Full Clean Reset of OneDrive on macOS

Use this procedure when OneDrive on a Mac is stuck, shows a permanent "Processing changes" or red X status, refuses to sign in, or keeps reporting errors that a simple quit and relaunch does not fix. A clean reset removes all local OneDrive configuration and cached state, then re-links the account and re-downloads the file catalog.

Before you start

• Confirm the user knows which account is affected (personal OneDrive, a SharePoint library, or both) and that they have their Microsoft 365 credentials and MFA method available. The account must be signed in again after the reset.
• Check for unsynced local changes. If OneDrive is broken, recent edits may exist only on the Mac. Copy the OneDrive folder, or at minimum any recently edited files, to a location outside the sync folder (for example ~/Desktop/OneDrive-Backup) before proceeding.
• Note whether Files On-Demand is in use. Online-only files are placeholders and are not affected, but any file still uploading will be lost if the local copy is deleted.
• Expect the Mac to re-download or re-index the full library afterwards. On large libraries or slow links this can take hours. Schedule accordingly.

Option 1: Try the built-in reset first

The lighter-weight reset clears sync state without touching the installation. Try this before the full removal.

1. Quit OneDrive: click the cloud icon in the menu bar, open the Help & Settings (gear) menu, then choose Quit OneDrive and confirm.
2. Open Finder > Applications, right-click OneDrive and choose Show Package Contents.
3. Browse to Contents/SharedSupport and double-click ResetOneDriveApp.command. If OneDrive was installed from the Mac App Store, run ResetOneDriveAppStandalone.command instead.
4. Wait for the Terminal window to finish, then launch OneDrive from Applications and sign in again.

If the problem returns or the reset script does not resolve it, continue with the full clean reset below.

Option 2: Full clean reset

1. Unlink the account and quit the client

1. Click the OneDrive cloud icon in the menu bar, then open Help & Settings > Preferences (or Settings on newer builds).
2. On the Account tab, select the account and click Unlink this Mac. Repeat for every listed account.
3. Close Preferences, then choose Help & Settings > Quit OneDrive.

If the client is unresponsive and cannot be unlinked, force quit it: open Activity Monitor, search for OneDrive, select each matching process and click the stop button, or run killall OneDrive in Terminal.

2. Remove the application

1. Open Finder > Applications.
2. Drag OneDrive to the Trash, then empty the Trash. Authenticate with an admin account if prompted.

3. Delete cached state and configuration

These folders hold the sync database, settings, and credentials cache. They must be removed for the reset to be clean. In Finder press Shift+Command+G and paste each path, then delete the OneDrive-related items found there.

• ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.OneDrive-mac
• ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.OneDrive.FinderSync
• ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.OneDriveStandaloneSuite
• ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.OneDriveSyncClientSuite
• ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.OfficeOneDriveSyncIntegration
• ~/Library/Application Support/OneDrive
• ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.OneDrive and ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.OneDriveUpdater
• ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.OneDrive.plist and any other com.microsoft.OneDrive* plist files
• ~/Library/Logs/OneDrive
• ~/Library/WebKit/com.microsoft.OneDrive-mac (if present)

Not every path exists on every Mac. Skip anything that is missing. Container and Group Container names vary slightly between the standalone and App Store builds, so delete any folder whose name contains OneDrive.

Equivalent Terminal commands, run as the affected user:

rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.OneDrive*
rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.OneDrive"*
rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.OfficeOneDriveSyncIntegration"
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/OneDrive
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.OneDrive*
rm -f  ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.OneDrive*.plist
rm -rf ~/Library/Logs/OneDrive

Do not run these with sudo. They target the user's home library only, and running as root can leave root-owned files behind that break the next install.

4. Clear Keychain entries

1. Open Keychain Access (Applications > Utilities).
2. Select the login keychain and search for OneDrive.
3. Delete every matching entry, including OneDrive Cached Credential and OneDrive Standalone Cached Credential items.
4. Search for Microsoft Office Identities and adalcache. Removing these clears the shared Microsoft 365 token cache and will also sign the user out of Outlook, Teams, and other Office apps, so only do this if sign-in failures are part of the problem. Warn the user first.

5. Remove or rename the local sync folder

After confirming your backup from the preparation step is intact, remove the old sync folder so the new client starts with a clean target. Default locations:

• Personal: ~/OneDrive
• Work or school: ~/OneDrive - [Organization Name]
• SharePoint libraries: ~/[Organization Name]/[Library Name]

Rename rather than delete if you want a fallback, for example to ~/OneDrive-old. Note that online-only placeholder files in that folder become unusable once the client is removed, so a rename is not a true backup of online-only content.

6. Restart the Mac

A restart clears the Finder Sync extension and any lingering launch agents. Do not skip it: re-installing without a restart frequently reproduces the original fault.

7. Reinstall and re-link

1. Install OneDrive using the method your organization standardizes on: the ServerNova-managed deployment package, the Mac App Store, or the installer from Microsoft's OneDrive download page.
2. Launch OneDrive from Applications and sign in with the user's work or school account.
3. Accept the default sync folder location unless the client requires otherwise, then choose the folders to sync.
4. When prompted, enable the OneDrive Finder Integration extension. If no prompt appears, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Extensions > Added Extensions (or Finder Extensions) and enable it manually so sync status badges appear.
5. Re-add any SharePoint or Teams libraries from the browser using Sync on the document library.

8. Verify

• The menu bar icon shows a steady cloud with no badge once the initial sync completes.
• Help & Settings > Preferences > Account lists the correct account and folders.
• Create a test file in the sync folder and confirm it appears in OneDrive on the web, then delete it.
• Compare your pre-reset backup against the re-synced folder and copy back anything that is missing. Resolve filename conflicts manually.

Troubleshooting after a reset

Symptom	Action
Sign-in window loops or closes immediately	Clear the Microsoft identity items from Keychain (step 4) and retry. Confirm the account is not blocked by a Conditional Access policy requiring device compliance.
Sync status badges missing in Finder	Enable the OneDrive Finder Integration extension in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Extensions.
"Sorry, OneDrive can't add your folder right now"	The old sync folder still exists or a stale path is cached. Confirm step 5 was completed and that no folder at the target path remains.
Files stuck with a sync pending icon	Check for unsupported characters or paths over the length limit, and files open in another application. Close all Office apps and let sync settle.
Error reappears within days	Collect logs from ~/Library/Logs/OneDrive, note the exact error code, and escalate with the user's account name and library size.

Notes for managed Macs

• If OneDrive is deployed through an MDM with configuration profiles (for example Known Folder Move or Files On-Demand settings), those profiles re-apply automatically after reinstall. Do not recreate those settings manually in the client.
• Deleting Group Containers also removes any locally cached MDM-delivered preferences. Trigger an MDM check-in after the restart if settings do not reappear.
• Record the reset on the ticket, including which accounts were unlinked, whether Keychain identity items were cleared, and the size of the library being re-synced.