How to fix Microsoft Teams not syncing or showing the latest files from SharePoint and OneDrive

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to fix Microsoft Teams not syncing or showing the latest files from SharePoint and OneDrive. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

When Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive stop syncing properly, your team can end up working on outdated documents or missing recent changes altogether. This is one of the most common frustrations for businesses using Microsoft 365, and the good news is that it's usually fixable without needing to escalate to Microsoft directly. This guide walks you through the most effective troubleshooting steps, starting with the quickest fixes and moving into more detailed solutions.

Quick Fix Steps

Before diving into detailed troubleshooting, try these fast solutions that resolve the majority of syncing issues:

1. Sign out and back into Teams. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner of Teams, select Sign out, close the app completely, then sign back in.
2. Restart the OneDrive desktop app. Click the OneDrive cloud icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac), select the gear icon, then choose Quit OneDrive. Reopen it from the Start menu or Applications folder.
3. Check your internet connection. A flaky network is the most common cause of sync delays. Try loading a webpage or running a speed test to confirm your connection is stable.
4. Wait 10 to 15 minutes. Microsoft 365 sync can lag during peak usage times. If the issue just started, give it a few minutes before making changes.

Detailed Instructions

Step 1: Verify the File is Stored in SharePoint or OneDrive

Teams only syncs files that are stored in the correct location. Files uploaded directly into a chat conversation are stored in a different place than files in a channel's Files tab.

1. Open the affected channel in Teams.
2. Click the Files tab at the top of the channel.
3. Confirm the file you're looking for is listed there.
4. If it isn't, navigate to office.com, open OneDrive or SharePoint, and check whether the file exists in the correct library.

Step 2: Update the OneDrive Desktop App

An outdated OneDrive client is a frequent cause of sync failures. Microsoft releases updates regularly to address known issues.

1. Click the OneDrive cloud icon in your system tray or menu bar.
2. Select the gear icon, then choose Settings.
3. Go to the About tab.
4. You'll see your current version. Click Download the latest version if an update is available.
5. Install the update and restart your computer.

Step 3: Reset the OneDrive Desktop App

If updating doesn't help, resetting OneDrive can clear corrupted cache files without deleting your actual data.

1. Close OneDrive completely (right-click the cloud icon and choose Quit OneDrive).
2. Open a command prompt or terminal window.
3. For Windows, type: %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset
4. For Mac, type: killall OneDrive followed by reopening OneDrive from the Applications folder.
5. Wait for OneDrive to restart and resync your files.

Step 4: Clear the Teams Desktop Cache

Teams stores temporary data locally that can become corrupted. Clearing the cache forces Teams to rebuild its connection to SharePoint and OneDrive.

1. Fully quit Teams. On Windows, right-click the Teams icon in the system tray and select Quit. On Mac, use Cmd + Q.
2. Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
3. Navigate to the following folder:
   • Windows: %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams
   • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Teams
4. Delete the contents of the following subfolders: Cache, blob_storage, databases, GPUCache, IndexedDB, Local Storage, and tmp.
5. Restart Teams and sign back in.

Step 5: Reconnect SharePoint to Teams

If a specific channel's Files tab isn't updating, the SharePoint connection may need to be re-established.

1. Open the affected channel in Teams.
2. Click the Files tab.
3. Click Open in SharePoint at the top of the page.
4. In SharePoint, make a small change to any file (such as adding a space and removing it) to trigger a sync.
5. Return to Teams and refresh the Files tab (Ctrl + R on Windows or Cmd + R on Mac).

Step 6: Check Microsoft 365 Service Health

Sometimes the issue is on Microsoft's end. Check whether there are known outages affecting SharePoint, OneDrive, or Teams.

1. Go to admin.microsoft.com (requires admin access).
2. Navigate to Health > Service health.
3. Look for any active incidents affecting SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, or Microsoft Teams.
4. If you're not an admin, ask your IT administrator to check on your behalf, or visit status.office.com for public status information.

Troubleshooting

Files Show "Syncing" But Never Complete

This usually indicates a conflict or a file path that's too long. Try the following:

• Rename the file to something shorter (under 100 characters total).
• Move the file to a folder closer to the root of your SharePoint or OneDrive library.
• Check whether the file name contains characters that aren't supported, such as # % & { } \ / ! ' @ +.

Files Appear in OneDrive but Not in Teams

If you've uploaded files directly to a SharePoint document library rather than through Teams, they should still appear in the channel's Files tab. If they don't:

• Confirm the SharePoint site is connected to the correct Teams channel. Click the Files tab, then Open in SharePoint to verify the site URL.
• Ask a site owner to confirm you have the correct permissions to view the library.

Changes Made Offline Aren't Appearing for Other Users

If you've been working offline and your changes aren't syncing:

• Confirm you're back online and that OneDrive shows a green tick icon (not a red or blue sync icon).
• Click the OneDrive icon and look for any files marked with a red X or exclamation mark, which indicates a sync error.
• Right-click the affected file and select View sync problems for more detail.

Teams Web Version Works but Desktop Doesn't

If files sync correctly when you use Teams in your browser but not in the desktop app, the issue is almost certainly with your local Teams installation. Repeat Step 4 (clearing the Teams cache) and, if that doesn't help, uninstall and reinstall the Teams desktop client from microsoft.com/microsoft-teams/download-app.

Files Are Syncing but Showing the Wrong Version

If other users are seeing an older version of a file:

• Open the file in the desktop app rather than Teams or the browser to ensure you're working on the latest copy.
• Check the version history in SharePoint to confirm the most recent changes have been saved.
• Ask affected users to refresh their Teams app or close and reopen the file.

Still Having Issues?