Sync files between Macbook Pro OneDrive location and files on OneDrive.live.com

YP Yashodhara 0 Reputation points
2026-11-11T05:55:45.48+00:00

I have a family account on MS 365. I have a Macbook Pro. I save files on it and I see the files on the location folder of OneDrive. The OneDrive app in the top right corner shoes that all files are synced and backed up. However, when I go to OneDrive.live.com and access the same folder , I see that file that has not been updated and sync.d.

I have tried quitting OneDrive and unlinking Mac and painfully built back the Sync. But, I found that IO cannot do this each time as I collaborate on these files and need to share links of the latest version. The problem is greatest if I change file name

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | MacOS
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  1. Kai-H 30,915 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-11-11T10:54:21.8566667+00:00

    Hi, @YP Yashodhara

    Sorry you're stuck with this. On macOS, OneDrive runs through Apple's File Provider system, and when its local sync database gets out of step with the cloud, the menu bar icon can show "synced" even though the server never got the latest version or the new file name. Unlinking only patches it temporarily because the stale database is rebuilt the same way.

    Here are some suggestions you can try:

    Check the real OneDrive folder. On macOS 12.1 and later, the actual location is Library > Cloud Storage > OneDrive. If you are saving into an older "OneDrive" folder or an alias from a previous setup, changes may not reach the cloud. Save a test file directly in the Cloud Storage path and see if it appears on onedrive.live.com within a minute.

    Make sure you are not running two versions. If you ever installed OneDrive from both the Mac App Store and the standalone installer, you can end up with two sync folders. Click the cloud icon, check for a "signed in to 2 versions" message, and remove the old one. Keep just the standalone version from OneDrive.com, since it handles Desktop/Documents backup properly.

    Reset the sync client instead of unlinking. Quit OneDrive, then in Finder go to Applications, right-click OneDrive, choose Show Package Contents > Contents > Resources, and double-click ResetOneDriveApp.command (or ResetOneDriveAppStandalone.command). Reopen OneDrive and sign in. This is recommended over unlinking because it rebuilds the sync database rather than just reconnecting the account, and it has fixed exactly this "says synced but web shows old file" behavior for others. No files are deleted.

    Clear cached sign-in. Open Keychain Access, search for OneDrive, delete "OneDrive Cached Credential," then relaunch OneDrive.

    For renamed files, give it a moment and check the cloud icon for a "processing changes" status before sharing the link. Renames are sent as a separate operation, so if the client was mid-sync, the web shows the old name until it catches up.

    Let us know how it goes after the reset.

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