OneDrive File Issues

How to Fix OneDrive Showing an Old Account or Owner Name

Maira Mehtab Sep 27, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to update the owner name displayed on a OneDrive page after modifying the site collection owner in Microsoft 365.

Product: OneDrive
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Changing the site collection owner name in the Microsoft 365 directory and waiting for it to reflect on the user's OneDrive page.
Observed behavior: OneDrive continues to show the outdated account or owner name despite the site collection owner having been updated.

Before you start

Verify that you have successfully applied the owner name change in the Microsoft 365 admin center before checking for updates on the OneDrive page.

Solution 1Recommended

Wait for Directory Synchronization

Allow sufficient time for Microsoft 365 backend services to synchronize the new account name across all platforms.

Microsoft 365 directory and OneDrive updates do not happen instantly. It can take time for changes made in the admin center to propagate to individual site collections.

Note the change time

Record the exact time when you updated the site collection owner name in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Wait up to 24 hours

Allow up to 24 hours for the backend directory synchronization process to fully complete.

Verify the update

After 24 hours, refresh the user's OneDrive page or log out and log back in to verify if the new owner name is now correctly displayed.

Synchronization Delay: This delay is standard for Microsoft 365 tenant updates and cannot be bypassed manually.

Solution 2

Open a Microsoft 365 Service Request

If the account name remains unchanged after the 24-hour synchronization period, escalate the issue to Microsoft Support.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my OneDrive still show the old owner name after a change?

Microsoft 365 directory updates can take up to 24 hours to fully synchronize with OneDrive and SharePoint site collections. This is a normal backend process delay.

Can I manually force an immediate sync to update the OneDrive account name?

No, user-level directory synchronization is handled automatically by Microsoft's backend servers. You must wait the standard 24-hour period before the changes will be reflected.

Who has the permissions to open a service request in Microsoft 365?

Only users assigned the global admin or a specific support admin role can access the 'Support' section in the Microsoft 365 admin center to open backend service requests.

Document & File Issues