Fix SharePoint Online sync problems

1. Sign in to Microsoft 365 with your work or school account.

2. Browse to your SharePoint in Microsoft 365 location.

3. Select the Document folder or Library that you are trying to sync.

If you don't see the sync option, or you see a screen that says, "Which library do you want to sync?" then the site has not been configured for syncing, and you should contact the site owner.

If you cannot access your SharePoint, contact the site owner or your Network Administrator.

Learn how to reinstall and update OneDrive.

Unlinking and re-linking your computer to OneDrive can help solve some sync problems. Learn how.

If you are seeing the sync icon stuck for a long period of time, moving some files out of a sync folder can help clear any sync issues.

1. Select the blue OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area or top tray.

   

   : You might need to click the Show hidden icons arrow next to the notification area to see the OneDrive icon, or click and start typing "select which icons" to display the notification area settings option, and then show Microsoft OneDrive. If the icon still doesn't appear in the notification area, OneDrive might not be running. Click  , type OneDrive in the search box, and then click OneDrive (not "OneDrive for work or school" as that may be an older version) in the search results.

2. Select > Pause syncing > 2 hours

3. Select a file from one of your sync folders and move it to a folder that's not part of OneDrive, for example, C:\users\

4. Select  again and select Resume syncing. 

5. When the sync is complete, move the file back again.

There are three types of constraint with SharePoint files and filenames:

1. Make sure that none of the files you want to sync are larger than 15GB. If you see an error message such as "This file is too big to upload" or "Reduce the size of this file to upload to..." try reducing the size of a file by zipping it. You may be able to reduce the file size of a picture.

2. Make sure the entire file path, including the file name, contains fewer than 400 characters. An example of a file path is: 
   C:\Users\<UserName>\Pictures\Saved\2017\December\Holiday\NewYears\Family… 
   
   To resolve this, shorten the name of your file or the name of subfolders in SharePoint, or select a sub-folder that's closer to the top-level folder.

3. Make sure that your file doesn't contain any illegal or characters (such as <, >, :, ", |, ?, *, /, \) or that the folder includes any unsupported file types. Learn more about Restrictions and limitations when you sync files and folders.

Repairing or reinstalling Office can sometimes fix sync conflicts between Office and SharePoint. Read how to Download and install or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 on a PC or Mac.

If you continue to have issues syncing, you can reset OneDrive. Learn how.

OneDrive Files On-Demand helps you access all your files in OneDrive without having to download all of them and use storage space on your device. Learn more about OneDrive Files On-Demand.

You can also download fewer files by choosing which OneDrive folders to sync to your computer.

If SharePoint sync seems to be stuck for a long time or the status shows "Processing 0KB of xMB" it could be because you have a lot of files in your SharePoint or a lot of new files to be uploaded. If you have more than 100,000 files, sync can take a long time.

To see how many files you have in your OneDrive folders:

1. Open File Explorer.

2. Right-click the OneDrive folder and select Properties.
   
   

3. If the Contains number is more than 100,000, you should consider which OneDrive folders to sync to your computer.

If the sync is already in process, you can Pause and Resume your sync to get things going again.

1. Select the blue OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar.

   

   : You might need to click the Show hidden icons arrow next to the notification area to see the OneDrive icon, or click and start typing "select which icons" to display the notification area settings option, and then show Microsoft OneDrive. If the icon still doesn't appear in the notification area, OneDrive might not be running. Click  , type OneDrive in the search box, and then click OneDrive (not "OneDrive for work or school" as that may be an older version) in the search results.

2. Select > Pause syncing, and select either 2, 8 or 24 hours.

3. Select again and select Resume syncing.