How to Review OneDrive Settings After a Microsoft 365 Migration in OneDrive for Business

After migrating to Microsoft 365, your OneDrive for Business configuration may not carry over all previous settings. Sync rules, file sharing permissions, and backup preferences often reset to tenant defaults during a migration. This article walks you through the key settings you must verify in OneDrive after a Microsoft 365 migration. You will learn exactly which menus to open, which values to check, and what to change to restore your preferred workflow.

What Changes During a Microsoft 365 Migration That Affects OneDrive

A migration to Microsoft 365 can be a tenant-to-tenant move, a domain migration, or a cutover from an on-premises SharePoint environment. In each case, the underlying OneDrive site collection URL changes. This new URL can break sync relationships, invalidate saved sharing links, and reset personal vault or backup settings.

Microsoft 365 migration tools often preserve file content but do not guarantee that every policy or user preference is transferred. For example, the tenant-level sync policy in the SharePoint admin center may revert to the default “Allow syncing only on domain-joined devices.” Similarly, the default sharing link type may change from “Specific people” to “Anyone with the link.”

The following sections cover the specific settings you must review and adjust after migration. You should check both the tenant-level admin settings and your personal OneDrive client settings.

Steps to Review OneDrive Settings After Migration

Follow these steps in the order listed. Start with tenant-wide admin settings, then move to the desktop client, and finally verify sharing permissions in the web app.

Step 1: Verify Tenant-Wide Sync Policy in the SharePoint Admin Center

1. Open the SharePoint admin center
   Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center at admin.microsoft.com. In the left navigation, select Admin centers and then SharePoint.
2. Navigate to the OneDrive sync settings
   In the SharePoint admin center, select Settings from the left menu. Scroll to the OneDrive sync section and click Sync.
3. Review sync restrictions
   Check the setting for Allow syncing only on computers joined to specific domains. If your organization uses domain-joined devices, ensure the correct domain IDs are listed. If you allow syncing from any device, select Allow syncing from any device.
4. Check file type blocking
   Under Block syncing specific file types, review the list of blocked extensions. Add or remove extensions as needed. Common blocked types include .exe, .bat, and .ps1.
5. Save changes
   Click Save at the bottom of the page. Changes apply to all users within a few minutes.

Step 2: Review Known Folder Move and Backup Settings

1. Go to the OneDrive admin center
   From the SharePoint admin center, select OneDrive admin center in the left navigation. Alternatively, go directly to admin.onedrive.com.
2. Select Storage
   Under OneDrive settings, click Storage. Verify the default storage limit. The default is 1 TB per user. Adjust the limit if your users require more space.
3. Set the default retention period
   Click Retention from the left menu. The default retention for deleted OneDrive files is 30 days after a user is deleted. If your organization needs a longer retention, change it to 90 or 365 days.
4. Check Known Folder Move policy
   In the OneDrive admin center, select Sync. Under Known Folder Move, verify whether the policy is set to Prompt users to protect important folders or Silently move known folders to OneDrive. Choose the option that matches your deployment plan.

Step 3: Verify Personal OneDrive Sync Client Settings

1. Open OneDrive settings
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray and select Settings. If the icon is missing, search for OneDrive in the Start menu and open it.
2. Check the Account tab
   In the Account tab, confirm that your new Microsoft 365 account is listed. The email address should match your new tenant domain. If you see an old account, click Unlink this PC and sign in again with the new credentials.
3. Review sync folders
   Click Choose folders. Verify that the correct folders are selected for sync. If the migration created a new OneDrive folder path, you may need to re-select folders. Uncheck any folders that should not sync.
4. Check Files On-Demand status
   In the Settings tab, confirm that Files On-Demand is enabled. If it is disabled, enable it. This setting lets you see all files in File Explorer without downloading them.
5. Set bandwidth limits if needed
   In the Network tab, adjust download and upload rate limits. After migration, the default limits may be too low for large file transfers. Set the rate to Don’t limit or a custom value.

Step 4: Review Sharing Settings in OneDrive Web

1. Open OneDrive in a browser
   Go to onedrive.com and sign in with your new Microsoft 365 account.
2. Check default sharing link type
   Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select OneDrive settings. Under Sharing, review the default link type. The options are Anyone with the link, People in your organization, and Specific people. Choose the most restrictive option that meets your needs.
3. Review external sharing settings
   Still in the Sharing settings, check External sharing. If your migration changed the tenant-level external sharing policy, you may need to re-enable sharing with external users. Select Allow sharing with external users and choose the appropriate expiration and password options.
4. Manage existing shared links
   Navigate to My files. Select any folder or file, click Share, then Manage access. Review the list of people and links that have access. Remove any stale links that were created before the migration.

Common Issues After a OneDrive Migration

OneDrive Sync Asks for Credentials Repeatedly

This usually happens because the old credentials are cached in Windows Credential Manager. Open Control Panel > User Accounts > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials. Look for any entries that contain “OneDrive” or “MicrosoftOffice16” with the old domain. Click the arrow to expand the entry, then click Remove. Restart OneDrive and sign in again.

Known Folder Move Does Not Redirect Desktop or Documents

If the migration changed the user profile path, Known Folder Move may fail silently. Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray and select Settings > Backup > Manage backup. Click Manage backup again. If the Desktop, Documents, or Pictures folders show as “Not protected,” click the folder and then Start protection. After the migration, you may need to manually move files from the old location to the new OneDrive folder.

Shared Links Return “Access Denied”

After migration, the sharing link URLs contain the old tenant domain. Users who click these links receive an access denied error. The fix is to re-share the files from the new OneDrive web interface. To avoid this in future migrations, use Microsoft 365 group-based sharing or Azure AD B2B guest accounts, which persist across tenant moves.

OneDrive Settings: Before Migration vs After Migration

Setting	Before Migration	After Migration (Recommended)
Sync restriction	Allow syncing on domain-joined devices	Allow syncing from any device (or keep domain-joined if required)
Default sharing link type	Specific people	Specific people (most secure)
Known Folder Move	Prompt users to protect folders	Silently move known folders to OneDrive
Files On-Demand	Enabled	Enabled
Storage limit per user	1 TB	1 TB (adjust if needed)

After migration, the sync restriction and sharing link type are the two settings most likely to revert to tenant defaults. Verify these first.

Reviewing OneDrive settings after a Microsoft 365 migration ensures that sync, sharing, and backup features work as expected. Start with the tenant-level policies in the SharePoint and OneDrive admin centers, then check your personal sync client and sharing permissions. As a final step, test the Known Folder Move feature by adding a new file to your Desktop and confirming it appears in OneDrive. This validation catches any remaining configuration gaps before users resume daily work.