Resolving "Error trying to get OneDrive settings" for user

Question

I am receiving the following error. I followed the steps in another thread here, but the admin resolved on his own.

Background info: User may have been deleted and restored in the past. Error is displayed in 365 Admin Center. We have multiple admins.

• When searching for User Profile in Admin.Sharepoint - Manage Profile User Service the employee is not found.
• I double checked that access restrictions are not enabled.
• In 365 Admin I tried to unlicense the Sharepoint Plan 1 for Education app but it would not save, and gave a message "To assign a license that contains Office for the Web for Education, you must also assign one of the following service plans: SharePoint (Plan 2) for Education, SharePoint (Plan 1) for Education."

What else can we try to enable OneDrive?

Answer 1

Hi @Astro Panda, 

Thank you for reaching out regarding the persistent issues you are encountering with the OneDrive configuration for this specific user account. 

It is my understanding that when attempting to manage OneDrive settings via the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, you are receiving the error message: "Error trying to get OneDrive settings." Furthermore, I note that the user profile cannot be located within the SharePoint Admin Center (User Profile Service), and licensing adjustments have been unsuccessful due to service plan dependencies. 

Based on the background information, specifically that the user was previously deleted and restored this error typically points to a provisioning mismatch or a ghosting issue between the Microsoft 365 Identity (Entra ID) and the SharePoint Online backend. When a user is restored, the link to their personal site (OneDrive) can occasionally fail to re-initialize, preventing the User Profile Service from recognizing the account despite a valid license being assigned. 

Because you have already verified that access restrictions are disabled and attempted manual licensing refreshes without success, this indicates a synchronization error at the tenant level that cannot be resolved through the standard administrative interface. 

I strongly recommend opening a support ticket through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center for the following reasons: SharePoint Online support agents have the specialized tools required to inspect the hidden site collection status at the database level. They can trigger a manual "Sync-User" command or re-provision the personal site shell, which is often required when a restored user’s GUID does not match the existing SharePoint profile.

Since every Microsoft 365 environment features unique configurations and several underlying factors can trigger this specific error, engaging directly with a support agent ensures you receive assistance tailored specifically to your tenant's backend status and setup.

To proceed, please navigate to the 'Help & Support' pane in your Admin Center to initiate this request. This will allow Microsoft’s engineering team to perform the necessary backend repairs to restore the user's OneDrive functionality. For detailed instructions on how to get support, please refer to Get support - Microsoft 365 admin. 

I appreciate your understanding and should you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out. 

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Answer 2

Based on the symptoms (user possibly deleted/restored, no SharePoint user profile, and issues with licensing), focus on three areas: licensing, SharePoint user profile provisioning, and the personal OneDrive site.

1. Verify and reapply licenses
   1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Users → Active users and open the affected user.
   2. On Licenses and apps, remove the OneDrive/SharePoint-related licenses (for example, SharePoint Plan 1/2 for Education, OneDrive for Business) and save.
   3. Re-add the same licenses and save again.
   4. Wait several hours for the change to propagate, then check the OneDrive tab again.
   This addresses cases where the license assignment is in a bad state after delete/restore.
2. Verify SharePoint user profile provisioning Because OneDrive for Business depends on SharePoint user profiles, ensure the user has a valid profile:
   1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, select Admin and open the SharePoint admin center.
   2. Go to More features → User profiles → Manage User Profiles.
   3. Search for the affected user.
      • If the profile exists, note that provisioning may still be in progress; re-check after some time.
      • If the profile does not exist, trigger a sync from Active Directory (if using synced identities) so that the profile is created, or contact Microsoft 365 Technical Support to assist with provisioning.
3. Check and repair the personal OneDrive site (SharePoint Online Management Shell) If the user was deleted and restored, the personal OneDrive site may exist but not be correctly associated with the user. Use SharePoint Online Management Shell:
   1. Connect to SharePoint Online:

            Connect-SPOService -Url https://<tenant>-admin.sharepoint.com/
      

   2. Verify that the personal site exists:

            Get-SPOSite -Site https://<tenant>-my.sharepoint.com/personal/<user>_<tenant>_onmicrosoft_com
      

   3. If the site exists, restore or confirm ownership:

            Set-SPOSite -Identity https://<tenant>-my.sharepoint.com/personal/<user>_<tenant>_onmicrosoft_com -Owner <user>@<tenant>.onmicrosoft.com
      

   4. After this, return to the Microsoft 365 admin center and try opening the OneDrive settings for the user again.
4. If OneDrive sharing settings are missing or broken If the OneDrive section in the user details is missing options (for example, OneDrive Sharing), reset the site’s sharing capability via SharePoint Online Management Shell:

      Connect-SPOService -Url https://<tenant>-admin.sharepoint.com/
      Set-SPOSite -Identity https://<tenant>-my.sharepoint.com/personal/<user>_<tenant>_onmicrosoft_com -SharingCapability ExternalUserSharingOnly
   

   This restores the OneDrive Sharing option for that user’s site when it was disabled at the site level.
5. If the user was deleted and restored and conflicts exist If there were previous delete/restore operations, ensure there are no username or proxy address conflicts blocking proper provisioning:
   1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Users → Deleted users and attempt to restore any remaining deleted object for that user.
   2. If a user name conflict is reported, either rename the current active account and retry the restore, or assign a different username to the account being restored.
   3. If a proxy address conflict is reported, restore the user; conflicting proxy addresses will be removed automatically from the restored object.

After completing these steps (license reapply, profile verification, personal site ownership, and conflict checks), OneDrive provisioning for the user should complete and the “Error trying to get OneDrive settings” message in the admin center should clear.

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References:

• OneDrive for Business stopped at "Setting up..." or "We're still setting up a few things" screen
• Restore the OneDrive Sharing settings in Microsoft 365 admin center
• Restore a user in the Microsoft 365 admin center