OneDrive is a cloud solution developed by Microsoft. It helps users of Windows 11 or Windows 10 sync data such as images, documents, and other personal files to online storage.
Syncing OneDrive only works if OneDrive is activated in Windows. That means the user must be logged in through a Microsoft account, and sync must be activated. In most cases, the default is to sync the images, documents, and personal vault folder.
There are several ways to stop syncing in OneDrive. You can temporarily stop OneDrive synchronization with a preset time. It is also possible to stop syncing specific folders or stop syncing entirely by unlinking the PC from your OneDrive account.
4 ways to stop OneDrive Synchronization in Windows 11
Stop the OneDrive syncing temporarily
The first way to stop syncing is to temporarily pause it. If you temporarily pause synchronization, no data will be sent to the OneDrive cloud during this set period.
Right-click on the OneDrive icon in the overflow menu. In the menu, then click on “Pause Syncing”. You can now choose several hours to pause synchronization, for example, 2 hours, 8 hours, or 24 hours.
Change the OneDrive synced folders
By default, OneDrive syncs the images and document folders. However, you can customize these folders. For example, if you don’t want the documents to sync, disable sync for this folder. The rest of the folders will then remain synchronized in OneDrive.
Open OneDrive on your computer. At the top of the menu, click the wrench icon “Help & Settings”. Then click on settings in the OneDrive menu.
In settings, click the “Choose Folders” button to determine which folders you want to sync with OneDrive and which you don’t.
Choose what you want to make available in OneDrive. These files are then available on-demand. Unselected folders are hidden in File Explorer.
To exclude a particular folder, i.e. not synchronize, deselect it and click OK to confirm.
Disable OneDrive synchronization by unlinking the PC
If you want to stop using OneDrive at all and stop all synchronization permanently, you can disconnect the PC. No data will then be synchronized.
All local files remain available, but online files are removed from the PC. You can only access them online at https://onedrive.live.com/.
Open OneDrive on your computer. At the top of the menu, click the wrench icon “Help & Settings”. Then click on settings in the OneDrive menu.
In settings, click on the Account tab and then “Unlink this PC”.
You will see the following message:
Your OneDrive files will stop syncing. Locally available files will remain on this device while online-only files will be removed.
If you agree, then click the “Unlink Account” button.
You have now successfully stopped the full synchronization.
Uninstall OneDrive from your Windows 11 PC
If you have stopped syncing, you may also want to remove OneDrive. You are no longer using OneDrive in Windows 11 or have never used it. It is safe to delete OneDrive. If you have files stored in OneDrive and delete OneDrive, you can still access them online.
Right-click on the Start button. In the menu, click Apps and Features. In the installed apps, search for OneDrive.
Then click on the 3 vertical dots and click uninstall. Now follow the uninstall procedure to fully remove OneDrive from your Windows 11 PC.
I hope this has helped you. Thank you for reading!
Also read: How to remove OneDrive shortcut from File Explorer.
