OneDrive File Issues

How to Globally Disable OneDrive Content Approval for All Users

Bushra Parveen Oct 7, 2026 868 views

Question details

Administrators need to globally turn off the content approval requirement in OneDrive for Business so users can successfully sync their files.

How to Disable OneDrive Content Approval for All Users Globally

Product: Microsoft OneDrive / Microsoft 365
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Users are attempting to synchronize files using the OneDrive client after migrating to Microsoft 365.
Observed behavior: File synchronization is blocked because a global setting requires all items to be approved before they can be added to a folder.

Before you start

Ensure you have Microsoft 365 Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator privileges, and that the SharePoint Online PnP PowerShell module is installed on your system.

Solution 1Recommended

Use SharePoint Online PnP PowerShell to Disable Content Approval

The most efficient way to globally disable content approval across all user OneDrive for Business sites is by running a PnP PowerShell script.

Because Microsoft 365 does not offer a single GUI toggle to disable content approval for all personal OneDrive sites simultaneously, administrators must use PowerShell to iterate through each user's site collection.

Connect to SharePoint Admin Center

Open PowerShell as an administrator and run 'Connect-PnPOnline -Url https://[yourtenant]-admin.sharepoint.com -UseWebLogin' to authenticate.

Retrieve OneDrive Site URLs

Run a script block to fetch all OneDrive personal site URLs using 'Get-PnPTenantSite -IncludeOneDriveSites -Filter "Url -like '-my.sharepoint.com/personal/'"'.

Modify the EnableModeration Property

Loop through the retrieved URLs, connect to each specific site, and execute 'Set-PnPList -Identity "Documents" -EnableModeration $false' to disable approval requirements.

Review Script Logs

Check the PowerShell console output for any red error messages to verify if the script failed on specific users' libraries.

Use SharePoint Online PnP PowerShell to Disable Content Approval

Verify Script Targets: Ensure your script targets the 'Documents' library specifically, as this is the default library used by the OneDrive sync client.

Solution 2

Verify User Permissions and Sync Status

If the PowerShell script runs without errors but syncing is still blocked, you must manually inspect the affected users' library permissions.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my OneDrive files suddenly require content approval?

Content approval is a SharePoint library setting that is occasionally triggered or inherited during a Microsoft 365 migration. It requires an administrator to approve documents before they become fully synced or visible to others.

Can individual users disable content approval on their own OneDrive?

Typically, individual users cannot bypass organizational policies. While a user might have site collection admin rights to their own OneDrive, globally disabling the feature requires an IT administrator to execute tenant-wide PowerShell commands.

What should I do if the PnP PowerShell script throws access denied errors?

Review the error logs and ensure your administrator account has the required SharePoint Administrator roles. You may need to temporarily elevate your account's permissions to access certain personal OneDrive site collections.

Will disabling content approval delete my pending files?

No. Disabling the content approval setting simply removes the moderation requirement. Pending items will automatically change to standard status, allowing them to synchronize normally without any data loss.

Document & File Issues