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Disable OneDrive Personal vault

Ibrahim Kishawi 135 Reputation points
2024-05-03T00:42:34.0333333+00:00

I am unable to disable Personal Vault.  It keeps syncing forever and timing out at 20 minutes. When I go online to One Drive and select settings to disable Personal Vault I do not get the option to disable Personal Vault.  I only get the authentication to verify identify over and over again.   I have been trying to disable the Personal Vault for weeks with no success. Help appreciated.   

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For business | Windows

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  1. Philip Carter 20 Reputation points
    2024-12-29T17:34:48.5366667+00:00
    1. It can't be disabled. Microsoft removed the option to disable it across the entire platform for some unknown reason.
    2. Microsoft support doesn't/can't/won't provide a procedure to disable it.
    3. Don't believe me? Get MS Support on the line and see for yourself.
      🤷
    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Gowtham CP 6,915 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2024-05-03T03:25:16.92+00:00

    Hello @Ibrahim Kishawi

    Thanks for posting in the Microsoft Q&A.

    Disabling OneDrive Personal Vault

    Solution:

    1. Go to OneDrive online and navigate to Settings > Options > Personal Vault.
    2. If you see the "Disable Personal Vault" option, toggle it off and confirm after verifying your identity (if prompted).
      • Note: Disabling permanently deletes all Personal Vault data. Make sure to have backups.
    3. Option Missing?
      • Reach out to Microsoft Support for help with disabling or explore alternative methods.
      • Temporary Workaround: Move files from the Personal Vault folder to regular OneDrive storage. This doesn't disable the Vault but removes files from extra security.

    If this solution helps, kindly consider accepting it. Thank you!

    2 people found this answer helpful.
  3. Emi Zhang-MSFT 30,121 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff
    2024-05-03T06:55:18.05+00:00

    Hi,

    Please refer to this support article about disable Personal Vault:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/protect-your-onedrive-files-in-personal-vault-6540ef37-e9bf-4121-a773-56f98dce78c4

    Just checking in to see if the information was helpful. Please let us know if you would like further assistance.

    If the response is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

  4. Mike English 5 Reputation points
    2025-06-25T08:34:11.9566667+00:00

    Hey Rich, not specifically but I asked ChatGPT and, out of the 'clutching at straws' solutions it came up with, it had a registry hack. I don't have this issue so I haven't tried it but might be worth the risk.

    The other thing it said was to reinstall OneDrive but I suspect you might have done that already.

    Thanks

    Mike

    You can try hiding or disabling the Vault's appearance in Explorer:

    Open Registry Editor (regedit)

    Navigate to:

    objectivec
Copy
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDC978D6-4D53-4B2F-A265-5805674BE568}

    If it exists, change the System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree DWORD value to 0.

    ⚠️ Be cautious editing the registry — create a backup first.

  5. Carolyn 0 Reputation points
    2025-07-07T07:55:10.6866667+00:00

    The issue with the personal vault link is that it always shows as unable to sync. If you are not using it and the folder is empty, I would suggest keeping the shortcut link online only.

    Right click on the personal vault shortcut link and select "free up space". That should prevent your one drive app from showing the "sync error".

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