Accessing a shared file

Question

I have had a file share to me in Microsoft 365 which I have always been able to access.

With the changes to co-pilot etc I have moved to 365 premium (family) and now I can not access the file.

Do I need a business account - this seems like over kill.

Answer 1

Hi, Neill Arnold

You normally do not need a Microsoft 365 business account just to open a shared file. The issue is more likely that the file was shared to a different email/account, or the link permissions no longer match your current Microsoft account, especially if the file came from a work/school OneDrive or SharePoint setup. Sharing behavior depends on the link type and the account used to open it.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

First, make sure you are signing in with the exact email address the file was originally shared with. If you have both a personal Microsoft account and a work/school account, sign out of all Microsoft sites, open a private/incognito browser window, then sign in only with the account that received the sharing invite.

Ask the file owner to remove your old permission and share it again to your exact email address. Ideally, they should use Specific people rather than People in my organization or People with existing access, because those options may block external/personal accounts.

If the file belongs to a company OneDrive or SharePoint, their IT settings may block personal accounts. In that case, you may not need your own business subscription, but the owner may need to invite you as a guest or use a link type their organization allows.

It is also recommended that, if the shared item does not appear in your personal OneDrive “Shared” area or will not sync locally, try opening it directly from the original email link in the browser, since personal OneDrive and OneDrive for Business do not always behave the same way.

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

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