OneDrive Files Stuck Online-Only After Marking Always Keep on This Device

You right-click a file or folder in OneDrive, select Always keep on this device, but the file remains online-only. The green check mark never appears, and the file stays on the cloud icon. This happens when OneDrive’s sync engine gets stuck in a pending state, often due to a corrupted cache, a large pending sync queue, or a conflict with the Files On-Demand feature. This article explains the technical cause of this stuck behavior and gives you four proven fixes to force the download to complete.

Why OneDrive Ignores Always Keep on This Device

OneDrive uses a sync database stored in the hidden AppData folder. When you mark a file as Always keep on this device, OneDrive writes a download instruction to that database. The sync engine then fetches the file from the cloud and writes it to the local disk. If the database becomes corrupted or if the sync engine is already processing a large number of changes, the instruction can get stuck in a pending queue. The file icon stays on the cloud symbol because the engine never completed the download.

Another common cause is a conflict between Files On-Demand and the offline file cache. When Files On-Demand is active, OneDrive treats every file as a placeholder until you explicitly open it or mark it as always kept. If the placeholder metadata in the sync database is inconsistent with the file’s actual state, the engine refuses to download. This inconsistency can be triggered by a failed sync during a network interruption, a system crash while OneDrive was writing to the database, or by manually moving files in File Explorer while sync was paused.

Steps to Force OneDrive to Download Stuck Files

The following methods increase in severity. Start with Method 1 and proceed only if the previous method fails.

Method 1: Toggle Files On-Demand Off and On

1. Open OneDrive settings
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray notification area. Select Settings. If you do not see the icon, click the Show hidden icons arrow first.
2. Go to the Sync and backup tab
   In the OneDrive Settings window, click the Sync and backup tab. Then click Advanced settings.
3. Turn off Files On-Demand
   Under Files On-Demand, uncheck the box labeled Save space and download files as you use them. Click OK. OneDrive will begin downloading all online-only files to your local disk. Wait for the sync to complete. This can take several minutes depending on the number of files.
4. Turn Files On-Demand back on
   Repeat step 2. Recheck the Save space and download files as you use them box. Click OK. OneDrive will revert files that are not marked as Always keep to online-only status.
5. Verify the stuck file
   Navigate to the file or folder that was stuck. Right-click it and select Always keep on this device. The file should now download immediately.

Method 2: Pause and Resume Sync

1. Pause syncing
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray. Click Help & Settings. Then click Pause syncing, and select 2 hours.
2. Wait 30 seconds
   Allow the sync engine to stop all active upload and download operations.
3. Resume syncing
   Right-click the OneDrive icon again. Click Help & Settings. Then click Resume syncing.
4. Check the file status
   Right-click the stuck file and select Always keep on this device again. The download should start within a few seconds.

Method 3: Reset OneDrive Sync

1. Close OneDrive
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon and select Quit OneDrive. Confirm if prompted.
2. Open the Run dialog
   Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard.
3. Run the reset command
   Type the following command exactly: onedrive.exe /reset. Press Enter. A command prompt window will appear briefly. Wait for it to close.
4. Start OneDrive again
   Press the Windows key, type OneDrive, and press Enter. OneDrive will reinitialize its sync database. All files will temporarily show as online-only until the engine re-reads your local cache.
5. Reapply Always keep on this device
   Right-click the stuck file and select Always keep on this device. The download should proceed normally.

Method 4: Delete the Sync Database Manually

Use this method only if the reset command did not work. This deletes the entire sync history for your account. You will need to reconfigure OneDrive after this step.

1. Quit OneDrive completely
   Right-click the cloud icon and select Quit OneDrive.
2. Open File Explorer to the AppData folder
   Press Windows key + R, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\settings\Business1, and press Enter. The Business1 folder name may vary if you have multiple OneDrive accounts. Look for a folder that contains a file named ClientPolicy.db.
3. Delete the database files
   Select all files and folders inside this directory. Press Shift + Delete to permanently remove them. Do not delete the Business1 folder itself.
4. Restart OneDrive
   Press the Windows key, type OneDrive, and press Enter. OneDrive will create a fresh sync database and re-scan your local folders.
5. Mark the file again
   Right-click the stuck file and select Always keep on this device.

If OneDrive Still Keeps Files Online-Only After These Fixes

OneDrive Shows a Pending Sync Icon That Never Changes

The pending icon, which looks like two blue arrows in a circle, indicates that OneDrive is queued to download the file but cannot start. This often happens when another file in the same folder is actively uploading. Wait for all uploads to finish. Then right-click the stuck file and select Free up space to force a state refresh, then immediately mark it as Always keep on this device again.

Always Keep on This Device Is Grayed Out

If the option is unavailable, the file may be stored outside your OneDrive folder. Only files inside the OneDrive folder can be marked as always kept. Move the file into the OneDrive folder, let it sync, then right-click and select Always keep on this device.

OneDrive Keeps Reverting Files to Online-Only

This happens when your device is low on disk space. OneDrive automatically frees up space by reverting files to online-only if the free disk space drops below 10% of total capacity. Free up disk space by moving files to an external drive or deleting temporary files. Then mark the file again.

Files On-Demand vs Always Keep on This Device: Key Differences

Item	Always Keep on This Device	Free Up Space (Online-Only)
File availability	Available offline at all times	Requires internet to open
Disk space used	Full file size on local disk	Only a placeholder thumbnail (1 KB)
Sync behavior	Downloads immediately and stays downloaded	Downloads only when opened, then reverts to placeholder
Overrides	None — stays until you manually free up space	Auto-revert if disk space is low

You can now force any stuck file to download by toggling Files On-Demand, pausing sync, or resetting the sync engine. If the problem persists, check your available disk space and ensure the file is inside your OneDrive folder. As an advanced tip, you can run onedrive.exe /reset from an elevated command prompt to clear the sync database without losing your local files — this is the fastest fix for a corrupted sync queue.