Windows 10 Update (KB5001716) Broke My OneDrive on Windows 10 22H2
Prior to the August update all was well. I couldn't log into OneDrive from my desktop. No issues through my phone or online. Login screen fades away with no error just ghost One Drives filling my taskbar because multiple instances of OneDrive appear in Task Manager. At first, I thought maybe the update exposed some file corruption. A quick uninstall of OneDrive and re-install. Of course nothing is easy. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to use AI to assist my troubleshooting. The AI found multiple issues with Windows Update Cleanup & WebView2 Runtime. I was all in the registry and services application. In the end, nothing worked and I threw the bomb at the desktop. Clean Windows install from a USB. Reinstalled Microsoft 365 and thought all would be well. Nothing is ever easy. The exact same issue. Microsoft validates my login but the hand-off to OneDrive fails. I got an actual error message for the first time from OneDrive. I reached out to tech support. AI seemed to think it's not a desktop issue because of the clean install. Because I'm on a Windows 10 machine my support person disclaimed limited support. I understood and was gracious. I had the opportunity to relay to my support person that I may have a backend issue and specifically error 0x8004e4f8 after a full clean install is the smoking gun. This error does not come from Windows. It comes from Microsoft’s cloud identity backend rejecting your OneDrive token request. I also performed these actions prior to reaching out: Full clean install All Windows updates Fresh OneDrive install Fresh Microsoft 365 install Fresh WebView2 Fresh Edge New password New recovery email Removal of old identity methods Device reboot Device registration reset I also relayed to my support person that AI thought Microsoft needed to perform these actions due to the error code: It requires a Microsoft engineer to: Reset your OneDrive service flags Rebuild your OneDrive tenant metadata Regenerate your OneDrive provisioning state Clear corrupted backend identity tokens Re‑provision your account on the OneDrive service My support person disagreed because my online OneDrive still works. He proved it using Quick Assist. We even tried using a new profile to see if OneDrive would work. No. Same issue. Window accepts me through authentication but when logging into OneDrive I receive the error message, try again later, or fades away. That was the end of my official Microsoft technical support. They suggested I post on here so here I am. Anyone else?
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 sync causes workflow inefficiencies and UX issues in Microsoft 365 and File Explorer
I would like to describe some workflow issues caused by the current integration between OneDrive, Windows, File Explorer, and Microsoft 365 apps. I understand that OneDrive is designed to synchronize files across devices, but in some scenarios the current behavior creates unnecessary delays, especially with slow internet connections or large synchronization queues. 1. Exported Microsoft 365 files are not immediately available in the selected OneDrive folder When exporting a Microsoft 365 file, for example exporting a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document to PDF, the user can select a OneDrive-synced folder as the destination. However, the exported file is not always immediately visible or accessible in that folder through Windows File Explorer. From the user’s perspective, it seems that the file is first saved into a temporary or internal Microsoft 365/OneDrive staging location, then uploaded to OneDrive, and only later appears in the actual synced folder through the normal synchronization process. The issue is not that the file is never stored locally, but that it is not immediately available in the location explicitly selected by the user. This creates practical problems. After exporting a PDF, I may need to quickly locate it in File Explorer to copy it elsewhere, attach it, upload it to another platform, or use it in a web tool to merge it with other PDFs. However, even though I selected a OneDrive folder as the destination, the file may not be available there right away. A related issue is that Microsoft 365 or Windows may open the exported file through a browser or web link instead of opening the local file directly. This can trigger login prompts, open the web version of Office, and interrupt the expected desktop workflow. Expected behavior: When saving or exporting a file to a OneDrive-synced folder, the file should become immediately visible and accessible in the selected folder in File Explorer, while OneDrive continues uploading or syncing it in the background. If the user selected a local OneDrive path, Microsoft 365 should prioritize the local file workflow and avoid redirecting to the browser unless explicitly requested. 2. File duplication inside OneDrive should use both cloud-side copy and local optimization Another issue occurs when duplicating or copying a file that is already stored in OneDrive, especially within the same OneDrive account. Currently, the process may behave like a traditional local copy: the file is downloaded if needed, copied locally, and then uploaded again as a new file. This is inefficient when OneDrive already has the source file in the cloud and the operation is simply a copy within the same account. Ideally, OneDrive should combine two optimizations: Perform a cloud-side copy when possible, so the duplicated file appears quickly in OneDrive online and on other devices. Reuse the local cache when available, so the current device does not unnecessarily download and re-upload the same data. This would make copied files appear faster on other devices as online-only placeholders, ready to be downloaded later if the user opens them or marks them as available offline. The other device should not have to wait for the first computer to download, copy, re-upload, and then synchronize the change. Expected behavior: When copying or duplicating a OneDrive file within the same account, OneDrive should use a cloud-side copy whenever possible, while also reusing local data when available. The copied file should appear quickly across devices as an online-available item, without forcing a redundant download, local copy, upload, and synchronization cycle. 3. OneDrive does not dynamically prioritize files the user needs immediately A third issue appears when OneDrive has a large backlog of pending synchronization changes, especially after using another computer. In this situation, OneDrive seems to follow its own synchronization order, even if the user opens a specific folder or tries to access a specific file urgently. For example, if there are hundreds or thousands of pending changes, and I need one specific document, that file may remain unavailable until OneDrive reaches it in the queue. Even when I navigate directly to the folder or attempt to open the file, OneDrive does not seem to move that item to the top of the sync priority. Expected behavior: OneDrive should dynamically adjust synchronization priority based on user activity. If the user opens a folder, selects a file, or attempts to open a cloud-only item, that file and its immediate dependencies should be prioritized over the general sync queue. Summary of requested improvements I believe these issues could be improved with smarter local and cloud prioritization: Exported or saved files should become immediately visible in the OneDrive folder selected by the user. Microsoft 365 should avoid opening exported files through a browser when the local file workflow is expected. Copying files within the same OneDrive account should use cloud-side copy operations when possible. Local file data should be reused to avoid unnecessary download and upload cycles. Copied files should appear quickly on other devices as online-available placeholders. OneDrive should prioritize files and folders the user is actively trying to access. Is this behavior expected, or are there settings to make OneDrive prioritize local file availability, cloud-side copy operations, and currently accessed files more intelligently?onedrive sync issues
Hi We use OneDrive for Business and need a solution for sharing files and folders among a team while maintaining proper access permissions. Currently, each team member's Desktop and Documents folders are synced with their own personal OneDrive for Business account. In addition, we have a separate common OneDrive account that has been added to all team members' PCs, and all team members have Owner permissions on that account. When a user creates a folder or saves a file in the shared OneDrive location, it is actually being created under the common OneDrive account, not in the user's personal OneDrive. While this allows everyone to access the same files, we frequently experience synchronization conflicts and sync issues between users. What is the Microsoft-recommended approach for this type of collaboration? Is using a common OneDrive account with multiple owners a supported best practice, or should we instead use a SharePoint document library (or another Microsoft 365 solution) for shared team files, permissions, and reliable synchronization? ThanksOutlook attachments and OneDrive recent files
In Outlook Web App and the new Outlook app, the Add Attachment button displays 3 Suggested files and allows you to browse OneDrive. When you choose OneDrive, it displays a list of Recent files. What criteria is used to determine the list of suggested and recent files? I've seen very random behaviour. Sometimes, I'll open a document in SharePoint Online and when I try to attach it to an Outlook emial, it appears in the Suggested files list and the Recent files straight away. Other times it only shows up after I reload the browser tab. It's more likely to show up as one of the 3 suggested files, without needing a refresh. However I've also had it show up under OneDrive Recent files only. It doesn't appear to detect new files uploaded to SharePoint Online or OneDrive. For example, I download a PDF from another website and save it to a folder on my computer that syncs back to SharePoint Online. I then want to email this PDF to someone, but it's not available from the Outlook attachments button. I need to open the file before it shows up under the Outlook attachments button. It would be much more useful if Outlook picked up on files I recently created as well as opened.
With subscription, does recycle bin second stage show preiously deleted items
Hi There: I've filtered through a good portion of the discussions, but have not seen this particular question Sorry if I missed it: I have a basic non-business OneDrive account. A couple of days ago I deleted a file in the recycle bin by mistake. With this basic account, I do not have access to Second Stage. If I started a temporary Microsoft 365 subscription or business account, Second Stage should then be accessible. My question is, would I be able to see previously deleted files in Second Stage, or would it be empty by default since it is a new subscription?
