Why are my files not uploading to OneDrive?

OneDrive allows you to upload files and folders, and sync them on different devices such as a computer, tablet, and phone with the same account. However, if your OneDrive does not upload files, it is often difficult to figure out the problem. But don’t worry, in this article, we have listed some common causes of OneDrive not uploading folders/files and how you can troubleshoot this problem.

Before we go over the steps to resolve the OneDrive uploading issue, let’s first look into the most regular causes of OneDrive not uploading files.

• Poor internet connection is a common culprit for OneDrive sync issues.
• Wrong file names, file permissions, and other file issues may cause OneDrive upload failure.
• Your OneDrive being out of storage is another possible reason for sync issues.
• If you are unable to upload files using the OneDrive desktop application, it may be caused by OneDrive cache files and OneDrive connection errors.

How to fix: OneDrive does not upload files on website and desktop

This section covers basic checks well as complex things that you can take to fix OneDrive not uploading items properly. Please try them one by one.

Way 1. Ensure a stable internet connection

Although it's obvious, network issues are the most common reason why OneDrive won't upload files properly. As an online storage solution, a stable internet connection is necessary for OneDrive to upload files.

You can test whether your internet connection is stable by opening other web pages or running other programs. If the page lags or won't open at all, this could be the cause of OneDrive not syncing files.

Way 2. Check file name

OneDrive does not support the use of certain special characters and emoticons in file and folder names, such as " * : < > ? / \ | etc. Also, file names starting with desktop.ini, AUX, CON, COM0 - COM9, ~$, etc. are not allowed to upload to OneDrive.

If your file names are longer than 400 characters, they would make OneDrive stuck uploading as well.

Way 3. Check file permission

When you log in with a Windows account that doesn't have permission to access and edit certain files/folders, you certainly don't have permission to upload them to OneDrive either.

And if the files are being used by another program, you should save and close them to upload them to OneDrive again.

In this case, you can connect your OneDrive account to Windows to solve OneDrive access denied for certain files that result in the "OneDrive does not upload files" issue:

Step 1. Click on the Windows Start button and tap Settings.

Step 2. Choose the Account option, select Email & accounts on the left, then hit Add an account.

Step 3. Enter your OneDrive account and password to log in. After that, you can try OneDrive file upload again to see if the problem is solved.

Way 4. Make sure your files are smaller than OneDrive upload limit

If you are using a web browser to sync files to OneDrive, the maximum file size you can upload to OneDrive is 250GB per file, depending on the browser you use.

If you want to upload large files to OneDrive, you can turn to the OneDrive desktop and use the OneDrive sync folder for large file upload.

Way 5. Check your storage space

If your OneDrive storage is used up, the files you upload to OneDrive will stop syncing. You can check the available storage on OneDrive by doing the following steps:

Step 1. Open OneDrive on your web and sign in.

Step 2. Click Settings in the top right corner and choose Options.

Step 3. On the Manage Storage screen, you will see how much space you have used and what they are occupied by.

If there is not enough storage space on OneDrive for uploaded files, you can free up OneDrive space by clearing up recycle bin, removing unnecessary files, and deleting old versions of files.

Way 6. Refresh or Restart OneDrive

A simple yet effective method to fix “OneDrive is not uploading files” is to restart the progress. It can help shut down background processes that could be interfering with file syncing on OneDrive.

➯ To refresh the OneDrive website, simply press the F5 or Refresh button on your keyword.

➯ To restart the OneDrive desktop app, you should do the following steps:

Step 1. Press and hold Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys simultaneously to launch Task Manager on Windows.

Step 2. Find Microsoft OneDrive in the Process list, right-click it, and hit End Task.

Step 3. Then, click Start and run OneDrive again to check if it can upload files correctly.

Way 7. Reset OneDrive

If the “OneDrive can’t upload files” is caused by OneDrive cache files and internal errors in the OneDrive program, resettings OneDrive is the best solution. Please rest assured, this will not delete OneDrive files.

Step 1. Open the Run box by pressing Windows and R at the same time.

Step 2. Enter %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset and click Enter.

Step 3. Then, run and log in to OneDrive to see if OneDrive can upload files smoothly.

Upload files to OneDrive Automatically and Fast using CBackup

There are always various issues with OneDrive file uploads and it is time-consuming to fix various syncing issues. To save your time and effort, you can use the third-party cloud backup tool CBackup to upload files to OneDrive hassle-free.

With this backup tool, you are allowed to auto sync files from computer to OneDrive, Google Drive, and other public cloud drives without syncing locally. It also comes with a Backup feature that can help you use OneDrive as backup software.

You can follow the simple tutorial below to easily upload to OneDrive automatically now!

Step 1. Sign up for a CBackup account for free. Install the CBackup desktop app on your computer and log in.

Step 2. Choose Storage, click OneDrive, and Authorize Now to add your OneDrive account to CBackup.

Step 3. Click Sync and then Sync PC to Public Cloud.

Step 4. Expand your computer to select documents, folders, or hard drives you want to sync, then specify a folder on OneDrive as the target path.

Step 5. Hit Settings in the bottom-left corner and choose a sync schedule in the Scheduler tab. Finally, click Start Sync to upload the backup process.

Other useful functions of CBackup:
✿ File Filter: Its File Filter feature lets you exclude files from OneDrive sync by file type.
✿ Cloud Backup: It allows you to backup OneDrive files to Dropbox, Google Drive, and other clouds without downloading and uploading.
✿ Combine Clouds: You can merge multiple OneDrive accounts and combine OneDrive with Google Drive to increase cloud storage for free.

Conclusion

This post gives you seven solutions to cope with “OneDrive does not upload files” on desktop and website. If the problem persists after trying all the above methods, you could use CBackup to easily upload your local files to OneDrive.

On the other hand, you can give feedback on whether this article was helpful to you. Thanks.