Permission & Access Issues

How to Fix SharePoint and OneDrive Anyone Links External Sharing Issues

Rana Garcia Oct 23, 2026 869 views

Question details

Users or administrators need to enable or troubleshoot anonymous external sharing links in Microsoft 365.

How to Fix SharePoint and OneDrive Anyone Links External Sharing Issues

Product: Microsoft 365 (SharePoint and OneDrive)
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Attempting to create or manage external sharing links for anonymous users in Microsoft 365.
Observed behavior: OneDrive external sharing options may be restricted or grayed out because OneDrive's sharing permissions cannot be more permissive than the organization's overarching SharePoint tenant policies.

Before you start

Ensure you have global admin or SharePoint admin privileges in Microsoft 365, as modifying tenant-wide external sharing policies requires administrative access.

Solution 1Recommended

Adjust Tenant-Level External Sharing Settings in Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Use the Microsoft 365 Admin Center to verify and modify external sharing policies, ensuring that SharePoint allows anonymous links.

Microsoft 365 tenant policies control anonymous and 'Anyone' links across all services. Because OneDrive relies on SharePoint's infrastructure, its external sharing permissions can never exceed SharePoint's permissiveness.

Log in to Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Navigate to the Microsoft 365 admin center in your browser and sign in using your administrator credentials.

Access SharePoint Admin Center

In the left navigation menu, click on 'Show all', then scroll down to the 'Admin centers' section and select 'SharePoint'.

Navigate to Sharing Settings

In the SharePoint admin center, expand 'Policies' in the left sidebar and click on 'Sharing'.

Adjust the Sharing Sliders

Locate the external sharing sliders for SharePoint and OneDrive. Drag the SharePoint slider up to 'Anyone' (the most permissive setting). Ensure the OneDrive slider is also set to 'Anyone' or your desired level.

Save Policy Changes

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click 'Save'. Allow some time for the new policy to propagate across your organization's tenant.

Adjust Tenant-Level External Sharing Settings in Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Policy Hierarchy: OneDrive policies are directly dependent on SharePoint. If you restrict SharePoint external sharing to 'New and existing guests', OneDrive sharing will automatically be restricted to the same level, regardless of its previous configuration.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the 'Anyone with the link' option grayed out in OneDrive?

This occurs when your organization's Microsoft 365 admin has disabled anonymous sharing at the tenant level, or if the overarching SharePoint sharing policy is set to a more restrictive level than OneDrive.

Can I enable 'Anyone' links for OneDrive without enabling them for SharePoint?

No, OneDrive relies on the underlying SharePoint infrastructure. By design, OneDrive's external sharing policies cannot be more permissive than the SharePoint tenant policies.

How long do 'Anyone' links stay active before they expire?

By default, Microsoft 365 allows admins to set a mandatory expiration date for 'Anyone' links. If configured, links will automatically expire after the set number of days (e.g., 30 days), requiring a new link to be generated for continued access.

Does changing the external sharing policy affect existing shared links?

Yes. If an administrator reduces the permissiveness of external sharing (for example, changing from 'Anyone' to 'New and existing guests'), all previously generated anonymous 'Anyone' links will immediately stop working.

Document & File Issues