// ONEDRIVE SUPPORT
OneDrive not syncing between two computers on the same account
You save a file on the desktop, walk to the laptop, and it is not there. Or it arrives an hour later. Or the Desktop folder on one machine is full of things the other has never seen. Both computers are signed in to the same OneDrive, so it feels like they should simply agree. The thing to understand is that they never talk to each other at all — each one talks only to the cloud — and that turns a baffling problem into a quick one, because it means exactly one of the two machines is not doing its half. Here is how to tell which in a minute. Rated 4.9 on Google.
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/01 — THE ONE-MINUTE TEST
Look at the cloud first, and it tells you which computer is at fault
Nothing goes from one PC to the other. The desktop sends its changes up to OneDrive; the laptop fetches them down. So when a file is missing, one of two legs has failed, and the cloud itself is the referee.
Open OneDrive in a web browser — the personal one at OneDrive’s own site, or your work one through the Microsoft 365 portal — and look for the file.
- It is there in the browser. Then the sending computer did its job. The problem is on the computer that is not receiving it: section 03.
- It is not there. Then it never left the computer it was saved on. The problem is on the sender: section 02.
That is the whole diagnosis, and it is worth doing before touching a setting on either machine, because the two fixes are different and doing the wrong one wastes an hour. While you are in the browser, note the time the file was last modified there: it tells you how far behind the slow computer is.
// WINDOWS PCS ONLY
We do not support OneDrive on Apple Macs, iPads or iPhones. Apple does not allow our remote-support tool to take control of an iPad or iPhone (an Apple restriction), and our remote support covers Windows PCs only. On an Apple device, Microsoft’s own OneDrive help is the place to start.
// FIX IT WITH ME · STEP BY STEP
Get both computers in step, step by step
The steps from this guide, one at a time, in the order that fixes the most cases fastest. Tell it what happened and it shows the next step. Nothing here leaves your device.Last reviewed 6 October 2026
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01Look at the cloud first: it tells you which side is stuck
Nothing goes from one PC to the other. The desktop sends its changes up to OneDrive; the laptop fetches them down. Full detail in the guide below ↓
Is it syncing on both now? -
02If the file never left the computer it was saved on
Go to the computer you saved the file on and look at the OneDrive cloud icon by the clock. Its state is the answer. Full detail in the guide below ↓
Is it syncing on both now? -
03If the cloud has it but the other computer does not
The cloud copy exists, so the sending side is fine. On the computer that cannot see the file, these are the usual reasons, in order. Full detail in the guide below ↓
Is it syncing on both now? -
04Reset OneDrive, then test with one file
If both sides look healthy and a file still will not cross, reset OneDrive on the computer that is misbehaving. It is safe: it clears the app’s own records and makes it re-check every file against the cloud, and it deletes nothing. Full detail in the guide below ↓
Is it syncing on both now?
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Sorted{mins}. Nice work.
Save a small test file on one computer and watch it appear on the other.
Still out of step after all four steps? That is a remote job.
With your permission we connect to your screen and sort it in one session. Usually the same day, remote help from £20, and no fix, no fee.
OneDrive not syncing between two computers on the same account - the fix order (365techies.co.uk/onedrive-not-syncing-between-two-computers/) 1. Look at the cloud first: it tells you which side is stuck: Nothing goes from one PC to the other. The desktop sends its changes up to OneDrive; the laptop fetches them down. 2. If the file never left the computer it was saved on: Go to the computer you saved the file on and look at the OneDrive cloud icon by the clock. Its state is the answer. 3. If the cloud has it but the other computer does not: The cloud copy exists, so the sending side is fine. On the computer that cannot see the file, these are the usual reasons, in order. 4. Reset OneDrive, then test with one file: If both sides look healthy and a file still will not cross, reset OneDrive on the computer that is misbehaving. It is safe: it clears the app’s own records and makes it re-check every file against the cloud, and it deletes nothing. Still stuck? 365 Techies fix it remotely: 01202 775566 - https://365techies.co.uk/remote-support/// NEED THIS FIXED RIGHT NOW?
Skip the DIY — call 01202 775566 and we can be looking at your screen within minutes. You watch everything we do, and most problems on this page are fixed in one short remote session. (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm.)
/02 — THE SENDER
When the file never left the computer it was saved on
Go to the computer you saved the file on and look at the OneDrive cloud icon by the clock. Its state is the answer.
- Not signed in, or signed in to a different account. A grey icon, or a personal OneDrive where the work one should be. Sign in to the right one.
- Paused. OneDrive pauses itself on a metered connection — a phone hotspot, some broadband that reports itself that way — and when a laptop drops into battery saver. Both are switches in its settings under Sync and backup.
- A red cross. Some files have problems. Click the icon and choose View sync problems: a name that is too long, a character Windows accepts but OneDrive does not, a file that is open and locked, or a file too large. Fix the named file and the queue moves.
- Saved outside OneDrive. The file is in a folder that looks like OneDrive but is not — a local Documents folder on a PC where Documents is not backed up. Section 04 is about that trap.
Once the icon is a plain cloud with a tick, watch the browser: the file should appear within seconds for a document and within minutes for something large.
/03 — THE RECEIVER
When the cloud has it and the other computer does not
The cloud copy exists, so the sending side is fine. On the computer that cannot see the file, these are the usual reasons, in order.
- It is signed in to a different OneDrive. Personal on one PC, work on the other, and they are separate services with separate files. Click the cloud icon and check the account name.
- The folder is not selected on this PC. OneDrive lets each computer choose which folders to sync. In its settings under Account, Choose folders shows what this machine takes; a folder unticked here simply never arrives.
- The file is there, as a placeholder. Files On-Demand shows files that live in the cloud with a blue cloud icon in File Explorer, and downloads them when opened. Look for the icon before deciding it is missing.
- The PC has not been awake. A laptop that was shut since yesterday has not fetched anything since yesterday. Give it a minute after waking.
- OneDrive is not running. Closed by hand, or stopped starting with Windows. Start it from the Start menu and check it is set to start at sign-in.
/04 — THE TRAPS
The places two computers on one account quietly diverge
Two machines can be perfectly healthy and still disagree, because of a setting that was made on one and not the other.
- Desktop and Documents backup on one PC only. OneDrive can take over the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folders so they live in the cloud. If that was switched on for the desktop and never for the laptop, the desktop’s Desktop is in OneDrive and the laptop’s Desktop is just a local folder. Files saved to “the Desktop” on the laptop go nowhere. The setting is under Sync and backup, Manage backup, and it should match on both machines.
- Two OneDrives, one folder each. A personal OneDrive on the home PC and a work one on the office PC will never share a file. We have a separate guide to sorting that out.
- Conflict copies. If both machines edited the same file while one was offline, OneDrive keeps both and names one after the computer. Neither is lost; you just have to pick.
- A renamed computer. After a rename or a reset, OneDrive may treat the machine as new and start a fresh setup with default folder choices.
/05 — RESET AND PROVE IT
Resetting OneDrive, then testing with one file
If both sides look healthy and a file still will not cross, reset OneDrive on the computer that is misbehaving. It is safe: it clears the app’s own records and makes it re-check every file against the cloud, and it deletes nothing. Check View sync problems first so that anything waiting to upload is not left behind. Sign out and back in first; if that is not enough, the reset. Press the Windows key and R together and run %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset. On some PCs the app lives under Program Files instead, in which case the same command with C:\Program Files\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe is the one that works; use whichever is present. The icon disappears and returns within a couple of minutes. On a large OneDrive it then spends a while re-checking, and files show as syncing without much data moving.
Then prove it rather than assume it. Create a small text file on computer A, in a folder both machines sync. Watch it appear in the browser. Watch it appear on computer B. Edit it on B; watch the edit come back to A. Thirty seconds, and you know both legs work. If one leg fails, you know exactly which computer to look at, and the sections above tell you where.
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// GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
Do both computers need to be on at the same time?
No. Each computer talks only to the cloud, never to the other. The desktop sends its changes up whenever it is on; the laptop fetches them down whenever it is on. They can be a week apart and still end up with the same files.
The file is in OneDrive in the browser but not on my laptop
Then the sender is fine and the laptop is the one to look at. Check it is signed in to the same OneDrive, that the folder is ticked under Choose folders, and whether the file is actually there as a blue-cloud placeholder waiting to be downloaded. If all three check out, sign out of OneDrive on the laptop and back in.
The file has a blue cloud icon — is it synced or not?
It is synced. A blue cloud means the file lives in the cloud and will download the moment you open it; a green tick means it is also stored on this computer. Both are healthy. Right-click a folder and choose Always keep on this device if you want it downloaded in advance for use offline.
One computer has my Desktop in OneDrive and the other does not
That is the Desktop and Documents backup switched on for one machine only. Under OneDrive’s settings, Sync and backup, Manage backup, set it the same way on both. Until then, anything saved to the Desktop on the machine without it stays local and never reaches the other.
How long should syncing take?
Seconds for a document, a few minutes for something large, and longer on a slow connection or when OneDrive is re-checking a big library after a reset. If a small file has not crossed in five minutes, something is wrong rather than slow, and the one-minute test at the top tells you on which side.
// Still stuck?
Two computers still disagreeing?
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