No "files on demand" or "free up space" option in OneDrive

Question

At some point last year, the option to Free up Space for OneDrive files disappeared. Everything is now stored on the local disk. Everything I've read has directed me to go to Advanced Settings and turn on "Files on Demand". However, this option is not available either. Is this a setting that needs to be turned on in Admin center for the organization?

Answer 1

Dear Dejiovanni,

The File-OnDemand option may be disabled by the administrator in your organization.

If he disables it by Group Policy via the the steps in IT Admins - Use OneDrive policies to control sync settings - SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn, you will encounter the issue.

I suggest you contact the administrator if you aren't the administrator for confirmation and you may let him enable it to fix the issue in your environment.

Welcome to share any updates at your convenience.

Thanks for your effort and time.

Sincerely

Cliff | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 2

Thank you. I am one of the M365 administrators. I've spoken with others and no one has made any changes. Very strange that it just turned off.

I've used the registry key, \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\OneDrive\FilesOnDemandEnabled to turn it back on for individuals.

I'll keep digging for a universal fix.

Answer 3

Dear Dejiovanni,

Thanks for your updates and letting us know the current situation in your environment.

For a universal fix, you can deploy the group policy I mentioned above to see whether the issue can be fixed on all users' devices in your environment.

Welcome to share any updates at your convenience.

Thanks for your effort and time.

Sincerely

Cliff | Microsoft Community Moderator