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How to Fix Large OneDrive and SharePoint ZIP Download Failures
Question details
Users experience download failures or receive corrupted ZIP files when attempting to download large folders from OneDrive and SharePoint.
- Product
- Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to download large folders (e.g., 30 GB or larger) directly from the cloud storage, particularly from the Shared view.
- Observed behavior
- The download process fails or produces an unopenable, corrupted ZIP archive because Microsoft restricts multi-file ZIP downloads to 10 GB per archive and 20 GB overall.
Verify that your computer has sufficient local hard drive space to accommodate the large files, and ensure you are connected to a stable, high-speed internet network before beginning the download.
Copy Shared Files to Your Drive and Download in Smaller Groups
Bypass Microsoft's restrictive ZIP download limits by saving the shared content to a personal folder and downloading the files in smaller, manageable batches.
Microsoft enforces a hard limit on multi-file downloads: a maximum of 10 GB per individual ZIP archive and a 20 GB total limit. Attempting to download files exceeding this size, especially directly from the 'Shared' view, triggers failures and ZIP corruption.
Log in to your OneDrive or SharePoint account and navigate to the 'Shared' view where the large folder is located.
Select the large folder or files. Click 'Add to my files' or 'Copy to' in the top command bar to transfer the content to your personal 'My files' directory or a SharePoint document library you control.
Go to 'My files' or the destination folder where you just copied the content.
Select a subset of files or subfolders that you estimate to be under 10 GB in total size.
Click the 'Download' button to download this specific batch as a valid ZIP file. Repeat this process for the remaining files until everything is successfully downloaded.
Manage Your Downloaded Documents Efficiently with WPS Office
If you are frustrated by Microsoft ecosystem limitations, consider switching to WPS Office for handling your documents. WPS Office is a powerful, free, and lightweight Office alternative that seamlessly integrates with local storage and cloud drives, making document management simpler.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my OneDrive ZIP downloads result in an empty or corrupted file?
This happens when the total size of the selected files exceeds Microsoft's 10 GB limit per archive, or if there is a network interruption. Microsoft's server truncates the file to enforce the limit, resulting in a corrupted or unopenable ZIP file.
Can I download large files directly from the OneDrive Shared view?
No, Microsoft restricts downloading large multi-file folders directly from the Shared view. You must first use the 'Copy to' or 'Add to my files' option to move the content to a directory you own, and then download it from there.
Is there a way to download folders larger than 20 GB without splitting them?
Using the web browser interface, it is impossible to bypass the 20 GB overall limit for ZIP downloads. To download folders larger than 20 GB seamlessly, you must install the OneDrive desktop application and synchronize the folder to your local computer.
How can I check the size of a folder in OneDrive before downloading?
Hover over the folder you wish to download, click the three horizontal dots (Show actions) next to its name, and select 'Details'. A pane will open on the right side of the screen displaying the exact total size of the folder.
