How to do when you don’t have any idea of OneDrive sync status icons? Now, just scroll down to get OneDrive symbols explained on Windows, Mac, Android, or on the website.
You might be curious about OneDrive sync symbols if you use OneDrive a lot. There are so many OneDrive symbols on website, computer, and phones, you cannot decide to do what in the next step if you don’t know the OneDrive symbols means. Typically, OneDrive icons are located in desktop notification areas, menu bars, Windows File Explorer, and macOS Finder, and show you the OneDrive sync status.
So what does OneDrive symbols mean? In the following content, we will show you the OneDrive sync status icons and its meaning separately on different devices. Just scroll down to get more detailed information about the OneDrive symbols explained.
What does OneDrive symbols mean on Windows? First of all, you have to know all the OneDrive Sync status icons:
OneDrive Symbols Explained on Windows
|
OneDrive Icon Name |
OneDrive Sync Icons |
Explanation |
Solutions |
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Two OneDrive icons |
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OneDrive white icon is your personal account, OneDrive blue icon is your OneDrive for work or school account. |
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A red circle with a white cross |
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The file or folder cannot be synced if you see one of the 3 icons in File Explorer or on the OneDrive icon. |
Check your Internet connection, file size, file name, file types, and OneDrive storage space to resolve. Turn off proxy settings, antivirus, or firewall. Reset, update, or reinstall OneDrive. |
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Grayed OneDrive cloud icon with a line through it |
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You’re not signed in, or the OneDrive setup is not finished. |
check your Internet connection; Sign in to your OneDrive account; Check solutions if you meet the error message “you are already syncing a personal OneDrive on this compupter” |
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OneDrive paused icon |
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The sync process is paused. |
Resume OneDrive sync by clicking OneDrive icon > More > Resume syncing. |
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Circular arrows on the OneDrive icon |
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Sync in progress (uploading files to cloud, or syncing from cloud to PC) |
If you stuck with this for a long, try solutions for OneDrive stuck on processing changes. |
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Red with a white line OneDrive icon |
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Your OneDrive account is blocked. |
Delete files from OneDrive to free up space or buy more storage to unfreeze your account. Or you can’t do anything to your OneDrive but read-only and all the data will be deleted after 12 months. |
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OneDrive yellow exclamation mark icon |
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Your account needs attention. |
Click the icon to see the detailed information and take actions to fix it. |
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Grey circle with a through-line icon |
Your admin has blocked the sync for some file types(typically the Outlook data files). |
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OneDrive cloud and people icon |
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The file or folder has been shared with other people. |
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OneDrive blue cloud icon |
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The file is only available online. |
If you want to make files available offline, follow the link to follow. |
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Green check icon |
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A locally available file and usually show you available on this device. It is downloaded when you open an online-only file. |
To free up storage space on disk, you can right-click the file and choose to Free up space. |
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The solid green circle and white check icon |
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The files you set up as Always keep on this device. Access anytime even if when offline. |
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Grey X on desktop icons |
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A corrupted Windows shortcut icon, not a OneDrive icon. |
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The lock icon |
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The files or folders have settings that prevent them from syncing. |
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Chain icon on a folder |
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It’s a shortcut to another folder that has been shared. |
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Brown box on desktop icons |
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An issue with your icons is caused by Windows Explorer. |
Restart your Windows Explorer in Task Manager to fix it. |
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Shortcut Arrow icon |
If you see a shortcut arrow over files that are no shortcuts. |
Restart your Windows Explorer in Task Manager to fix it. |
If you want to figure out the OneDrive symbol status explained, just follow the below chart to get more details.
OneDrive Symbols Explained on Mac
|
OneDrive Icon Name |
OneDrive Sync Icons |
Explanation |
Solutions |
|
Black circle with white cross |
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The file or folder cannot be synced. |
Click the OneDrive icon on the menu bar to troubleshoot the problem. |
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Greyed OneDrive Cloud icon with a through-line |
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You’re not signed in or OneDrive setup is not finished. |
Wait for a while or use Finder/Spotlight to start OneDrive. |
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OneDrive paused icon |
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Your files are not currently syncing. |
Click the OneDrive icon and hit the paused icon to resume sync. |
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OneDrive syncing pending arrows icon |
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Sync in progress (uploading files to cloud, or syncing from cloud to PC) |
If you stuck with this for a long, try solutions for OneDrive stuck on processing changes. |
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A solid red circle with a white bar |
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Your account is blocked. |
Delete files from OneDrive to free up space or buy more storage to unfreeze your account. Or you can’t do anything to your OneDrive but read-only and all the data will be deleted after 12 months. |
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Circle with a bar |
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Files with this icon won’t sync due to the admin settings. |
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OneDrive shared icon |
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The file or folder has been shared with other people. If there's a line under the sharing icon, it means that the file is on the device. |
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Blue cloud or cloud with arrow icon |
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The files or folders are only available online. |
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A green circle with a check icon |
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A locally available file and usually show you available on this device. It is downloaded when you open an online-only file. |
To free up storage space on disk, you can right-click the file and choose to Free up space. |
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Solid green circle or underlined gray tick
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Files are marked as Always keep on this device. |
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The lock icon |
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The files or folders have settings that prevent them from syncing. |
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There is only one OneDrive symbol on your Android phone and may briefly appear in your Android notifications.
what do the OneDrive symbols mean on Android
|
OneDrive Icon Name |
OneDrive Sync Icons |
Explanation |
Solutions |
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Greyed double-cloud icon |
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The OneDrive cloud icon may briefly appear in your Android notifications as part of the normal upload process. |
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There are some different OneDrive symbols on your OneDrive website, just follow the below steps to figure them out.
OneDrive Symbols Explained on Website
|
OneDrive Icon Name |
OneDrive Sync Icons |
Explanation |
Solutions |
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Three little blue lines |
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When you see this icon on a file or folder, which means that it’s new. |
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3 combined squares |
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It shows next to Owner or Can edit, which means that a shared collection of files. |
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The blue diamond icon |
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It displays your current subscription to OneDrive or Microsoft 365 and the used storage space. |
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Chain icon on a folder |
It’s a shortcut to another folder that has been shared. |
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Sometimes, if you don’t see any OneDrive status symbols on your computer or device, the OneDrive might be not installed or OneDrive desktop app not running correctly.
If you meet some OneDrive symbols not allowed to sync, or the OneDrive status icon not updating, which sometimes means that your OneDrive not syncing correctly. Or you don’t want to learn these complex OneDrive symbols, it’s highly recommended to try the free cloud backup service - CBackup, which allows you to backup or sync files to OneDrive without any file size or transfer speed limitation and you can sync files smoothly.
To make things simple, you can uninstall the OneDrive desktop app first, then try CBackup to sync files to OneDrive automatically. The below steps are listed to sync files to OneDrive automatically.
1. Please install the CBackup desktop app, create a free CBackup account then sign in.
2. Select the Storage tab, then choose OneDrive, and hit Authorize Now.
3. Tap Sync > Sync PC to Public Cloud subsequently.
4. Choose the computer files in the Source section, and select a OneDrive folder as the destination. Hit Settings > Scheduler to enable OneDrive automatic sync.
5. Hit the Start Sync button to sync files to OneDrive automatically.
Besides, you can try the other valuable features of CBackup, which helps you to perform cloud backup and sync easier:
Now, OneDrive symbols explained on Windows, Mac, Android, or on the OneDrive website have been described in detail. You can decide what to do when you know what do the OneDrive symbols mean. Or just abandon the OneDrive desktop app to try CBackup to protect files online, like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and so on if you don’t want to know the OneDrive symbols meaning.