Unable to determine folderId for Sync

Question

I am trying to sync folders from an external SharePoint site to my workplace PC (Windows 11 Pro). I have 'Edit' permissions on this SharePoint site including this folder. I have added this account to my OneDrive app which has my workplace account added as well. When I hit sync on the external SharePoint site folder, it shows this error: "Sorry, something went wrong. Unable to determine folderId for Sync." After I close this pop-up, nothing happens and sync does not happen. Same issue happens when other users try to sync from this external SharePoint site.

Answer 1

Dear @Harpreet Sing, 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.   

I appreciate the time you took to describe the issue, and I understand how disruptive it can be to see the OneDrive message “Sorry, something went wrong. Unable to determine folderId for Sync” when trying to sync a folder from an external SharePoint site on Windows 11. 

This behavior commonly appears when the OneDrive client, the SharePoint library, or cross‑tenant (B2B) configurations aren’t fully aligned for syncing.  

To help you move past this, I have outlined several steps that you can follow to identify the issue: 

Step 1: Basic checks 

• Ensure your Windows operating system, browser, and OneDrive desktop app are fully updated. An outdated client often causes unexpected sync errors. 
• Confirm that you are signed in to the OneDrive desktop app with both your primary organization account and the external organization’s work or school account. You can add the guest organization’s account under OneDrive Settings > Account > Add an account.  

Step 2: Refresh the OneDrive client 

• Unlink and relink the guest account to refresh the sync connection. 
  Go to OneDrive Settings > Account > Unlink this PC, then sign in again. 
• If the issue continues, you can follow the steps in this article to reset the OneDrive client: Reset OneDrive - Microsoft Support 

After the reset, reopen OneDrive and sign in again with all required accounts. This action clears stale sync data without deleting your files. 

Step 3: Review SharePoint library settings 

• Make sure Information Rights Management is not enabled. IRM‑protected libraries are not fully supported by the OneDrive sync app and may block sync operations. This requires your SharePoint admin to open the List settings > Information Rights Management > Disable it. 
• Check whether the library uses required metadata columns. Required fields can cause files to become read‑only during sync. If these fields cannot be removed, consider updating the metadata directly in SharePoint before syncing or sync only folders that do not enforce required fields. 

Restrictions and limitations in OneDrive and SharePoint - Microsoft Support 

Step 4: Confirm cross‑tenant (B2B) requirements 

Note: Please note that this requires IT administrators from both organizations to complete the steps. If you're an end user, I recommend reaching out to them for assistance. 

• Verify that external sharing is enabled at both the tenant and site level and that the folder is shared with a link requiring sign‑in. This is essential for B2B Sync to succeed. 
• Ask the external admin to confirm that no policy is restricting sync to domain‑joined devices. If such a restriction exists, guest users on non‑approved devices cannot sync. 
• If your organization uses Conditional Access, ensure policies permit guest authentication and allow the OneDrive sync engine to obtain the necessary tokens. 

Allow syncing only on computers joined to specific domains - SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | Microsof… 

B2B Sync for SharePoint and OneDrive - SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn 

Step 5: Contact Microsoft Support 

If the issue still persists after completing the steps above, I sincerely recommend reaching out to the IT administrator of the external organization to create a support ticket via Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Support > Help & Support for further investigation.  

A technical support engineer can perform a remote session to investigate the situation, verify the backend configurations, and run any necessary synchronization tools to resolve the problem. If the issue requires further attention, they can escalate it to a specialized team for deeper analysis.     

Optional: Recommended workaround if syncing still fails 

If syncing directly continues to produce errors, you can choose Add shortcut to My files from the shared folder. This option adds the folder to your OneDrive, allowing the OneDrive app to sync it through the shortcut. This method often bypasses folderId‑related issues.  

Please note that edit permissions are required and the shortcut will appear both in OneDrive on the web and File Explorer. 

Add shortcuts to shared folders in OneDrive - Microsoft Support 

As community moderators, we kindly ask for your understanding that our access to internal development details is limited. Our primary role is to guide users toward the appropriate resources and support channels. While we may not have visibility into performing deeper backend analysis, we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.  

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions or need further support, please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

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