sync issue

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

To help narrow down the issue:

1. Could you please check your storage directly on the OneDrive website and confirm what it shows there? Here is the link: https://onedrive.live.com/managestorage
2. After freeing space (or purchasing additional storage), it can take up to 24 to 48 hours for everything to fully update across your account. I’d recommend waiting that time and check again OneDrive after that.

Also, a couple of quick things to verify:

• Check if your Recycle Bin in OneDrive has items in it (those still count toward storage)
• See if your storage is being taken up by Outlook email attachments, as Outlook and OneDrive share the same storage quota
• Confirm you’re signed into the same Microsoft account on all devices

If the update is still pending after 24 hours, you can try unlinking and relinking your OneDrive account, or resetting it. "Unlink and re-link OneDrive" https://support.microsoft.com/office/unlink-and-re-link-onedrive-3c4680bf-cc36-4204-9ca5-e7b24cdd23ea

If the issue persists, please provide more details by answering my questions.

Click "Add comment" below to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

The “out of space” message usually comes from one of these conditions, even when the OneDrive quota still shows free space:

1. OneDrive storage quota actually exceeded
   • If the total Microsoft storage (OneDrive + other services) is exceeded, new files will not upload or sync, even if it appears that some space is free.
   • Check the storage status on the OneDrive Storage page. If it shows that the quota is exceeded, reduce stored data or purchase additional storage.
   • When storage is exceeded, OneDrive will block uploading, editing, or syncing new files such as Camera Roll until usage is back under the limit.
2. Outlook/Email storage vs. OneDrive storage
   • Some “out of storage” warnings in Microsoft 365 come from Outlook/email, but the detailed storage view may show that the real problem is OneDrive usage.
   • In similar cases, unlinking OneDrive from the PC, deleting or moving some data, and then relinking OneDrive has cleared the error once the actual storage usage was reduced.
3. Sync stuck or continuous sync condition
   • If sync never finishes, OneDrive can appear to be blocked:
     • Check for restrictions such as too many items, file size limits, invalid characters in names, or very long paths.
     • Ensure there is enough local disk space.
     • If the issue persists after fixing these, repair the sync connection.
4. Large number of files
   • If there are more than about 300,000 items in OneDrive, sync can be very slow or appear stuck. Reducing the number of synced files or stopping sync for some libraries/shortcuts can help.
   • Pausing and then resuming sync can also restart a stuck sync.

To move forward:

1. Verify actual OneDrive/Microsoft storage usage on the storage page and confirm it is under quota.
2. If it is over quota, delete or move files until usage drops below the limit, then try syncing again.
3. If storage is under quota but sync is still blocked, review for restrictions (file count, size, names, path length) and repair the sync connection if needed.

References:

• Fix problems uploading files on the OneDrive website
• Fix OneDrive sync problems
• Restrictions and limitations in OneDrive and SharePoint
• A OneDrive file or folder never finishes synchronization
• storage exceeded in outlook after purchasing MS 365 subscription - Microsoft Q&A