How to Unlink Your OneDrive Account on Windows or Mac

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Disconnect OneDrive from your desktop or laptop with our guide

Written by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: March 29, 2026 Fact Checked

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Unlinking on Windows

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Unlinking on Mac

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FAQ

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Do you need to unlink your OneDrive account from your Windows or Mac computer? Thankfully, doing this is very simple and only requires a couple of clicks—and you won't lose any data in the process. In this article, we'll go over how to unlink your OneDrive account on Windows and Mac, and we'll also go over a handful of frequently asked questions about unlinking, unsyncing, and uninstalling OneDrive.

Unlinking OneDrive

To unlink your OneDrive account, you'll need to open your OneDrive settings, then click on the Account tab. On PC, click Unlink this PC > Unlink account. On Mac, simply click Unlink this Mac. Your OneDrive data won't be deleted; it will still be available online on the OneDrive website.

Section 1 of 3:

Unlinking on Windows

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1
Click on the OneDrive icon in your taskbar. It will be in the bottom-right corner of your screen, near where the clock is on the taskbar.
- You may want to unlink your OneDrive account if you aren't going to use OneDrive on your computer, or you may want to unlink and re-link your account to fix syncing issues.
2
Click the settings icon, then click Settings. The settings icon looks like a gear.

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3
Click the Account tab. It's in the left-hand sidebar, under Sync and backup.
4
Click on Unlink this PC > Unlink account. This will unlink your PC from your OneDrive account, so files will no longer sync.
5
Open the Run dialog. The easiest way to do this is to press ⊞ Win+R.
6
Enter the path %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\settings. Press ↵ Enter on your keyboard or OK in the Run dialog box to run this command.
7
Delete the "PreSignInSettingsConfig.json" file. This will clear your sign-in credentials from OneDrive.^{[1]
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- If you'd like to re-link your OneDrive account, you can do so by opening the OneDrive app and signing in again.

Section 2 of 3:

Unlinking on Mac

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1
Click the OneDrive icon in your menu bar. This is located at the top of your screen.
- You may want to unlink your OneDrive account if you aren't going to use OneDrive on your computer, or you may want to unlink and re-link your account to fix syncing issues.
2
Click Help & Settings > Preferences. This will open a new window.
3
Click on the Account tab. It's at the top of the window, with an icon of a person.
4
Select Unlink this Mac. This will immediately unlink your account from OneDrive.
5
Open the Keychain Access app. If you can't see your keychains, click Window > Keychain Access in the menu bar.
6
Select your OneDrive keychain. You may have to scroll to find this keychain.
7
Click File > Delete Keychain > Delete References. This will delete your OneDrive sign-in credentials.
- To re-link your OneDrive account, simply open the OneDrive app and sign in with your account.

Section 3 of 3:

FAQ

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1
Will unlinking my OneDrive delete any of my data? No, unlinking OneDrive won't delete any of your data. Any files that were synced with OneDrive will still be available at OneDrive.com. You can access and download those files online.
2
How do I download my files from OneDrive before unlinking it? How you do this depends on whether you're using Windows or Mac:
- Windows:
  - Click the OneDrive icon in your taskbar.
  - Click the gear icon, then Settings.
  - Click Sync and backup in the left-hand sidebar (it should be auto-selected when you first open settings, however).
  - Click Advanced settings to expand more options.
  - Click Download all files under the "Files On-Demand" header.^{[2]
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- Mac:
  - Click the OneDrive icon in your menu bar.
  - Click Help & Settings > Preferences.
  - Click the Preferences tab (it should be auto-selected when you first open settings, however).
  - Click Download all OneDrive Files now under the "Files On-Demand (Advanced)" header.^{[3]
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3
How do I pause OneDrive syncing? To pause syncing, right-click (or CTRL-click on Mac) the OneDrive logo in the taskbar or menu bar. Then, choose how long you want to pause syncing. You can choose 2, 8, or 24 hours. To resume syncing before the allotted pause time you chose is done, right-click (or CTRL-click) the OneDrive logo again and unpause.^{[4]
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4
How do I remove OneDrive from my computer? You can uninstall OneDrive like any other program on your computer. However, make sure you download all of your files and unlink OneDrive before continuing. If you don't do this before uninstalling, it will take a bit more effort to get your files back on your computer. Alternatively, you can leave the files synced with OneDrive and simply access/download them from OneDrive.com when you need them.^{[5]
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