deletion event. - My OneDrive site is accessible, but there are no files. - I unfortunately do not have a complete local backup. A few days later, my university informed students that they had reduced the OneDrive storage quota from 5 TB to 30 GB due to a Microsoft/provider policy update. I suspect my OneDrive contained more than 30 GB because I had stored backups from my previous computer together with years of academic, personal and work files. However, I would like to understand whether exceeding the new storage quota could actually cause an existing OneDrive site to appear completely empty, or whether this suggests another issue such as: - OneDrive reprovisioning - Site replacement - License reassignment - Site deletion - Storage migration - SharePoint issue - Other administrative problem The university initially described this as a temporary Microsoft incident, but later told me that the files had been deleted because of the OneDrive application, without providing any technical explanation. I have already asked the university IT department to investigate: - Deleted Sites in SharePoint Admin Center - Second-stage Recycle Bin - Retention policies - Previous OneDrive site - Licensing history - Possible restore options My question to Microsoft experts is: 1. Can a storage quota reduction (5 TB → 30 GB) ever make an existing OneDrive appear completely empty? 2. Are there other administrative scenarios that could produce this behavior while leaving the account active? 3. Is there anything specific I should ask my Microsoft 365 administrator to verify that is commonly overlooked? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated because these files represent several years of academic, professional and personal work. Thank you very much.
Onedrive sooo annoying but great a same time
I have an some what unwanted computer issue here with Microsoft Onedrive! I have Office 365 and use Onedrive however, it has deleted over 5,500 pictures (yes I have backups and yes I deleted them off OneDrive HOWEVER these pictures were on my computer first so why does Onedrive delete the files even one my PC is the question - is there some setting to prevent this). However, this is so annoying, especially with documents, and IF you stop syncing a folder, OneDrive will delete that folder from your PC - why, especially since the folder was originally on my computer first. So it "seems" Onedrive does things without our consent people tell me BUT I say there must be a setting - anyone know where it is?OneDrive Access Issue – User Unable to Access OneDrive Despite Multiple Troubleshooting Attempts
Hello Community, We are facing an issue with a user who is unable to access their OneDrive. Whenever the user tries to access OneDrive, the same error message continues to appear (screenshot/error attached). We have already performed the following troubleshooting steps: Removed and re-assigned the Microsoft 365 license. Executed the required PowerShell commands and confirmed that the user has a valid OneDrive URL and access permissions. Verified OneDrive and SharePoint settings from the SharePoint Admin Center. Used Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) and reviewed the recommendations provided. Attempted to re-provision the user's OneDrive site. Despite completing all the above steps, the issue persists and the same error continues to be displayed. Additional Information: User has a valid Microsoft 365 license assigned. OneDrive service is enabled for the user. SharePoint Online is functioning normally for other users. Re-provisioning OneDrive did not resolve the issue. Has anyone encountered a similar issue or can suggest additional troubleshooting steps to identify the root cause? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
ONEDRIVE WEB VERSION
I use the OneDrive web version because I don't want to install the OneDrive app, as I have very little space on my C: drive. So my question is: I copied all my music from my PC to OneDrive via the web a few months ago, but it has all disappeared again! I had to do this last year as well because it had all disappeared then too. Why do I have to keep doing this? It takes a very long time because my broadband is very slow. Luckily, I have a backup on an external hard drive, but I don't want to have to keep doing this! Does anyone know why my Music folder keeps disappearing from my OneDrive (web)?
Missing Files
Previously, I had been using Onedrive to save data on it. I didn't have a lot of data but some folders, files, etc... Last week, on my Mac, I installed Onedrive and it was active. Today, after I signed in to my account, my files were missing. Some of it was cache when I synced it with my Mac. I know stuff was there. Now, after I sign in, there is folders there but they are empty. These folders were not there earlier. There is whole bunch of files in the recycle bin which I didn't put there. Some how the cached files ended up in the recycling bin. I am not able to install Onedrive anymore on the Mac. What is going on?
Way to recover onedrive content without my login
Is there a way to recover whatever might have been uploaded to OneDrive (because it hijacks the computer) without my old phone number? I'm still waiting for the AI to "moderate" my initial question and post it, and am assuming I'll be up a creek without a paddle. Will it let me uninstall onedrive from a samsung notebook entirely without my old phone number being accessible? (I changed my number. I have zero access to the old number and no way to get into my account to change it.) It is so wholly unethical and morally depraved that Microsoft is allowed to get away with this.OneDrive login--no longer have my old phone number
Thank you in advance for any help you can provide. I have a Samsung notebook that came with preinstalled OneDrive, purchased in 2021 Since then, my phone number changed. I do not even remember signing up for onedrive--I was recovering from a neurological problem when this laptop was bought, and I am guessing onedrive can't be deleted, because its not something I would have signed up for had I been in my right mind. I don't want to try deleting it because it appears some files have been automatically uploaded to the inaccessible onedrive. Recently passed this notebook on to a family member, and his photos are getting uploaded to a one drive account I no longer have the cell phone number to verify log in on with. The log in support page has zero option that works to get my login phone number changed. Obviously, Microsoft phone support blocks your number once you call because they do not care about non-business customers. How can we recover the photos that were forced-to-upload to onedrive without the old phone number? Once we do that, will it cause issues on the samsung notebook to uninstall onedrive, if that is even possible. Thank you.Missing data
I recieved several emails from Microsoft that were legit. I was advised I am 290+ GB over my quota for 5GB I realize my Clipchamp was saving to my personal OneDrive NOT my business OneDrive (where I have 5TB) Anyway, I opened a ticket with Microsoft and they confirmed my personal OneDrive has 1GB of data in it -- not 290+ Looks like my data vanished... Can you please contact me and help with resolution?
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