Known Folder Move Fails After Tenant Rename: OneDrive for Business Fix

After renaming your Microsoft 365 tenant domain, Known Folder Move may stop working and fail to redirect the Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to OneDrive. This happens because the original tenant GUID and the new domain name are stored in the registry and OneDrive cache, causing a mismatch during the sync process. This article explains why the failure occurs and provides the exact steps to clear the stale references and restart Known Folder Move successfully.

You will learn how to edit the Windows registry, reset the OneDrive app, and reconfigure Known Folder Move without losing your existing files. The fix requires local administrator rights on the affected Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer.

Why Known Folder Move Fails After a Tenant Rename

When you rename your Microsoft 365 tenant, the underlying tenant ID remains the same but the default domain changes. OneDrive for Business stores the tenant domain and user email address in the Windows registry under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\OneDrive\Accounts\Business1 key. If the registry still contains the old domain, the OneDrive sync engine cannot verify the correct SharePoint tenant URL and refuses to apply Known Folder Move policies.

In addition, the OneDrive client caches the previous tenant information in its local database. When you attempt to enable Known Folder Move again, the client compares the cached domain with the new tenant domain. A mismatch causes the operation to fail silently or display a generic error such as “Something went wrong” or “We can’t set up folder backup right now.”

The fix involves three actions: clearing the registry values that hold the old domain, unlinking the OneDrive account so the client discards the cached data, and re-running Known Folder Move setup from scratch.

Steps to Fix Known Folder Move After Tenant Rename

Follow these steps on each Windows computer where Known Folder Move is failing. You must be signed in with a local administrator account.

1. Close OneDrive completely
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area and select Settings. Go to the Account tab and click Unlink this PC. Confirm the unlink prompt. Then press Ctrl+Shift+Escape to open Task Manager. Look for any OneDrive.exe process on the Processes tab, select it, and click End task.
2. Open Registry Editor
   Press Windows+R, type regedit, and press Enter. Click Yes when User Account Control prompts you. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\OneDrive\Accounts\Business1. If you see multiple subkeys like Business2 or Personal, expand each one and check the ServiceName value to identify the one containing your old tenant domain.
3. Delete the old domain values
   In the right pane, right-click the UserEmail value and select Delete. Confirm the deletion. Then right-click the ServiceName value and delete it as well. Do not delete any other values or keys. Close Registry Editor.
4. Clear the OneDrive cache
   Press Windows+R, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive, and press Enter. Delete all files and folders inside this directory. If a file is in use, skip it and continue. Then press Windows+R again, type %appdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive, and press Enter. Delete all contents here as well.
5. Restart OneDrive and sign in
   Press the Windows key, type OneDrive, and press Enter. The OneDrive setup window appears. Sign in using your user principal name that includes the new tenant domain. For example, if your new domain is contoso.com, sign in as user@contoso.com. Complete the setup with the default folder location.
6. Re-enable Known Folder Move
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon and select Settings. Go to the Sync and backup tab and click Manage backup. Turn on the toggle for Desktop, Documents, and Pictures. Click Start backup. OneDrive will re-scan the folders and apply the updated tenant policy.

If OneDrive Still Has Issues After the Main Fix

OneDrive shows a red X on folders after re-enabling Known Folder Move

This indicates that the previous folder redirection is still active in the registry and conflicts with the new tenant. Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\OneDrive\Accounts\Business1. Look for a subkey named KnownFolderMove. Right-click it and select Delete. Then repeat steps 5 and 6 from the main fix. The red X should disappear after the next sync cycle.

Known Folder Move policy is enforced by group policy but still fails

If your organization uses Group Policy to enforce Known Folder Move, the policy may reference the old tenant domain. Contact your Microsoft 365 administrator to update the group policy object with the new tenant domain. The relevant policy setting is located at Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > OneDrive > Set the maximum size of a user’s OneDrive for Business that can be silently moved. After the policy is updated, run gpupdate /force on the affected computer and restart OneDrive.

OneDrive keeps asking to sign in again after the fix

This usually means the cached credentials in Windows Credential Manager still contain the old tenant. Press Windows+R, type control keymgr.dll, and press Enter. Look for any entries containing “OneDrive” or “MicrosoftOffice16” and remove them. Then restart OneDrive and sign in again with the new tenant domain.

Known Folder Move With Original Tenant vs After Tenant Rename: Key Differences

Item	Original Tenant	After Tenant Rename
User email domain	Original domain e.g. oldcompany.onmicrosoft.com	New domain e.g. newcompany.com
OneDrive URL format	https://oldcompany-my.sharepoint.com	https://newcompany-my.sharepoint.com
Registry key reference	ServiceName contains old tenant GUID	ServiceName must be cleared and recreated
Known Folder Move behavior	Works immediately when enabled	Fails until registry and cache are cleaned
Required user action	Standard setup via OneDrive settings	Manual registry edit and cache reset required

After a tenant rename, the OneDrive client cannot automatically transition to the new domain. The registry and cache edits described in this article are the only reliable method to restore Known Folder Move functionality without reinstalling the OneDrive client.

You can now resolve Known Folder Move failures that occur after a tenant rename by clearing the registry values, deleting the local cache, and re-linking your OneDrive account with the new domain. As a next action, verify that all computers in your organization apply the fix by running a script that deletes the UserEmail and ServiceName registry values before the user signs in again. For advanced management, use the OneDrive Group Policy Administrative Template to pre-configure Known Folder Move settings and avoid manual intervention on each machine.