How to Enable or Disable OneDrive in Windows 11

How to Turn On or Off OneDrive Using the Local Group Policy Editor

You can easily turn OneDrive on or off for everyone on your Windows 11 PC using the Local Group Policy Editor, but you’ll need to be an administrator to make these changes.

1. Click the ⊞ Start button and type Edit group policy.
2. Click on the Edit group policy app from 🔍 the search results.
3. In the window that opens, look at the left side and follow this path by clicking each folder: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > OneDrive
4. On the right side, find and double-click the setting named Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage.
5. A new window will open with three options:

   • Not Configured (default) – OneDrive works normally.
   • Enabled – OneDrive is turned off and cannot be used.
   • Disabled – OneDrive is turned on and works normally.
6. Choose the option you want, click OK, then close the Local Group Policy Editor.
7. 🔄 Restart your computer to make the change take effect.

How to Turn On or Off OneDrive Using the Windows Registry

If you can’t access the Group Policy Editor, you can still turn OneDrive on or off using the Windows Registry, just be careful because changing the wrong things can cause issues.

1. Press Win + R on your keyboard, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to this folder path by expanding the folders on the left: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive
3. If you don’t see the OneDrive folder, 🖱️ right-click on Windows, choose New > Key, and name it OneDrive.
4. Click on the OneDrive folder. On the right side, right-click and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
5. Name the new value: DisableFileSyncNGSC.
6. Double-click on DisableFileSyncNGSC and set the value to:

   • 1 to turn OneDrive off
   • 0 to turn OneDrive on
7. Click OK, close the Registry Editor, and 🔄 restart your computer.

What Happens When OneDrive Is Disabled?

When you turn off OneDrive in Windows 11, you won’t be able to open the app or use it in other programs, and your files will stop syncing to the cloud.

• You won’t be able to open OneDrive from its app or the file picker window.
• Apps from the Microsoft Store won’t be able to use OneDrive.
• OneDrive will not show up in the 📁 File Explorer sidebar.
• Your files won’t sync with the cloud anymore.
• Photos and videos won’t automatically upload from your camera roll.

How to Uninstall OneDrive from 🪟 Windows 11

If you want to completely remove OneDrive from your PC, you can uninstall it.

Follow the detailed guide here: How to uninstall and remove OneDrive from Windows 11

More Help and Official Information

For official Microsoft help, check out their page here: Microsoft OneDrive Support

Summary

• OneDrive helps you save and access files online on Windows 11.
• You can turn OneDrive on or off using the Local Group Policy Editor or Windows Registry.
• Turning OneDrive off stops syncing and removes it from 📁 File Explorer.
• If you want, you can completely uninstall OneDrive from your PC.
• Always 🔄 restart your computer after making changes for them to work.