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I have no idea what onedrive sync client is. What is it and how do I stop syncing?

Chris McGavin 5 Reputation points
2026-05-14T20:39:31.7333333+00:00

I have no idea what “onedrive sync client” is. What is it and how do I stop syncing?

If I delete onedrive from my iPhone do I lose the original files?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | iOS

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  1. Bulldog 2,195 Reputation points
    2026-05-14T23:48:59.6866667+00:00

    OneDrive is Microsoft's version of online storage, aka cloud storage. It's the same idea as iCloud, which is Apple's version of cloud storage.

    The OneDrive app is an app that you can use to work with your OneDrive, if you want to. For example, you can use the OneDrive app to sync your computer with your OneDrive, if you want to, or to backup your computer to your OneDrive, if you want to.

    To 'sync' means to 'make the same'. The word sync is short for synchronize. When you sync your computer with cloud storage, you ensure that the files stored in your cloud storage and in your computer are the same.

    While this can be handy in certain circumstances, nobody has to sync their computer with the cloud. If you don't want to sync your Windows PC with your OneDrive you can stop it from happening. But it won't be easy, because Microsoft thinks that everyone should be syncing and so they have setup Windows to do that by default. Here's what you have to do to stop syncing and put your files where you want them to be.

    1- Open the OneDrive app and

    • turn off syncing;
    • turn off backing up;
    • disconnect the app from your OneDrive; and
    • stop the app from starting with Windows.

    2- Put your files where you want them to be: Choose which files you want to have in your OneDrive and which you want to have in your computer, and organize the files into folders as you see fit.

    3- By default, Windows is setup to store your personal files as follows:

    C:\Users\your username\OneDrive\Documents ... etc.

    The OneDrive app, when it's enabled, is syncing the files located in C:\Users\your username\OneDrive\

    You should move your files from C:\Users\your username\OneDrive\Documents to C:\Users\your username\Documents ... etc.

    After these three steps have been completed, the OneDrive app isn't doing anything at all to your computer or your OneDrive, and it has no files to work with in any case.

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  2. John Jefferson Doyon 71,160 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-05-14T21:38:52.38+00:00

    Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

    The OneDrive sync client is the app/service that keeps your files synced between your device and your OneDrive cloud storage. For example, if you save or change a file on your iPhone, it can also update in OneDrive online and on other devices signed into the same account.

    If you want to stop syncing on iPhone, you can:

    • Open the OneDrive app
    • Tap your profile picture
    • Go to Settings
    • Turn off Camera Upload or other sync options you do not want

    If you delete the OneDrive app from your iPhone, your original files stored in OneDrive online should still remain in your Microsoft account cloud storage. However, files that only exist locally on the iPhone and were never uploaded could be removed.

    Are you mainly trying to stop photo backup syncing, or completely stop using OneDrive?

    Click "Add comment" to let me know.

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  3. Chris McGavin 5 Reputation points
    2026-05-14T20:41:14.35+00:00

    What onedrive APP?

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  4. AI answer

    2026-05-14T20:39:43.6+00:00

    The OneDrive sync client is the OneDrive app that runs on a device (PC, Mac, or mobile) and keeps files in the OneDrive cloud and on the device in sync. When a file is added, changed, or deleted in a synced OneDrive folder, the sync client uploads or downloads those changes so both locations match.

    To stop syncing, there are several options depending on how much should be stopped:

    1. Pause syncing temporarily (PC/Mac)
      1. Right-click (or CTRL-click on Mac) the OneDrive cloud icon on the taskbar/menubar.
      2. Select Pause syncing and choose a time (2, 8, or 24 hours) or select Quit OneDrive to stop it until it is started again.
    2. Stop syncing some files or folders (PC/Mac)
      • To stop specific files from syncing:
        1. Pause OneDrive.
        2. Delete or move the file out of the OneDrive folders.
        3. Select the OneDrive icon again and choose Resume.
      • To choose which OneDrive folders sync to the computer, use the “Choose OneDrive folders” option described in choose which OneDrive folders to sync to your computer.
    3. Stop syncing everything on a computer
      • Quit OneDrive
        1. Right-click the OneDrive icon on the taskbar.
        2. Select Pause syncing and then Quit OneDrive.
      • Unlink the account from the PC/Mac
        1. Select the OneDrive cloud icon, then the gear icon, then Settings or Preferences.
        2. Go to the Account tab.
        3. Select Unlink this PC.
      • Remove OneDrive from Windows 10/11
        1. Open Settings to see installed apps.
        2. Find Microsoft OneDrive and select Uninstall.

    Regarding deleting OneDrive from an iPhone:

    • Uninstalling the OneDrive app from the iPhone removes the app and any locally cached copies on that device.
    • Files stored in OneDrive are kept in the cloud. Removing the app from the iPhone does not delete the original files from OneDrive. They remain available by signing in to OneDrive.com or using OneDrive on another device.

    If files were saved only locally on the iPhone inside the app and not fully uploaded, those local-only copies would be removed with the app, but the normal OneDrive scenario is that files are stored in the cloud and are not lost when the app is deleted.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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