SharePoint suddenly requiring admin access to save files for everyone in my organisation through file explorer, not online, when before it was working fine.

Eli Peters 20 Reputation points
2025-09-09T22:17:31.3966667+00:00

SharePoint suddenly requiring admin access to save files for everyone in my organisation through file explorer, not online, when before it was working fine. Does anyone know what may have caused this?

No one with admin access at my organisation has made any changes to permissions (and don't know how as we outsource our IT) and when accessed through a browser saving is allowed, only file explorer and the synced drive doesn't work as expected. One drive works fine and we can save there. We have a business tenant license.

Microsoft 365 and Office | SharePoint | For business | Windows
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Chris Duong 10,705 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2025-09-09T23:18:04.9266667+00:00

Hi @Eli Peters, 

Good day to you! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Thank you for reaching out regarding the recent issue with saving files to SharePoint via File Explorer. I understand how disruptive this can be, especially when everything was working smoothly before.  

If a SharePoint document library has “Require Check Out” enabled or has content approval / draft item security configured such that only certain users can see drafts, the OneDrive sync client will sync those files as read-only. When a library enforces check-out, all files in that library appear with a padlock icon in File Explorer and cannot be edited until checked out on the web. In effect, the sync client will not allow local edits, which Windows misleadingly presents as needing admin permission (because the file system is locked). 

Such a setting could have been turned on (intentionally or accidentally) by someone with site owner access, or it may have been enabled by default if the library was created via a template that requires check-out. It can appear sudden if, for example, a new library setting was toggled over a weekend or an update started enforcing an existing setting more strictly. 

I hope this detailed explanation helps! If anything is unclear or if you have any more questions about this issue, please let me know. I’m here to help.  

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  1. Eli Peters 20 Reputation points
    2025-09-09T22:53:43.8733333+00:00

    I threw this question into ChatGPT and the first thing it mentions is "Required Check Out" in Versioning Settings for a Document Library. I was in Versioning Settings before the problem occurred and I changed just two settings to Create major and minor versions; and Manual for time limit. Switching these two settings back to default fixed the issue. The thing is this document library, one of many, affected the entire drive permission! ChatGPT went on to say:

    Since outsourcing IT often means changes happen behind the scenes, I’d recommend asking your IT provider to focus first on:

    Did they enable “Require Check Out” or tweak versioning settings?

    Were any GPOs or sync policies recently applied?

    Can they confirm the sync client is using the correct business credentials for all affected users?

    Are they open to clearing or resetting the sync client on a test machine?

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