Cory Gunther
Microsoft recently confirmed it would disable features and essentially break OneDrive for millions of Windows users early next year unless they upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11. The company says OneDrive users on Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 will be unable to sync and access their content on the cloud starting March 1st, 2022.
Windows 7 came out over a decade ago, yet it still has millions of users this change will affect. Windows 8 or 8.1 users are in a similar boat, as it’ll soon reach end-of-life and stop getting updates as well. Basically, this is one more way Microsoft can nudge owners to upgrade to its latest software.
According to a blog post on the community forum, OneDrive will no longer receive updates on any system that doesn’t have Windows 10 or Windows 11 installed starting January 1st, 2022. In addition, the sync feature will get disabled in March, and OneDrive will no longer sync to devices running old, outdated software.
“In order to focus resources on new technologies and operating systems, and to provide users with the most up-to-date and secure experience, beginning January 1st, 2022, updates will no longer be provided for the OneDrive desktop application on your personal Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 devices.” Then, later in the year, “Personal OneDrive desktop applications running on these operating systems will stop syncing to the cloud on March 1st, 2022.”
It’s important to remember that files will still be accessible from the OneDrive app, regardless of which version of Windows you’re using. However, they’ll no longer be uploaded to the cloud, which means you could lose access to select files or documents.
Additionally, this will not affect business users, as those accounts are aligned with the Windows support life cycle. Still, now would be a good time for both business and personal users to start thinking about an upgrade. Furthermore, Windows 10 support ends in 2025, so you might as well jump right to the latest Windows 11 if your device meets the system requirements.
via TechRadar
