What Is Microsoft OneDrive? (All You Need To Know)

If you’re in need of a storage solution for your files, including photos, music, and videos, you may have decided to look into Microsoft OneDrive. However, if you’re unfamiliar with OneDrive, you may wish to know more about it before switching your files over.

If this sounds like you, this article answers all the questions you may have, like what OneDrive is, whether you can use it for free, what some of its features are, and so much more! 

What Is Microsoft OneDrive?

Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud storage service that comes with the Microsoft 365 suite of software If you don’t have this software, it’s possible to get a free standalone account. With OneDrive, you will be able to save all of your files including photos, music, and videos to your account and access them on multiple devices. 

Keep reading if you would like to learn more about Microsoft OneDrive, like how much it costs, what you can use it for, and much more!

Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service that comes with the Microsoft 365 suite of software. If you don’t have this suite of software, you can also get a standalone account.

With OneDrive, you can save all of your files, including photos, music, and videos, to your account and access them on all of your devices. 

Not only can you save your files just for yourself, but you can also share them with whoever you like, whether it be family, friends, or someone else.

Is Microsoft OneDrive Free?

Microsoft OneDrive does offer a free plan, which gives you 5 GB of cloud storage completely free of charge.

As well, you can choose from a few paid plans starting at $1.99 per month for 100 GB of storage space. 

Microsoft OneDrive also offers 1 TB of storage for Microsoft 365 Personal customers for $69.99 per year.

As well, you can access 6 TB for MS 365 Family plan users for $99.99 per year, which means that each of your 6 family members would get a TB of space.

What Are Some Features of Microsoft OneDrive?

There are many handy features that Microsoft OneDrive has to offer, and listed here are some that you should know about:

• Backups: You won’t lose access to your storage if you lose or damage your device, as all of your files will be saved in the cloud.
• Sharing: With OneDrive, you will be able to share files, folders, photos, and much more with others rather than sending emails or using an inconvenient USB drive. You can do this by sending a link to the files by email or text.
• Document Scanning: You’ll have the ability to scan your different documents, receipts, business cards, and other types of paperwork and media from your mobile device right to your storage space in OneDrive.
• Personal Vault: OneDrive allows you to protect your sensitive files with a PIN, fingerprint, face, or a code sent by email to test.  Otherwise, you can use the MS Authenticator to lock files. As well, you can scan files from your mobile device and save them directly to your vault.  OneDrive’s vault uses BitLocker encryption and will automatically lock your account when you haven’t been active for a specific amount of time.

• Automatic Photo Uploads: You can set the OneDrive mobile app to automatically save your photos and videos to your account. 

How Do You Set up Microsoft OneDrive on Your Devices?

When using Windows 10, OneDrive is usually automatically configured once you add a Microsoft account to create a system account.

If this isn’t the case, or you’re setting up the cloud service with a new account, you will need to add the service manually. 

Here is an easy way to set up OneDrive on your device:

1. Open Start.
2. Search OneDrive and click on the top result to open the app.
3. Double-click the file to install it.
4. Confirm the Microsoft account address.
5. Click “Sign In.”
6. Confirm your account password.
7. Click “Sign In” again.
8. Click the “Change Location” option to specify a different folder to store the cloud files.
9. Click “Next.”
10. Follow your screen’s directions and choose your optional settings until you have successfully set up your account.

Once you have completed these steps, MS OneDrive will be ready to start uploading files.

What Can You Use Microsoft OneDrive For?

There are many reasons why someone might choose to use Microsoft OneDrive.

For instance, you can view files from any device you choose.

Also, as mentioned previously, you can automatically back up files and documents and OneDrive is really easy to use.

Additionally, you will save tons of space on your computer and other devices

How Can You Upload Files to Microsoft OneDrive?

Uploading files to MS OneDrive is more simple than you may think. In fact, it connects with File Explorer to make uploading files seamless.

Follow these steps in order to upload documents and other files to MS OneDrive:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Click on OneDrive from the left pane.
3. Drag your OneDrive Folder to one side of your page (Windows key + left/ right arrow key).
4. Open another File Explorer window (Windows key + E)
5. Navigate to the folder with the content you are wanting to upload.
6. Drag the folder to the other side of your page (Windows key + right/ left arrow key)
7. Drag and drop the files of your choice to your OneDrive folder.

To know more, you can also read our posts on Microsoft Outlook, why Microsoft bought Nokia, and why Microsoft bought Activision.

Conclusion 

Microsoft OneDrive is used as a cloud storage service that comes with the Microsoft 365 suite of software. When using OneDrive, you can save all of your files, including photos, music, and videos to your account, and you will be able to access them on whichever devices you choose.