Office 365 Documents Not Syncing to OneDrive — 2025 Fix

Are your Office 365 documents not syncing to OneDrive? Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote files not updating online? This is one of the most common Microsoft 365 issues in 2025, especially after recent Windows updates.

This guide will help you fix:

• Files stuck on “Sync pending”
• Documents not updating in OneDrive
• Office apps not saving to cloud
• Conflicts and duplicate file copies

If your issue is from the Office 365 search not working series, read Part 1 here:
Office 365 Search Not Working After Update — Part 1

1. Check OneDrive Sync Status

Click on the OneDrive cloud icon in the taskbar. If you see alerts like:

• “Processing changes…”
• “Sync paused”
• “Upload blocked”
• “Files not syncing”

Then OneDrive is stuck.

Fix:

1. Right-click OneDrive
2. Select Resume syncing
3. Click View online to check pending uploads

2. Restart OneDrive Completely

This fixes most syncing issues:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc
2. Open Task Manager
3. End the task OneDrive.exe
4. Reopen OneDrive from Start Menu

3. Make Sure Files Are in the OneDrive Folder

Office documents only sync if they are stored inside your OneDrive directory:

C:\Users\YourName\OneDrive\Documents\

If the file is on Desktop or Downloads, it will NOT sync. Move the document to your OneDrive folder.

4. Enable “Use Office to Sync Files”

Office apps must be allowed to sync directly to OneDrive.

Steps:

1. Open OneDrive
2. Go to Settings → Office
3. Enable: Use Office to sync files I open

5. Fix Conflicting Files

When two users edit the same document, conflicts appear.

Fix:

• Open both versions
• Merge changes manually
• Save the final version in OneDrive

6. Check if Office 365 Signed You Out

Office sometimes logs out silently.

Steps:

1. Open Word or Excel
2. Go to File → Account
3. Login again if you see a yellow warning

7. Reset OneDrive (Deep Fix)

Use this command if OneDrive is stuck for a long time:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

After a few seconds, OneDrive will relaunch.

8. Repair Microsoft 365 (2025 Build)

This fixes update-related issues.

Steps:

1. Open Control Panel
2. Go to Programs → Apps & Features
3. Select Microsoft 365 Apps
4. Click Modify → Online Repair

9. Update OneDrive & Office

Outdated versions often break syncing.

Update Steps:

• Open OneDrive → Settings → About → Check for Updates
• Open Word → File → Account → Update Now

Related Articles

• Office 365 Search Not Working After Update
• Office 365 Login Problems — Fix Authentication Errors
• Microsoft 365 Apps Crashing After Update