Microsoft Starts Rolling Out Improved OneDrive for Windows 10

Microsoft is rolling out an improved OneDrive client for Windows 10 users. The firm first announced the improved OneDrive client earlier this month, and it’s now started rolling out the new client to all users (via MSPU).

The new and updated OneDrive client doesn’t come with any major changes, but there are some neat changes to the client with the latest update. First, it now works better with Windows 10’s built-in battery saver mode. Now, when your device has the battery saver mode enabled, OneDrive will automatically stop syncing your files in order to help save battery and allow your device to last longer. That’s really great, though you can sync your files anyway if you need to get some files synced immediately. When your device comes off of battery saver, OneDrive will resume syncing your files automatically.

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Microsoft has also given the Activity Center (the taskbar popup) a new look with the latest update. The changes aren’t anything drastic, and Microsoft is saying the updates are to “improve ease of use and understanding” of the interface. What is interesting is that when Microsoft initially announced the new design, some of the company’s screenshots of the updated Activity Center included hints of Fluent Design like the blurred background shown below. But that’s nowhere to be seen in the actual product.

Either way, Microsoft is slowly rolling out the new update to everyone so it could take a few days or weeks before your PC receives the update. As Italian blog HTNovo mentions, you can always manually update the client by downloading the updated version from Microsoft’s site, but I wouldn’t recommend that as I had some trouble manually updating my OneDrive client to the new one.

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Conversation 28 comments

  • irfaanwahid

    31 July, 2018 - 9:12 am

    <p>You are on a roll, Mehedi!</p>

    • Mehedi Hassan

      Premium Member
      31 July, 2018 - 12:53 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#297401">In reply to irfaanwahid:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>:)</p>

  • wbhite

    Premium Member
    31 July, 2018 - 9:27 am

    <p>Still waiting for an option to force the sync. There's nothing more infuriating than saving a file to OneDrive on my desktop, then going to a meeting with my laptop and the file never shows up.</p>

    • wspaw

      Premium Member
      31 July, 2018 - 12:42 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#297405">In reply to wbhite:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yes. Fortunately, that hasn't happened to me since Win 8.1. I print reports to pdf files from my POS software at work and they are there on my tablet when I turn around and pick it up. Every time. </p><p><br></p><p>I'm now so dependent on this service, I get a little nervous when I read these comments.</p>

    • harmjr

      Premium Member
      31 July, 2018 - 12:55 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#297405">In reply to wbhite:</a></em></blockquote><p>Upvote wbhite comment by a million. I really wish it was like OneNote and had a Sync Folder Now option. Its so annoying for it to sync all the other folders but the one I need.</p>

    • ZeroPageX

      31 July, 2018 - 3:09 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#297405">In reply to wbhite:</a></em></blockquote><p>This happens to me all the time! I have to sit there and watch the status window until it's done before I'll believe it has uploaded the changes.</p>

  • evox81

    Premium Member
    31 July, 2018 - 9:35 am

    <p>I feel like I've had this version of the client for a couple weeks now. It's worked well so far. </p><p><br></p><p>Only complaint: They still haven't fixed the issue where clicking on the icon in the taskbar sometimes takes multiple clicks and/or 30+ seconds for the pane to open. </p>

    • jimchamplin

      Premium Member
      31 July, 2018 - 12:10 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#297417">In reply to evox81:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yeah… see, that would be fixing something. So they’ll get to that in late 2019. Maybe.</p>

    • Patrick3D

      31 July, 2018 - 2:28 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#297417">In reply to evox81:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yeah, it takes 5 seconds minimum before it will pop-up on any of my machines. That includes my gaming PC with an NVMe SSD. After you click once though you don't need to click again, just sit and wait, it will eventually pop-up.</p>

  • Rob_Wade

    31 July, 2018 - 9:41 am

    <p>I don't use that pop-up menu. I pretty much don't do anything with the Task Bar unless I absolutely must.</p>

  • navarac

    31 July, 2018 - 10:12 am

    <p>Dumped OneDrive after Win 8.1. It is so slow to sync it is just about useless. Dropbox is almost instantaneous on the other hand.</p>

    • Polycrastinator

      31 July, 2018 - 11:21 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#297442">In reply to navarac:</a></em></blockquote><p>"Was." It "was" slow to sync. You're a good few years behind where it's at. I know this may be a shock to you, but technology sometimes improves.</p>

      • wbhite

        Premium Member
        31 July, 2018 - 11:26 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#297487">In reply to Polycrastinator:</a></em></blockquote><p>No, he's right. It's slow as hell compared to Dropbox. Paul has written about this.</p>

        • wspaw

          Premium Member
          31 July, 2018 - 12:32 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#297489">In reply to wbhite:</a></em></blockquote><p>I use it extensively on several machines. For at least a couple of years it's been every bit as fast and reliable as Dropbox. It's also WAY easier to use than Dropbox and deeply integrated into Win 10. No need for 3rd party software.</p><p><br></p><p>I still keep my Dropbox account active every time I get that email telling me it hasn't been used in too long and will be closed, though. Just in case…</p>

          • benday

            Premium Member
            31 July, 2018 - 3:07 pm

            <blockquote><em><a href="#297567">In reply to wspaw:</a></em></blockquote><p>I dunno. I made an attempt a few weeks ago to use OneDrive for my stuff instead of Dropbox and OneDrive *sucked*. It was ok for anything that wasn't an Office document. There's some kind of special sauce magic that happens with OneDrive and Office docs and it makes syncing take *FOR* *FREAKING* *EVER* and burn up CPU like crazy. And for all file types, it was very very far from instantaneous. </p><p><br></p><p>Another annoyance with OneDrive is that the OneDrive client for mac doesn't support the offline/online thing.</p><p><br></p><p>I really want to love OneDrive and OneDrive for Business because I'm a Microsoft fanboy but it's just not that great. :(</p>

  • StephenCWLL

    31 July, 2018 - 10:20 am

    <p>The battery saver feature has been out for at least a month now in previous versions as I've been using it. That's not new with the version above.</p>

  • Daekar

    31 July, 2018 - 10:48 am

    <p>Differential sync. I am not going to be excited about anything else. There is absolutely no reason I have to upload an entire album of mp3s again just because I changed an ID3 tag or added album art. Makes handling audiobooks an absolute nightmare.</p><p><br></p><p>Stop screwing around, Microsoft. It's pretty enough, now make it WORK better.</p>

    • VancouverNinja

      Premium Member
      01 August, 2018 - 7:23 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#297476">In reply to Daekar:</a></em></blockquote><p>Are you saying if you update one file in a folder you think it is reuploading all files in the folder?</p>

      • GarethB

        Premium Member
        01 August, 2018 - 9:38 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#298587">In reply to VancouverNinja:</a></em></blockquote><p>No, if a file is modified slightly it only needs to update the changes.</p><p>Useful when you have a 2GB encoded [home video] uploaded, and then change a tag etc – it only needs to update a couple of kilobytes rather than re-upping the whole file again.</p><p>[Also highly appreciated by people who want to upload Outlook .PSTs for a backup…. but thats a whole other level of too much]</p>

  • BoItmanLives

    31 July, 2018 - 11:09 am

    <p>Always the first thing I disable after cortada and the store.</p>

  • wolters

    Premium Member
    31 July, 2018 - 11:22 am

    <p>The return of "placeholders" has made me use OneDrive even more now. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I have mine set to keep everything in the cloud so it knows to remove the local file at a certain point. </span>I can seamlessly copy files to OneDrive and it will expertly handle how to deal with the local file. It has worked great for me. </p>

  • Thomas Parkison

    31 July, 2018 - 11:28 am

    <p>I welcome this change, I use OneDrive all the time for offsite backups of important data that I can't lose (pictures of family that have passed away, vacation photos, etc.).</p>

    • wbhite

      Premium Member
      31 July, 2018 - 11:35 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#297490">In reply to trparky:</a></em></blockquote><p>Make sure you have another backup in place that can't be corrupted by cryptoware or other viruses.</p>

      • Thomas Parkison

        31 July, 2018 - 12:09 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#297492">In reply to wbhite:</a></em></blockquote><p>Never been hit by cryptoware in the first place, I tend to be very damn careful.</p>

      • truerock2

        31 July, 2018 - 12:57 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#297492">In reply to wbhite:</a></em></blockquote><p>Didn't Microsoft implement "Files Restore" for OneDrive in April. I thought the primary driver was to provide protection from Ransomeware attacks on OneDrive.</p><p><br></p><p>*********************</p><p><br></p><p>Yes, I just checked. I have backups going back 2 months for each version of my OneDrive files. </p>

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