Overlay icons appear in the local sync folder when the desktop client is launched while the system is offline #12678

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Describe the bug

When the internet is disconnected, no overlay icons are shown in the local sync folder. However, when the desktop client is launched after the internet has been disconnected, the overlay icons appear on the already synced files and folders, even though the client shows an offline state and the system has no network connectivity.

Expected behavior

When the system is offline, no overlay icons should be shown in the local sync folder, including after the desktop client is launched.

Steps to reproduce the issue

1. Connect the ownCloud desktop client and the server using the same account.
2. Ensure that the local sync folder is fully synchronised and that the overlay icons are shown on the synced files and folders.
3. Quit the desktop client.
4. Disconnect the internet, for example by disabling the Ethernet adapter in Windows (Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Ethernet > Disable). Alternatively, on a Windows 11 VM in VirtualBox, untick "Virtual Cable Connected" on the VM's network adapter.
5. Confirm that the system is offline: ping 8.8.8.8 returns "General failure" and ipconfig shows "Media disconnected".
6. Open the local sync folder in Windows Explorer and observe that no overlay icons are shown.
7. Launch the desktop client. The client shows an offline state.
8. Check the overlay icons in the local sync folder. Press F5, and restart Windows Explorer if needed.
9. Observe that the overlay icons are shown on the synced files and folders.

Screenshots

1. No overlay icons (the Status column is empty) in the local sync folder after the Ethernet adapter is disabled and before the desktop client is launched. The client is not running.
2. Overlay icons shown in the local sync folder after the client is launched while the system is offline. The client shows "Connecting..." and all spaces as "Offline".

The output of ping and ipconfig, and the disabled Ethernet adapter in Advanced network settings, confirming that the system is offline (visible in both screenshots)

Logs

No response

Client version number

ownCloud 7.2.0.19922-rc.3 584b08
Libraries Qt 6.8.3, OpenSSL 3.4.5 7 Apr 2026
Using virtual files plugin: wincfapi
OS: windows-10.0.26200 (build arch: x86_64, CPU arch: x86_64)
QPA: windows

Desktop environment (Linux only)

No response

Client package version and origin (Linux only)

No response

Installation path (Windows only)

C:\Program Files\ownCloud

Server information

Server: ownCloud Infinite Scale (oCIS)

Server version: 8.2.0

Web UI: ownCloud Web UI 12.5.0

Server execution: Running in Docker (docker compose) on Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS, using the image owncloud/ocis:8.2.0

Additional context

No response