Stop OneDrive From Uploading and Syncing Files in Windows 10

OneDrive comes in handy, as this file-hosting service allows Windows users to store files and photos from anywhere, on any device. But if they have a poor internet connection, letting OneDrive doing its job and starting uploading and syncing files at the wrong moment will make things worse. So, below, we’ll teach Windows 10 users how to take a break from the cloud.

Pause File Syncing

First of all, go to the notification area where you will access the OneDrive app by clicking the upward-facing arrow from the right side of the taskbar. Once you access the application, right click it and select Pause syncing. There will be three options to pause OneDrive for two, eight or 24 hours. Now you won’t be bothered anymore during the desired pause time.

Shutdown OneDrive

The second method is more drastic, but at least you won’t need to worry that the service will start uploading and syncing files after a period of time. So, after right-clicking the OneDrive icon, the option you’ll select is Exit. You will see a small pop-up window appearing in the middle of the desktop, which will ask you if you really want to shut down OneDrive, so you’ll choose Close OneDrive. When if reboot your PC, the service will be automatically reactivated, but you can also manually activate it after a few hours.

Limit the Upload Speed

If you still want OneDrive to automatically upload files whenever it wants, but you need bandwidth for other things, you should choose the option to manually limit the upload speed. In order to do this, head to Settings, click on Network tab and at the top of it you’ll see a section called Upload rate. It contains three radio buttons: Adjust automatically, Don’t limit and Limit to, so choose the last option and decide on a rate. 125KBps is the default limit, but you can use less bandwidth, 100KBps or even 20KBps.