Checking the Synchronisation Status of your OneDrive Client

Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud-based file hosting and synchronisation service which allows users to access their personal files from anywhere on virtually any device. It is available to most University Staff and Students as part of their Office 365 Subscription

In order to ensure that your data is safely synchronised (backed up) into your personal Cloud storage, it is important to understand a few of the basic status messages that the OneDrive client may display.

A full description of all of OneDrive's status icons can be found on this Microsoft webpage.

If you have other questions about the use of OneDrive (or Personal Filestore) this set of Frequently Asked Questions may help you.

How to find the icon for your OneDrive client:

For Windows, the OneDrive Client (if running) can be found in the system tray, near the clock, and looks like a blue cloud

For macOS it is shown in the menu bar (again, near the clock) and looks like a grey cloud.

All of the status indicators below apply equally to both macOS and Windows, but from here only Windows screenshots will be used

Normal Status OneDrive is working correctly and everything is up-to-date (all protected data is synchronised/backed up):

This should be the most common status indication. It shows that OneDrive is working correctly and has uploaded all new data in its protected folders (usually your Desktop, Documents and Pictures folders) into your personal Cloud storage, ready to be accessed from all of your other devices.

The system tray icon will be a plain blue cloud (grey on macOS) with no other indicators.

If you open your OneDrive client (by single left-clicking on the tray icon) you will see the text "OneDrive is up to date" as a banner across the top of the window, with details of recently synchronised files below.

Alternatively, if you look in Windows Explorer (Finder on macOS) you'll see a green tick against all of your files and folders.

(The tick may be inside a green circle, or a green dot, depending on how your client has been set up. Either way, it is protected and saved to your personal Cloud storage)

You may also see a blue-outlined cloud against some files and folders.  This means that the data is currently only being held in the Cloud (and so is not taking up unnecessary space on your local hard disk) but is ready to be downloaded locally as soon as you wish to access it (known as "Files On-demand")

Normal Status OneDrive is working correctly and files are currently being synchronised/backed up from the local hard disk to your personal Cloud storage:

You should see this status indication whenever you have added a new file (or updated an existing one) in one of your protected folders . It shows that OneDrive is currently in the process of uploading the new data into your personal Cloud storage. 

If you see this status message please be aware that your data will not be protected until it has finished and the client shows the "everything up-to-date" status above.

The system tray icon will be the normal blue cloud (grey on macOS) with a circular double arrow in the bottom right hand corner:

If you open your OneDrive client (by single left-clicking on the tray icon) you will see the text "OneDrive is updating files..." as a banner across the top of the window, with specific details of the updates below.

Alternatively, if you look in Windows Explorer (Finder on macOS) you'll see the circular double arrow against the specific files and folders that are currently being updated.

Warning Status Synchronisation is paused (nothing is currently being synchronised/backed up):

If you see this status (a Blue or Grey cloud with two short, vertical, parallel lines in the bottom right corner) then it means that your files are not currently being synchronised and OneDrive needs your attention to resume protecting them.

It may be that you've temporarily paused synchronisation yourself, however in order to resume the upload of any changed documents into your personal cloud storage you will need to click on the OneDrive icon and choose to "resume syncing" from the banner at the top of the window:

Alternatively you can right-click on the OneDrive icon instead and choose to "Resume syncing" from the menu options:

After synchronisation has been successfully resumed, you should see the "currently updating" icon, followed by the "OneDrive is up-to-date" icon.

Error Status You are not logged in to OneDrive (nothing is currently being synchronised/backed up):

If you see this status (a Blue or Grey cloud with a grey diagonal line across it) then it means that you are not currently logged in to OneDrive and none of your files or folders are being synchronised. OneDrive will need your attention to resume protecting them.

There are a few reasons why you may not be logged into OneDrive, it may be that you have not yet set it up, or it may be that your cached password has expired and OneDrive requires you to re-enter it. Clicking on the OneDrive client will give you a step-by-step set of instructions on how to remediate the issue: 

When your OneDrive client is not connected, you will also see grey crosses on any previously synchronised files and folders, showing that they're in an error status and cannot currently be uploaded into your personal Cloud storage

Other Error Statuses

This status (a Blue or Grey cloud with a yellow triangle and black exclamation mark in the bottom right-hand corner) means that OneDrive is in an error state that requires your attention. It may simply be that you have an outstanding Multi-factor authentication request, or that there is some other error with your account.

This status (a Blue or Grey cloud with a red circle and white cross in the bottom right-hand corner) means that a file or folder cannot be synced and needs to be manually resolved. This Microsoft article may help you resolve the issue