Onedrive for business is uninstalled after you upgrade to office 2016

Problem

This article contains information that applies when you use the OneDrive for Business sync client (groove.exe).

NOTE: To determine which OneDrive sync client you're using, see the Which OneDrive sync client am I using? 

Consider the following scenario:

• You have Microsoft Office 365 Personal or Office 365 Home installed on your computer.

• You upgrade from Microsoft Office 2013 to Office 2016.

In this scenario, you experience one of the following issues:

• OneDrive for Business is uninstalled and can't be reinstalled.

• If you had OneDrive for Business installed separately from Office 2013, you receive the following message when you install Office 2016:
  
  We need to remove some older apps
  
  Some older apps don't work with Office 2016. Before installing the new Office, we need to remove [list of apps].

Solution/Workaround

This is a known issue. We're working to address this issue and will continue to post more information in this article when the information becomes available.

To work around this issue, use one of the following methods, as appropriate for your situation.

Method 1: Use a custom installation of Office 2016 to extract OneDrive for Business

For more information, go to the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: 3175950 How to install the OneDrive for Business sync client for SharePoint 2013 and later and SharePoint Online when using Office 2016 applications.

Method 2: Connect to your site library by using Explorer View, by creating a mapped network drive, or by using a web browser

Connect to your site library by using Explorer View or by creating a mapped network drive. You can also use a web browser to interact with your libraries in Microsoft SharePoint Online.

For information about how to connect to your site library by using Explorer View or about how to create a mapped network drive, go to the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

• How to use the "Open with Explorer" command and how to troubleshoot issues with this option in SharePoint Online

• How to configure and to troubleshoot mapped network drives that connect to SharePoint Online sites in Office 365.

More information

This issue occurs because OneDrive for Business was installed as a separate package from Microsoft Office. For example, Office 2013 Home and Student Edition was installed, and then OneDrive for Business was installed separately by using a different installer package.

Still need help? Go to Microsoft Community.