It’s common for Windows 10 users who don’t use OneDrive to want to disable the app on the computer. As you may know already, OneDrive comes with every Windows installation and will readily sync default user folders when a Microsoft account is linked.
In addition, since OneDrive boots up on its own after you turn on your computer by default, it may also eat up some of your system and network resources. This may somehow affect your system performance and can heavily eat up your data allowance.
So if you’re looking for a way to disable OneDrive on your Windows 10 computer, here are the steps you need to take:
How to Disable OneDrive on Windows 10
To disable OneDrive completely, you will have to uninstall it from your system.
Step 1: Open up “Apps & Features” on your computer’s system settings. There are a lot of ways to do this. The easiest one is to search for it right inside the Start menu.
You can also open up your system settings first and find the “Apps” settings.
Step 2: Search for “Microsoft OneDrive” and uninstall it. You can either use the search feature or manually find it from the list. Select it and click on the “Uninstall” button.
Windows will ask you once more to confirm the uninstallation. Proceed to finally disable OneDrive on Windows 10.
How to Unlink OneDrive on Windows 10
There is also another option to disable OneDrive from syncing files. This method will require you to unlink your computer from OneDrive. Take note, however, that this doesn’t remove OneDrive from your computer.
Step 1: Open the OneDrive app. You can open it directly from the taskbar by clicking its icon once.
Step 2: Open the app settings for Microsoft OneDrive. To do this, click on the “Help & Settings” button. Then, click on the “Settings” from the options.
Step 3: Unlink your computer. To do that, go to the “Account” tab on the app settings and click the “Unlink this PC”.
After clicking the link, Windows will reconfirm with you whether or not you wanted to proceed with unlinking the PC with OneDrive. Proceed to complete the unlinking.
How to Temporarily Disable OneDrive Syncing
If you only wish to stop the syncing for a few hours, you don’t have to uninstall it.
Step 1: Open the OneDrive app. You can open it directly from the taskbar by clicking its icon once.
Step 2: Pause the syncing for 2, 8, or 24 hours. All you have to do is click on the “Help & Settings” button and expand the options for “Pause syncing”. Select how many hours you want to pause OneDrive syncing.
If you want to disable the syncing for more than 24 hours, you will have to do it again after the first 24 hours are over. As of now, there is no way to select a custom time for pausing the syncing.
That’s it! If you have any other questions, feel free to leave a comment below or send me a direct message via the contact page.