How to Uninstall or Remove the OneDrive on Windows 11

The OneDrive is a cloud storage solution that is built into Windows 11, but it may not be the best option for everyone. If you do not wish to use OneDrive or if you wish to use another cloud storage service, you can easily uninstall it. In this guide, you will learn how to pause, stop, or disable OneDrive on Windows 11 either temporarily or permanently, or even how to uninstall the OneDrive app to completely remove it from your Windows 11 system.

Quick Solution:

1. To Pause or Stop OneDrive:

Click on the OneDrive icon, near the clock on your computer screen, and choose “Settings.”.

You can either:

• Pause OneDrive for a short time by selecting “Pause syncing” and choosing how long.
• Stop OneDrive completely by selecting “Quit OneDrive.”.

2. To Remove OneDrive:

• Search for “installed apps” on your computer.
• Find OneDrive in the list of apps.
• Click on the three dots next to OneDrive and choose “Uninstall.”.

Now, let’s move ahead and find out how you can pause OneDrive temporarily and stop it from working automatically.

How to Pause OneDrive

If you are not sure whether you want to remove OneDrive permanently, you can pause it temporarily. Pausing will stop the syncing of your files for a certain period you select (2 hours, 8 hours, 24 hours, or until you un-pause).

1. Click the right button of the mouse on the OneDrive icon located at the bottom of the screen.
2. Click on “Pause syncing” and then select the time you want to pause the syncing for.

How to Quit OneDrive

Turning off or disabling OneDrive will stop syncing or working in the background of your Windows system. However, you can turn it on by again opening it or restarting your PC.

To turn off OneDrive:

1. Click with the right mouse button on the OneDrive icon placed near the Time and Date icon.
2. Click on the OneDrive “Settings”.
3. Select Pause syncing and choose “Quit OneDrive”. A warning message will pop up asking if you are sure. Choose Close OneDrive to confirm.

Turn OneDrive Off From Taskbar

You can also turn off OneDrive using the taskbar. To do this:

1. Right-click the OneDrive icon in the taskbar (near the data & time).
2. Click the Microsoft OneDrive “Settings.”
3. Simply uncheck the “Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in to Windows” option
4. Click “OK” to save the settings.

Now, every time you turn on your PC, the OneDrive will not open automatically and will not back up your files and folders.

Uninstall OneDrive on Windows 11

On Windows 11, you can remove OneDrive in at least two ways using the Settings app and Command Prompt through the Windows Package Manager tool.

1. Using Settings
   

   If you’re sure that you no longer require OneDrive in any aspect, you could go ahead and get rid of the application. Here are the simple steps to uninstall the OneDrive app from your Windows 11 PC.

   1. Press the Windows key + I altogether to open Settings.
   2. Go to “Apps” and then select “Installed apps”.
      
   3. Locate “Microsoft OneDrive” from the search option.
   4. Right-click on the three dots (in front of the OneDrive app on the right-hand side) and choose “Uninstall” from the options.
   5. Again, click on the “Uninstall” button to confirm the action.

   After the confirmation, the Microsoft OneDrive will be completely removed from your Windows laptop or PC. However, you can later install it whenever it is needed.

2. Using the Command Prompt Method

The most advanced users uninstall the OneDrive from the Command Prompt because it is a quick and easy process. With a few easy commands, you can completely remove OneDrive and free up space on your device.

Here are the simple steps to uninstall OneDrive through Command Prompt.

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialogue container.
2. Type “cmd” in the Run box field and press Enter or click OK.
3. Type the following command to uninstall OneDrive on Windows 11 and press Enter:

“winget uninstall Microsoft.OneDrive”

After hitting Enter, exit from the Command Prompt, and the Microsoft OneDrive app will be uninstalled.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you can turn off, pause, or completely remove OneDrive cloud storage from your Windows 11 computer or laptop.

Uninstalling will permanently delete Microsoft OneDrive from your PC. While the pause or switch-off options will stop syncing your files and documents with OneDrive temporarily.