How to remove OneDrive from Windows 11

#Before you remove it: your files

Uninstalling the OneDrive app stops syncing. It does not delete anything:

• Files in your OneDrive account stay online at onedrive.com.
• Files already downloaded stay in your OneDrive folder on the PC. Files that were only online, shown with a cloud icon, are not on the PC.
• If OneDrive was backing up your Desktop, Documents or Pictures, those folders stay inside the OneDrive folder after you uninstall. To move them back first, open OneDrive's settings, choose Manage backup and stop the backup for each folder.

#Removing it with Win11Debloat

& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm "https://debloat.raphi.re/"))) -RemoveApps -Apps "Microsoft.OneDrive" -Silent

Win11Debloat removes OneDrive with WinGet: winget uninstall --id Microsoft.OneDrive, with a 120-second time limit. When it changes another account with -User, or new accounts with -Sysprep, it also schedules the uninstall to run once at that account's next sign-in.

“Unable to uninstall Microsoft.OneDrive via WinGet”

On fresh Windows 11 installs this removal fails, and Win11Debloat reports Unable to uninstall Microsoft.OneDrive via WinGet and 1 app removal(s) failed. The project's maintainer confirmed the cause: “Win11Debloat runs in administrator scope, while OneDrive is installed in user-scope on fresh installs”, and newer WinGet versions no longer remove such apps from an administrator session.

Until the fix ships, uninstall OneDrive from Settings, or run this in a normal PowerShell window, not as administrator, and accept the prompt:

winget uninstall --id Microsoft.OneDrive

The fix, which defers the uninstall to a normal user session, is merged in the project's unreleased code and should arrive with the next release. Issue #789.

#Keep OneDrive, but hide it

• From File Explorer's navigation pane: -HideOnedrive. On our Windows 11 25H2 test PC it changed 10 registry values. It has no undo file. To show OneDrive again, use the option it adds to File Explorer's Folder Options, or reinstall OneDrive.
• OneDrive ads in File Explorer: -DisableSuggestions, part of Default mode, turns off the sync provider notifications that promote OneDrive.
• From startup: in OneDrive's settings, turn off Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in, or disable it in Settings → Apps → Startup.

#Getting OneDrive back

winget install --id Microsoft.OneDrive -e

Or download it from onedrive.com. Sign in and choose the same OneDrive folder, and it picks up your files again.

#Questions

Something wrong or out of date? Email hello@win11debloat.dev and we will fix it.