Microsoft to kill OneDrive for Windows 7, 8, 8.1: Report

Tech giant Microsoft has revealed this week that it will no longer support OneDrive on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 starting on March 1, 2022.

"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 1, 2022, updates will no longer be provided for the OneDrive desktop application on your personal Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 devices," Microsoft's Ankita Kirti wrote in the announcement post.

"Personal OneDrive desktop applications running on these operating systems will stop syncing to the cloud on March 1, 2022. [And] after March 1, 2022, your personal files will no longer sync," Kirti added.

According to Thurrott, Microsoft naturally recommends that OneDrive users who need local access upgrade their PC to Windows 10 or Windows 11.

If for some reason your PC does not support these newer Windows versions, you can continue accessing OneDrive via its web interface, the report said.

These dates apply to both OneDrive for consumers and OneDrive for Business, it added.

This is not a completely unexpected move, reports Engadget.

Microsoft has long had trouble persuading some customers to upgrade to newer versions of Windows, to the point where companies and governments would rather pay for special support contracts than update.