Share via

Is there no way to turn off OneDrive 'syncing' on Android?

Osikiri 0 Reputation points
2025-10-26T05:54:27.56+00:00

I use OneDrive app on my Android phone to copy some pictures and mp4 files from my another phone. (iphone)

When the download is completed on my Android phone, I delete those files on my OneDrive account because those files are no longer needed to exist on my OneDrive space.

Then I continuously find that those files are vanished on my Android phone storage too, like the OneDrive app is forcing some kind of syncing.

As far as I know, no other cloud drive service force this stupid policy for smartphone storage.

What can I do about it? I looked at the settings but all I can choose is if I will do upload through cellular data or not.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Android
0 comments

1 answer

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Kai-H 2,790 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-10-26T11:56:36.13+00:00

    Hi, Osikiri

    Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

    Thanks for your question. OneDrive on Android is designed as a sync client, not a one-way downloader. By default, it mirrors the cloud state. If you want files to stay on your phone even after deleting them from OneDrive, you need to explicitly save them outside of OneDrive’s synced folders.

    Here are some workarounds you can try to save your files to your local storage:

    Use “Save to device” instead of just opening the file

    • In the OneDrive app, tap the three-dot menu (⋮) next to a file.
    • Choose Download or Save to device.
    • This saves a true copy into your phone’s local storage (e.g., Downloads or Pictures), independent of OneDrive sync.

    Avoid “Make available offline”

    • That option still ties the file to OneDrive’s sync. If you delete it in the cloud, it will vanish locally too.

    Move files after download

    • After downloading, move them into a local folder on your phone (outside the OneDrive directory). For example, use your phone’s Files app or a file manager to move them into Internal Storage/DCIM or another folder.

    Hope this helps. Feel free to get back if you have other questions.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment."    

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 

    0 comments

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.