When you log in to your Windows 11 PC, OneDrive starts automatically. It consumes your internet data and uploads your files to the Microsoft cloud. If you want to stop this process, you can simply disable OneDrive on Windows 11.
There may be many reasons why you want to disable OneDrive. Whatever the reason, we will discuss different ways to disable OneDrive on Windows 11. Additionally, we will explain how to completely uninstall OneDrive from your system. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
How to Disable OneDrive on Windows 11
OneDrive is a cloud storage service provided by Microsoft. On Windows 11, OneDrive comes pre-installed. If you want to disable or remove OneDrive, there are several methods available. Here, we will discuss a few ways to disable OneDrive on Windows 11.
If you don’t want to completely remove OneDrive from your Windows 11 PC, you can use a temporary solution to disable it. First, let’s discuss some temporary solutions to disable OneDrive.
1. Pause Syncing for OneDrive on Windows 11
If OneDrive is consuming a lot of your internet data, you can temporarily disable its syncing features. OneDrive allows you to pause the background syncing process for 2, 8, or 24 hours.
Follow these steps to do so:
1. Click on the arrow icon ^ on the taskbar, then right-click the OneDrive icon to open OneDrive.
2. If you didn’t find the OneDrive icon on the system tray option, you click on the Windows icon and search for OneDrive. Then, click on OneDrive in the search results to open it.
3. This will open up the OneDrive folder. Close that folder and head to the taskbar corner overflow area. Now, you would see the OneDrive icon, click on that icon.
4. After that, click on the Help & Settings icon and click the Pause syncing option.
5. Now, choose a time frame for which you want to disable OneDrive’s syncing feature.
This will stop the syncing process for the selected time frame. After the time is over, it automatically starts the process.
2. Unlink OneDrive From your Windows 11
If you want, you can also unlink OneDrive from your Windows 11 PC. This will stop your PC from updating and syncing data with the cloud. Essentially, it means you are signing out of your OneDrive account and leaving the app behind.
By doing so, you will not lose any files or data that have already been synced. If you wish, you can log in to your OneDrive account again without losing any files.
Here’s how you can unlink OneDrive from your Windows 11 PC:
1. Click on the arrow icon ^ on the taskbar. Then right-click on the OneDrive icon to open OneDrive.
2. Click on the Help & Setting option and select Settings.
3. It will open Microsoft OneDrive Settings, go to the Account tab, and click on the unlink this PC option.
4. After that, you will get a confirmation window.
5. Here confirm your action by clicking on Unlink Account.
This will log you out of your OneDrive account on your PC. However, you will still see the OneDrive icon on the taskbar with the Not signed in option. If you want to use it again, you can sign in to your OneDrive account.
3. Disable OneDrive from Auto Start
After disabling the sync feature and unlinking OneDrive, if the OneDrive gets automatically starts when you log in to Windows, then you can disable the auto-start feature.
Here are the steps to disable auto-start on OneDrive:
1. Click on the arrow icon ^ on the taskbar and open OneDrive.
2. Click on the Help & Setting option and select Settings.
3. Click on the Settings tab and uncheck Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in to Windows option.
4. Then, click OK to save the changes.
4. Disable OneDrive from Startup Using Task Manager
Another way to disable OneDrive from starting up is through the Task Manager. Here are the steps to disable OneDrive from startup using the Task Manager:
1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Task Manager. Alternatively, you can also use Ctrl + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut to launch the task manager.
2. Click the Startup tab in the Task Manager window.
3. In the list of programs enabled for auto-start, locate Microsoft OneDrive, right-click on Microsoft OneDrive, and select Disable.
4. Alternatively, select the Microsoft OneDrive app and click the Disable button at the bottom right corner of the window.
This is how you can disable auto-start for OneDrive. Now, the next time you start your computer, OneDrive will not start automatically. After that, OneDrive will only run if you start it manually.
5. Uninstall OneDrive on Windows 11
If you have decided that you no longer want the Microsoft OneDrive app and wish to remove it from your Windows 11 PC, you can uninstall it from your system.
To do so, follow these steps:
1. In the new Windows 11, the taskbar is centered. Click on the Windows icon to open the Start Menu, then click on Settings.
2. Next, click on the Apps tab from the left panel of the Settings window.
3. Look for the Apps & Features option to the right of your screen.
4. Scroll through the installed apps to locate the Microsoft OneDrive app. You can also use the search bar to find the app.
5. Click the three dots beside the Microsoft OneDrive and select Uninstall.
6. Click the Uninstall button again to confirm the action.
Conclusion
This will completely remove the OneDrive app from your PC. That’s it; this is how you can disable OneDrive on Windows 11. You can also check our detailed guide on; how to disable Cortana on Windows 11. For that, follow the linked guide.
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