Fix OneDrive Files On-Demand Reverting to Online-Only Periodically

Quick fix: Storage Sense in 24H2 silently converts locally-cached OneDrive files back to online-only after a set period. Open Settings → System → Storage → Storage Sense, and set Locally available cloud content → Never to keep your “Always available offline” files cached permanently.

You marked some OneDrive folders as “Always keep on this device” for offline access. They were locally cached. A few weeks later you open the folder and the icons changed back to cloud-only — Windows reverted them. You need Internet to access them again. The opt-in offline state got overridden.

What Storage Sense does to OneDrive

Storage Sense has a setting called “Locally available cloud content” that automatically reverts unused offline files back to online-only after a configurable period (30 days, 60 days, etc.). It’s designed to free disk space by reclaiming files you haven’t opened recently. But it overrides the explicit “Always keep on device” setting on individual files/folders.

Method 1: Disable the auto-revert

1. Open Settings → System → Storage → Storage Sense.
2. Toggle Storage Sense on if not already.
3. Find Locally available cloud content dropdown.
4. Set to Never.
5. Marked-offline files now stay offline indefinitely.

Method 2: Force-mark folders again with Always Keep on Device

1. Right-click the affected folder in File Explorer.
2. Choose Always keep on this device.
3. If the option says “Free up space” instead, the folder is already marked offline.
4. Verify the green check icon (always available) appears on each file.

Method 3: Use OneDrive’s own settings

1. Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray.
2. Settings → Sync and backup → Advanced settings.
3. Confirm Files On-Demand is enabled.
4. Files On-Demand respects the per-file/folder choice as long as Storage Sense isn’t overriding.

Verification

• Marked-offline folders keep the green check icon.
• You can open files offline without Internet.
• After 30+ days without using them, they’re still offline.

If none of these work

If files keep reverting despite Never setting, an enterprise policy may enforce a maximum offline cache age — check Group Policy for OneDrive settings. For laptops with very tight storage, accept the auto-revert as a feature and live with online-only when traveling. For chronic issues, use a third-party sync client like Insync or Mountain Duck that respects offline state without Windows’ Storage Sense interference.

Bottom line: Storage Sense’s “Locally available cloud content” overrides “Always keep on device.” Set to Never to stop the auto-revert behavior.