Onedrive still syncing all files in Onedrive folder even after quitting onedrive on PC.

Question

Issue is that files are syncing directly to the cloud (Onedrive) when saving them to Onedrive folder in file explorer.

He does not want these files to sync automatically so he disconnects from Onedrive.

Disconnecting (quitting from onedrive) used to stop this sync from happening, but now it does not help.

Save file to desktop and then moving it to the onedrive folder does not sync it.

It only syncs when directly saving a file to the onedrive folder.

Answer 1

Hello @Michael Davis, 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Based on your description, it looks like the behavior of OneDrive has changed on your device by quitting or disconnecting OneDrive prevented files from syncing when saved into the OneDrive folder. 

There are some recommendations that I can provide to you to fix this issue: 

1. Fully Disable OneDrive Sync 

• Open OneDrive settings 
• Go to Account 
• Select “Unlink this PC” 
• Choose Keep files on this device when prompted 

2. Change the Save Location to a Local Folder 

• Save files to Documents, Desktop, or any other local folder 
• Move files manually to OneDrive only when desired 

3. Turn Off Files On-Demand 

• Open OneDrive Settings 
• Go to Sync and backup 
• Turn Files On‑Demand off 

4. Pause Syncing Indefinitely 

• Click the OneDrive cloud icon 
• Choose Pause syncing > 24 hours 
• Wait for 24 hour and check if it can resolve the issue 

Note: This is not a long-term fix but works temporarily. 

Note: Please understand that as a forum moderator, my primary goal is to provide helpful guidance and support through general troubleshooting steps. While I don’t have access to internal systems or test devices required to resolve backend/account issues, I truly appreciate your understanding of these limitations.  

Thank you for choosing Microsoft, and I am looking forward to your response. If anything is unclear, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. 

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