Your files have stopped moving between this PC and the cloud. Maybe the OneDrive cloud icon in your taskbar looks off, maybe a document keeps showing "uploading" forever, or maybe nothing seems to update on OneDrive.com no matter how long you wait.
Most OneDrive sync failures trace back to a small set of verified causes: sync got paused, your Microsoft storage is full, you are signed out, a single file is blocked, or the sync state needs a reset. The good news is that none of these fixes delete your files, and the quickest ones take seconds.
Work through the fixes below in order. They start with the fastest, most common causes and move toward the heavier repairs only if you still need them.
Read the Taskbar Icon First
The OneDrive cloud icon in your notification area tells you exactly what is wrong before you change anything. Select it to read its state.
- A pause symbol means syncing is paused.
- An exclamation mark means your account is nearly full.
- A lock means your account is full, locked, or frozen.
- A grey icon with a line through it means you are not signed in.
- An hourglass means it is processing changes.
- A red X means a personal sync error; a blue circle with an X means a work or school sync error.
Whatever the icon shows points you to the matching fix below, so start there rather than guessing.
Resume or Restart Sync
OneDrive pauses itself automatically when your PC enters battery saver mode or connects to a metered network, so sync can stop silently with only the "Paused" icon to show for it. It can also be paused manually for 2, 8, or 24 hours.
To resume, select the OneDrive cloud icon, then in the Activity Center at the top select the alert or yellow box to resume syncing. Sync also resumes on its own once a 2-, 8-, or 24-hour pause window expires.
If resuming does not help, fully restart the app. Right-click the OneDrive icon, choose Close OneDrive (or Quit OneDrive), then reopen it from Start by typing OneDrive and selecting the OneDrive desktop app.
Free Up Your Microsoft Storage
If you exceed your Microsoft storage, you will not be able to upload, edit, or sync new files to OneDrive. That is the exclamation-mark ("nearly full") and lock ("full, locked or frozen") state.
Open your Microsoft account Storage page to check what is left. Delete large or unneeded files, or buy more storage, until you are back under quota. While you are there, confirm the file you are trying to sync is below OneDrive's 250 GB individual file size limit, which applies to both personal and work or school accounts.
Fix the Sign-In
A grey OneDrive icon with a line through it means OneDrive is not signed in, often after a password change, forgotten credentials, a firewall or ISP block, or a service outage.
- 1.Select the grayed-out or crossed-through OneDrive icon in the system tray.
- 2.At the "Set up OneDrive" screen, enter your email address and password.
- 3.If sign-in succeeds but it still will not connect, test for a firewall or ISP block by connecting through a phone hotspot.
- 4.Relaunch the app by searching OneDrive in Start.
For a work or school account, reset your password or contact your organization's IT administrator. Note that only one Microsoft personal account can be added.
Rename Files That Break the Rules
A single file can stall sync and produce "This file name contains invalid characters." or "Upload Failed - Invalid characters." Several naming rules are easy to trip over.
- Remove these characters from any name: " * : < > ? / \ |. Also remove any leading or trailing spaces, which block sync even though they are hard to see.
- Avoid blocked or reserved names: .lock, CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM0-COM9, LPT0-LPT9, _vti_ (anywhere in a name, not just the start), desktop.ini, any name starting with ~$, and "forms" at the root of a library.
- Shorten deep folder structures so the entire decoded path, including the file name, stays under 400 characters.
- Keep total synced items under the recommended 300,000; the 1,000,000-item ceiling is only in public preview on Windows, so do not assume a million items will sync reliably. Move excess items out of the synced folder if you are far over.
Resolve a Single File That Will Not Sync
When OneDrive shows "This file can't be synced," the error text tells you the cause.
- "This file is in use by another application": close the app holding it open (the document, photo editor, or Outlook), then let it sync.
- "OneDrive doesn't have permission to access the file": open the file's Properties and make sure Read and Write permissions are enabled.
- If neither applies, move the file out of the OneDrive folder and then move it back in to re-trigger the sync.
Clear a Sync Stuck on "Processing Changes"
"Processing changes" or "Processing 0 KB of X" usually means an open file, very large files, a bulk addition, a recent sign-out, or hidden temporary files are holding things up.
- 1.Close any open file that is currently being edited.
- 2.For very large items, move Outlook data files (PST/OST) out of OneDrive, exclude folders containing large videos, and delete safe-to-remove "aria-debug" log files. Note that you cannot remove Outlook data files from sync while Files On-Demand is in use, which can keep a large PST or OST perpetually processing.
- 3.If many files were just added, wait for it to finish and test your internet connection speed.
- 4.If you were signed out after a password change, sign back in with the current password.
- 5.Select the OneDrive cloud icon to see which files are open, syncing, or recently synced.
- 6.If it is still stuck, unlink and re-link the OneDrive account.
Re-pick Which Folders Sync
If certain folders never appear locally, confirm they are selected. Select the OneDrive cloud icon, select the Help & Settings (gear) icon, and choose Settings. Go to the Account tab and select Choose folders. In the dialog, check the folders you want and uncheck the ones you do not, then select OK.
You cannot uncheck the protected folders Documents, Desktop, Pictures, and Personal Vault, and you can only sync folders already in your OneDrive (an external USB drive cannot be added this way).
Reset OneDrive
When sync has been stuck for a long time and nothing else works, a reset clears a corrupted local sync state. Resetting only disconnects your sync connections; it does not delete your files.
- 1.Press Windows key + R, type wsreset.exe and select OK.
- 2.Press Windows key + R again and paste %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset, then select OK.
- 3.If you see "Windows cannot find...", try in order: C:\Program Files\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset then C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset.
- 4.If OneDrive does not restart on its own, open it from Start by typing OneDrive.
Afterward, if you previously chose specific folders to sync, reconfigure that selection, because the reset does not remember it.
Repair, Resolve, or Reinstall (Work, School, and Last Resort)
On a work or school account, right-click the OneDrive notification icon and click Repair, then click Repair again and click Finish when done. Repair disconnects and reconnects libraries with sync problems and resyncs the current server versions; any unsynced local changes are archived to C:\users\[username]\OneDrive archives\. Do not restart your PC while Repair runs, and postpone any scheduled auto-restart. If the Repair command is missing while you still have errors, update the OneDrive sync app first, since Repair only appears when sync errors exist.
To handle conflicts, right-click the OneDrive for work or school icon and choose Resolve. For Office files choose Open to Resolve, Save a Copy, or Discard; for non-Office files choose Choose, Save a Copy, or Discard. Be aware that for non-Office files a conflict is not always flagged: OneDrive may quietly save both versions, append the device name to the file name, and keep up to 10 conflict versions.
To clear Upload Center cache, find the Microsoft Office Upload Center icon in the notification area, right-click it, choose Settings, then Delete cached files. If an admin disabled the library you will see "Options set for this library by your administrator prohibit users from syncing it to a local computer," and no client-side fix works until a site admin enables it via Settings > Site Settings > Search and Offline Availability > Offline Client Availability > Yes.
If sync is still broken, reinstall. Open Settings, search for "Add or remove programs," find Microsoft OneDrive, select Uninstall, then reinstall OneDrive from Microsoft, sign in, and reconfigure your folder choices (selective sync is not remembered). Uninstalling does not lose data; files remain at OneDrive.com.
Fix the OneDrive Mobile App
On iOS and Android, first confirm you can reach the internet and have not exceeded your account storage. Then update the OneDrive app via the App Store or Google Play. Sign out and back in; if needed, force stop the app and clear its cache before reopening on Android, or remove and reinstall on iOS.
For camera upload to run, enable background activity: on iOS allow Background App Refresh and Location Services for OneDrive; on Android allow OneDrive to run in the background. Finally, check the camera-upload settings in the app, including whether uploads are allowed on metered or cellular connections.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does resetting OneDrive delete my files? No. A reset only disconnects your personal and work or school sync connections and forces a full re-sync, which can take a while. Your files are not deleted. You do need to re-select which folders to sync afterward if you previously customized that.
Why did sync stop with no error at all? OneDrive auto-pauses when your PC is in battery saver mode or on a metered network. Sync can stop silently with only the "Paused" icon, which is easy to mistake for a bug. Select the icon and resume from the Activity Center.
What is the largest file OneDrive can sync? The individual file upload limit is 250 GB for both personal and work or school accounts. The whole decoded file path, including the file name, must also stay under 400 characters.
Why does the Repair option not show up? The work or school Repair command only appears when sync errors currently exist. If you have errors but no Repair option, update the OneDrive sync app first, then check again.
Why won't OneDrive let me sync my work library at all? An administrator can disable a library for sync, which removes the Sync button and shows the "Options set for this library by your administrator..." error. A site admin must enable Offline Client Availability before any sync will work.
A file keeps failing even though the name looks fine. What am I missing? Check for leading or trailing spaces, which are blocked but hard to see. Also watch for _vti_ anywhere in the name and "forms" at the root of a library, plus reserved names like CON, NUL, or anything starting with ~$.
