OneDrive has stopped syncing your files
Why is OneDrive not syncing and showing a red cross?
Written by The CommonFixes team · fact checked by CommonFixes review desk
Last updated
Short answer
Sync stops when storage is full, the account is signed out, a file name contains a character OneDrive cannot store, or the sync app needs resetting. The quickest thing to try first: read the icon message — Click the cloud in the taskbar. It states the real problem, such as storage full, sign in again, or file locked. Fix what it names first. Most people are done in about 15 minutes.
Full walkthrough below: 6 steps for Windows and Mac, rated easy.
Sounds like this
- •Red cross or grey cloud on the icon
- •Processing changes that never ends
- •The newer file exists on one device only
Why it happens
Sync stops when storage is full, the account is signed out, a file name contains a character OneDrive cannot store, or the sync app needs resetting.
Work through these in order
0% done- 1
Read the icon message
Click the cloud in the taskbar. It states the real problem, such as storage full, sign in again, or file locked. Fix what it names first.
- 2
Confirm you are still signed in
Help and Settings, Settings, Account. If your email is missing, sign in again. Password changes silently sign OneDrive out.
- 3
Rename problem files
Remove these characters from file names: " * : < > ? / \ | and shorten very long names. OneDrive skips files it cannot store.
- 4
Pause and resume sync
Help and Settings, Pause syncing, 2 hours, then resume. This restarts the queue and clears most stuck uploads.
- 5
Reset the sync app
Press Windows and R, paste %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset and press Enter. If nothing happens after two minutes, run %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe the same way. This is Microsoft's official reset and does not delete files.
- 6
Free up storage
Check your quota at onedrive.com. Full storage stops all sync. Empty the OneDrive recycle bin too, as it still uses your space.
If none of that worked
Copy the newest version of anything important to your desktop first, then unlink the computer in Settings, Account and set it up again.
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Who wrote this and how we checked it
The CommonFixes team
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We are a small group of people who spend our days repairing laptops and desktops for family, friends and small offices. Every guide here starts with a problem someone actually brought to us, and we only write down the steps that put the machine right.
- Everyday repairs
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CommonFixes review desk
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Before a guide goes live, a second person walks through it on a real machine and checks each instruction against the maker's own support pages. Anything we cannot confirm is removed rather than guessed at.
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This guide was last updated on 10 August 2026. If a step no longer matches what you see on screen, tell us on the contact page and we will test it again.
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