6 Ways: How to Force OneDrive to Sync with SharePoint

• Why Force OneDrive to Sync with SharePoint?
• How to Force OneDrive to Sync with SharePoint in Traditional Ways
• Ultimate Solution: Sync SharePoint Files with OneDrive with MultCloud
• Conclusion

Why Force OneDrive to Sync with SharePoint?

When working with SharePoint and OneDrive together, seamless syncing is vital to keep your team on the same page. However, OneDrive doesn’t always update instantly or correctly. That’s where manually forcing a sync comes in. Whether you're dealing with outdated files, sync errors, or recent changes not reflecting, knowing why and when to force OneDrive to sync with SharePoint can save time, prevent confusion, and ensure smooth collaboration. Here are the top reasons to do it.

How to Force OneDrive to Sync with SharePoint in Traditional Ways

In this part, we will go through the steps of 5 easy ways to force syncing OneDrive with SharePoint, including pausing OneDrive syncing, restarting OneDrive, using the SharePoint Sync button, resetting OneDrive, and checking file path and name of syncing files.

Method 1. Pause and Resync OneDrive

Step 1. Click the OneDrive icon in the taskbar on the desktop. Then, click the gear icon.

Step 2. Choose “Pause syncing”, choose a time, and wait for a while.

Step 3. Click the gear icon again on the OneDrive app and click “Resume syncing” to refresh the sync connection.

Method 2. Restart OneDrive

Step 1. Click the OneDrive button in the taskbar and select the gear icon.

Step 2. Choose “Quit OneDrive” in the dropdown menu.

Step 3. Press “Win+S” on your keyboard and select OneDrive to restart it. The restarting process clears temporary issues and re-initializes sync with SharePoint.

Method 3. Utilize the Sync button on SharePoint

Step 1. Open SharePoint Online in a browser and go to a document library that contains your desired files.

Step 2. Click the “Sync” button in the upper bar. Then, follow the prompt to sync this SharePoint library with OneDrive.

Method 4: Reset OneDrive (Advanced)

This method is for the situation that your OneDrive syncing is stuck completely or SharePoint files aren’t appearing at all.

Step 1. Press “Win+R” and enter: %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset.

Step 2. Wait a few minutes. If OneDrive doesn’t restart automatically, run: %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe.

Method 5: Check for File Path and Name Issues

You encounter the “Why doesn’t my OneDrive sync with SharePoint?” issue may be because there is something wrong with the file path or name.

• Make sure no file path exceeds 400 characters.
• Avoid special characters like * : < > ? / \ |.

Ultimate Solution: Sync SharePoint Files with OneDrive with MultCloud

If the above ways cannot solve your problem, there is another method that can sync SharePoint to OneDrive or vice versa: using MultCloud Cloud Sync. MultCloud is a professional cloud management service where you can manage multiple cloud accounts, like SharePoint Online, OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, Dropbox, iCloud Drive, and Google Drive, on one website.

Cloud Sync is one of the main functions on MultCloud, especially designed for cloud-to-cloud file sync. This feature can automatically transfer files from SharePoint to OneDrive without downloading and uploading. Besides, you can use the Real Time Sync mode to update the added or modified files to OneDrive immediately. Except for Real Time Sync, there are more sync modes you can apply to your task:

So how to use MultCloud Cloud Sync to make OneDrive and SharePoint automatically? Here are the specific steps:

Step 1. Enter the MultCloud website and click “Get started for free” to create an account.

Step 2. Click “Add Cloud” and the OneDrive logo. Then, log in to your OneDrive account and allow MultCloud to access it in the pop-up window. Also, add SharePoint Online to MultCloud with the same step.

Step 3. Select the “Cloud Sync” function in the left sidebar and choose SharePoint as the source and OneDrive as the target.

Step 4. Open “Options” to view the sync modes. After all the settings, tap “Sync Now” to start syncing.

Conclusion

This post offers 6 methods to force OneDrive to sync with SharePoint. You can try the 5 traditional ways to fix the not syncing issue, or use MultCloud to sync SharePoint with OneDrive as a workaround. The best choice depends on your requirements.

Moreover, if you want to transfer OneDrive to Google Drive or other clouds, MultCloud can also be taken into consideration since the process will be automatic which saves much time and energy.