Teams-Onedrive and regular Windows Onedrive on the same accounts never actually in sync... critical files missing

Question

Teams-Onedrive and regular Windows Onedrive on the same accounts never actually in sync... critical files missing

Dan Crain 0

We have been having some serious data sharing/access/sync issues with Teams-Onedrive (which I realize is partially based on Sharepoint) and regular Windows embedded Onedrive that is part of our business account logged into exactly the same account.

As an example, If we add files to one of our Teams-Onedrive folders, its completely unpredictable whether other people who have access to that folder will ever see or be able to access these files.

Worse, many of our Windows users (like me), also have logged into the business Onedrive account, which is the same as the Teams-Onedrive account, but the directory structure/filesystem is not the same, and the local Windows version cannot see most of the files that are in the Teams view and vice versa....

Worse than that, I use several computers (laptop and several desktops) that are all logged into the same exact business account with Windows embedded Onedrive, and and even those aren't the same. I create something on a desktop as an example, save it to the MY business Onedrive directory, then try to retrieve it on a different machine (all on MY account) and those don't even match and the files are missing.

No idea how to proceed

Dan Crain 0 Reputation points

2026-07-08T19:49:39.08+00:00

Thanks Ryan. I was able to do the first step of checking the cloud. Its hard to tell if all the files are correct, because no each computer is now so different with so many file mismatches, but I'll try and investigate in detail in a bit.

I was NOT able to do step 2 Go to Team > share> sync. I cannot find that screen anywhere in Teams (desktop/windows). No idea now to find that.

And before I reset Onedrive (local, windows embedded), I don't want to my personal one, just the business Onedrive on that account.
Ryan-N 15,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-08T21:11:35.2733333+00:00

Hi Dan,

Thank you for your response.

Please feel free to proceed and check whether there are any differences between the files. If you notice any discrepancies, please share them with me so I can take a closer look.

Regarding the second issue, my understanding is that you have a channel within Microsoft Teams.

This Teams channel is connected to a SharePoint site in your tenant. Please open the channel, then select Files > Sync.

After completing this step, the files will be synchronized to the Teams/OneDrive folder on your local computer.

If you add or delete any files in this folder, other users who have access to it will see the same changes.

You may refer to the image below:

Regarding resetting OneDrive, if you would like to reset your OneDrive for Business account, please follow these steps:

Step 1: Right-click the OneDrive icon (cloud icon) associated with your business account.

Step 2: Select Settings > Account > Unlink this PC.

Step 3: Sign in and add the account again.

After that, please check whether the issue still occurs.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.
Dan Crain 0 Reputation points

2026-07-08T21:29:25.1833333+00:00

Ryan, thanks for doing all that work! The screen shot of the Teams channel App Bar you provided does not match what's in mine. That icon for the Teams channel is not there in my Teams client (Windows version). It doesn't exist in mine. FYI, we're using bone stock Teams installed from the O365 Business app website. I checked in settings and the admin panel, and there's no obvious way for me to configure that Teams channel in the App Bar that I can tell
Ryan-N 15,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-08T21:35:01.1466667+00:00

Hi Dan,

Please follow the steps below and check whether the Teams section is displayed:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Teams and click Settings.

Step 2: Select Chat and Channels, then choose Separate under the chat and channel display options.

Once completed, please check whether the Teams section is now visible and let me know the result.
Ryan-N 15,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-10T18:46:30.8+00:00

Hi Dan,

I hope everything is going well on your end.

I’m following up on the support thread we've been working through together. I wanted to check in and see if the information I shared in my previous answer helped resolve the issue you were experiencing.

If you're still experiencing any issues or have further questions, please feel free to reach out at any time. I’m always happy to help if you need anything else.

I want to ensure everything is functioning smoothly and that your experience remains seamless.

Thank you again for your collaboration throughout the troubleshooting process. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warm regards,

1 answer

Your answer

Dan Crain 0 Reputation points

2026-07-08T19:49:39.08+00:00

Thanks Ryan. I was able to do the first step of checking the cloud. Its hard to tell if all the files are correct, because no each computer is now so different with so many file mismatches, but I'll try and investigate in detail in a bit.

I was NOT able to do step 2 Go to Team > share> sync. I cannot find that screen anywhere in Teams (desktop/windows). No idea now to find that.

And before I reset Onedrive (local, windows embedded), I don't want to my personal one, just the business Onedrive on that account.
Ryan-N 15,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-08T21:11:35.2733333+00:00

Hi Dan,

Thank you for your response.

Please feel free to proceed and check whether there are any differences between the files. If you notice any discrepancies, please share them with me so I can take a closer look.

Regarding the second issue, my understanding is that you have a channel within Microsoft Teams.

This Teams channel is connected to a SharePoint site in your tenant. Please open the channel, then select Files > Sync.

After completing this step, the files will be synchronized to the Teams/OneDrive folder on your local computer.

If you add or delete any files in this folder, other users who have access to it will see the same changes.

You may refer to the image below:

Regarding resetting OneDrive, if you would like to reset your OneDrive for Business account, please follow these steps:

Step 1: Right-click the OneDrive icon (cloud icon) associated with your business account.

Step 2: Select Settings > Account > Unlink this PC.

Step 3: Sign in and add the account again.

After that, please check whether the issue still occurs.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.
Dan Crain 0 Reputation points

2026-07-08T21:29:25.1833333+00:00

Ryan, thanks for doing all that work! The screen shot of the Teams channel App Bar you provided does not match what's in mine. That icon for the Teams channel is not there in my Teams client (Windows version). It doesn't exist in mine. FYI, we're using bone stock Teams installed from the O365 Business app website. I checked in settings and the admin panel, and there's no obvious way for me to configure that Teams channel in the App Bar that I can tell
Ryan-N 15,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-08T21:35:01.1466667+00:00

Hi Dan,

Please follow the steps below and check whether the Teams section is displayed:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Teams and click Settings.

Step 2: Select Chat and Channels, then choose Separate under the chat and channel display options.

Once completed, please check whether the Teams section is now visible and let me know the result.
Ryan-N 15,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-10T18:46:30.8+00:00

Hi Dan,

I hope everything is going well on your end.

I’m following up on the support thread we've been working through together. I wanted to check in and see if the information I shared in my previous answer helped resolve the issue you were experiencing.

If you're still experiencing any issues or have further questions, please feel free to reach out at any time. I’m always happy to help if you need anything else.

I want to ensure everything is functioning smoothly and that your experience remains seamless.

Thank you again for your collaboration throughout the troubleshooting process. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warm regards,

Answer 1

Hi Dan,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum

Based on your description, you have noticed that when using the same account on multiple devices, the folder structure in OneDrive appears different.

Please follow the steps below and check whether the issue continues to occur.

Verify whether the files exist in the cloud

Please sign in to OneDrive on the web at onedrive.live.com and check whether the files that appear to be missing are visible there.

If the files are still present, this indicates that the data has been successfully stored in the cloud and that the issue may be related only to the local OneDrive application on your computer.

Set up SharePoint Sync for the Teams document library

Step 1: Open Microsoft Teams.

Step 2: Go to Team > share> sync

User's image

After completing these steps, you will be redirected to the team's SharePoint site. From there, click Sync to synchronize the document library.

Because files in Teams are stored in SharePoint, this process will synchronize the SharePoint document library to your computer.

If the issue persists after completing the steps above, try resetting OneDrive to force a full resynchronization

To reset OneDrive, please refer to the following article:

Reset OneDrive | Microsoft Support

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it.

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