How to limit onedrive’s allowed transfer speed

Microsoft OneDrive is a fairly strong product for cloud storage and is deeply embedded into Windows 10. It not only does a great job of synchronizing directories, but it also helps you to access files on your PC remotely. OneDrive can be a little of a network resource log, but with Windows 10’s Update, you can now configure speed limits for the upload. In this article, we will guide you through the whole procedure to limit the allowed transfer speed for OneDrive in Windows 10.

Limit the allowed transfer speed for OneDrive in Windows 10

To limit the allowed transfer speed for OneDrive in Windows 10, follow this procedure step by step.

Click the OneDrive icon which is on the right corner of the taskbar and the following screen will appear on the right side of the screen.

Click the More option as highlighted in the above image. As you will click the More option, another menu will appear as the following image is showing.

Click the Settings option from the appeared menu as highlighted in the above image. As you will click the Settings option, the following dialogue box will appear.

Click the Network tab as highlighted in the above image. After clicking the Network tab, the following options will appear.

Select the Limit to radio button. Then enter the speed in the textbox as per your choice. After that click the OK button as highlighted in the above image.

Conclusion

By following this procedure, you will be able to limit the allowed transfer speed for OneDrive in Windows 10.

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The time it takes to upload or download a large amount of data to or from OneDrive depends on your internet connection speed, how close you are geographically to our servers, how much your internet service provider (ISP) lets you upload in a day, the speed of your computer, and other factors. Here are some tips for maximizing the transfer speed:

Use a wired instead of a wireless connection.

Avoid running other apps on your computer when you’re uploading or downloading a large amount of data.

Avoid using your internet connection for other activities while you’re transferring a large amount of data. It might help to upload or download at night, when the connection is getting less use from other people in your household and when your internet service provider’s (ISP) bandwidth is getting less use from other users in your area.

Before you begin transferring a large amount of data, make sure your computer isn’t set to go to sleep. If it goes to sleep, all uploading and downloading will stop.

To test your connection speed, search the web for “bandwidth test.” After you know your connection speed, search the web for “upload time calculator” or “download time calculator” to find out how long you can expect it to take to upload or download a specific amount of data.

Need more help?

Get online help
See more support pages for OneDrive and OneDrive for work or school.
For the OneDrive mobile app, see Troubleshoot OneDrive mobile app problems.

Contact Support
If you still need help, contact support through your browser or shake your mobile device while you’re in the OneDrive app.

Got feedback?
OneDrive UserVoice is your place to suggest the features you’d like to see us add to OneDrive. While we can’t guarantee any specific features or timelines, we will respond to every suggestion that gets at least 500 votes.

It seems, that Microsoft has established another limit to their free OneDrive cloud storage: Daily limits for the amount of data transfer. If an account reaches a limit, sharing files will be blocked temporarily.

It has been a long – but never ending – story of bad surprises with Microsoft’s free cloud storage OneDrive. In the beginning, Microsoft lured users to their free OneDrive account, and each Windows 8/8.1/10 user are getting a free OneDrive storage with the Microsoft account. But we have seen that Microsoft reduced OneDrive’s storage limit from 25 GB to 15 GB and then to 5 GB. Users are encouraged to switch over to paid Office 365 to avoid the 5 GByte storage limit and the restrictions mentioned below.

(Source: deskmodder.de)

My blogging colleagues at deskmodder.de pointing out, that Microsoft secretly has established another limit. Some users are facing the message shown above during attempting to access shared files. The message says (freely translated):

This Element can’t be opened currently

The user, who shared, has exceeded the limit for sharing. Please try later again.

It seems that OneDrive accounts with many shares are monitored about its amount of data transfer. If large files are shared, only a few downloads from other users are exceeding the limit. The folks at deskmodder.de tried to reach out to Microsoft. But the company seems small lipped about the details. They gave just a sample (some kind of an oracle):

If a user shares a 2 GB file, and 10 users are downloading this file, the limit is exceeded earlier than sharing a 1,5 GB file.

So, reading between the lines, it seems that Microsoft has set a data transfer limit to 20 GB per day for free OneDrive accounts. Users are able to use a paid Office 365 OneDrive account and won’t see this limitations.

It’s nothing wrong with Microsoft’s approach to limit the amount of data transfer. They have the right to do that. But it’s not a encouraging approach for OneDrive users, not to informing about those limitations. Some users are think it’s about “preventing piracy” – but if that’s true, why we won’t see such a data transfer limit at paid Office 365 OneDrive for Business accounts?

by Latest Tech Apps · August 2, 2016

How to Limit OneDrive’s Allowed Transfer Speed

OneDrive can be a bit of a network bandwidth hog, but with the Anniversary Update of Windows 10, you can now set transfer speed limits.Microsoft OneDrive is a pretty solid cloud storage offering, and it’s deeply integrated into Windows. Not only does it do a good job syncing folders, it also allows you to remotely fetch files on your PC.

First, access OneDrive’s settings by right-clicking the OneDrive icon in your notification area and then clicking “Settings.”

In the Microsoft OneDrive window, click the “Network” tab.

On the Network tab, you can set limits separately for OneDrive’s upload and download rate. Just click the “Limit to” option for the rate you want to set and then type the rate (in KB/s) to which you want to limit OneDrive’s transfer speed.

What you set the rate to depends entirely on your network type and speed and how much of it you want OneDrive to be able to use. If you’re unsure of your network speed, you can always use a tool like Speedtest to find it out. In general, most people have a lower upload than download speed, and that may be the more important limit to set for you, since OneDrive is notoriously bad about hogging as much upload speed as it can get. But you’ll just have to play with different rates a bit to see what feels right to you.

That’s all there is to it. Setting limits on the upload or download rate is especially important if you’re on a metered connection or if you have a bandwidth cap you’re keeping an eye on. It can also be useful setting limits temporarily if you just want to make sure OneDrive isn’t getting in the way of more important networking activities.

Microsoft’s OneDrive client, by default, doesn’t limit the speed that your content is downloaded or uploaded. However, if you’re syncing a lot of data and on you’re on a slow or metered network connection, you can set limits yourself to a lower speed.

Note: This new feature currently only affects the desktop version and not the UWP OneDrive app that Microsoft released earlier this month. It’s also only being pushed out for Windows 10 users at the time of this writing. However, it will also be rolling out to Windows 7 OneDrive users over time.

Set OneDrive Sync Speeds

To get started, right-click the OneDrive icon on the taskbar and select Settings.

Then select the Network tab and there you can change the upload and download rates (in kilobytes per second) to something that works better for your situation. Click OK when you’re done to save the changes.

Everyone’s situation will be different so there isn’t a “perfect setting” for this. You’ll need to do a bit of trial and error with it. To get an idea of the rates that work best, after making the changes, do a speed test.

For a quick and easy speed test, you can use the new Fast.com from Netflix that we covered last week. Or, if you would prefer additional diagnostic info, head to popular and reliable service, SpeedTest.net.

Depending on your situation, another thing you can do is utilize the selective sync feature to limit the amount of data that’s transferring between your computer and OneDrive. For instance, you might not need to sync large amounts of media files like movies, pictures, and music.

Windows 10 is designed for PCs with unlimited Internet connections, and it normally uses as much of your download and upload bandwidth as it wants without asking. Setting a connection as metered puts you back in control, and it’s essential on some types of connections.

You’ll always want to do this on connections with data caps, mobile hotspots, satellite Internet connections, dial-up connections, and anything else. It gives you more control over your connection and prevents Windows from gobbling bandwidth. On the Creators Update, Microsoft now easily allows you to set a wired Ethernet connection as metered, too.

What Setting a Connection as Metered Does

Setting a connection as metered prevents Windows from automatically using bandwidth in many ways. Here’s exactly what it does:

• Disables automatic downloading of most Windows updates: Windows won’t automatically download most updates from Windows Update on metered Internet connections. You’ll get a “Download” button you can click whenever you want to install updates. On the Creators Update, Microsoft has now given Windows Update permission to download critical security updates even if your connection is marked as metered. Microsoft has promised not to abuse this.
• Disables automatic downloading of app updates: The Windows Store won’t automatically download updates for your installed “Store apps” on metered connections, either. Desktop apps like Chrome, Firefox, and others will continue updating themselves normally.

• Disables peer-to-peer uploading of updates: On a metered connection, Windows 10 won’t use your upload bandwidth to share updates with PCs over the Internet. Windows 10 does this by default, consuming your potentially limited upload allowance to reduce Microsoft’s bandwidth bills.
• Tiles may not update: Microsoft says that the live tiles on your Start menu or Start screen “may” stop updating on a metered connection.
• Other apps may behave differently: Apps—particularly apps from the Windows Store—could potentially read this setting and behave differently. For example, a “universal app” BitTorrent client could potentially stop downloading automatically when connected to a metered connection.

Windows 10’s OneDrive client appears to no longer respect the “metered connection” setting and will sync over metered connections, ignoring your preference. Windows 8.1’s OneDrive integration worked differently and wouldn’t sync offline files on a metered Internet connection. This is just one of the many ways OneDrive in Windows 10 is a step back from Windows 8.1, and Microsoft may change this in the future. You can, however, limit OneDrive’s allowed transfer speed within the app.

When You Should Set a Connection as Metered

Microsoft says you should set a connection as metered if your Internet service provider limits the data you can use. However, you may also want to do this to prevent Windows from using your bandwidth except when you choose, especially on slower connections:

• Mobile data connections: If you have a Windows 10 laptop or tablet with an integrated mobile data connection, Windows 10 will automatically set that connection as metered for you.

• Smartphone and mobile data hotspots: If you’re connecting to a mobile data network by tethering with your smartphone over Wi-Fi—or using a dedicated mobile hotspot device—you’ll need to set it as metered after you connect. Windows 10 can’t automatically recognize these.
• Home Internet connections with bandwidth caps: If your Internet service provider implements bandwidth caps—even if they just limit data between certain hours of the day—you’ll want to set the connection as metered in Windows.
• Slow Internet connections: If you’re using a satellite or dial-up Internet connection, you may want to set the connection as metered to prevent Windows from hogging your connection by downloading updates while you’re using it.
• Any scenario where you want to control updates and downloads: You may want to have Windows download and install updates on your own schedule, giving you complete control over when those updates are downloaded and installed on your own schedule.

How to Set a Wi-Fi Connection as Metered

To set a Wi-Fi connection as metered, head to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi. Click the name of the Wi-Fi connection you’re connected to.

Activate the “Set as metered connection” option here.

Note that this just affects the Wi-Fi network you’re currently connected to. Windows will remember this setting, however, and that particular Wi-Fi network will always be treated as a metered network whenever you connect.

As soon as you leave the Wi-Fi network and connect to another Wi-Fi network that isn’t considered metered, Windows 10 will resume automatically downloading updates and using the other restricted features. You’ll need to set that Wi-Fi connection as metered after you connect to stop this from happening.

How to Set an Ethernet Connection as Metered

To set a wired Ethernet connection as metered, head to Settings > Network & Internet > Ethernet. Click the name of your Ethernet connection here.

Activate the “Set as metered connection” option for the network you’re connected to.

Note that this just effects that specific Ethernet connection. If you connect to another network later—for example, if you connect to a Wi-Fi network that isn’t marked as metered—Windows 10 will begin automatically downloading updates normally.

This option was added in Windows 10’s Creators Update. In earlier versions of Windows 10, you can only set an Ethernet connection as metered with a registry hack.

Metered connections are a partial solution to Windows 10’s bandwidth-hungry nature. For people with limited Internet connections, it would likely be better to see more options here. For example, an option that told Windows to automatically download updates only between certain hours of the day would be ideal for ISPs that lift the data cap at off-hours. While Active Hours allow you to control the time of day when Windows 10 installs updates, this feature doesn’t allow you to control when Windows actually downloads them.

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Addressing an issue often overlooked by cloud storage users when choosing a service, Microsoft has increased the maximum size for files uploaded to OneDrive from 2GB to 10GB.

Although cloud storage providers now offer consumers massive amounts of space at little to no cost, the size limit on individual files can become a barrier for people who need to store very large files, especially in areas like media, science, architecture and engineering.

Being able to store larger files has been one of the top requests from OneDrive users, Microsoft said in a blog post on Wednesday. “We recognized that people not only have more files than they did before, but they have bigger files as well,” wrote OneDrive group program manager Jason Moore. The larger files can be uploaded via the product’s desktop software for Windows and Mac OS, its mobile apps and OneDrive.com.

Ironically, the change applies for now only to OneDrive and not to OneDrive for Business, the version for professional use where the need for larger file sizes is probably more pressing. Moore said Microsoft plans to make the change to OneDrive for Business too, but didn’t say when. A Microsoft spokeswoman said via email it’s expected to happen “over the coming months.”

Cloud storage race tightens

On the consumer side, the move makes OneDrive more competitive with Dropbox, which has a 10GB limit for files uploaded from its website, and no limit on files uploaded via its desktop and mobile apps.

Google Drive lets users upload files up to 5TB in size, as long as they’re not converted to Google Docs, Slides and Sheets. There is a 50MB file size limit on presentations and documents uploaded to Drive and converted to Docs and Slides, and a 100MB limit on spreadsheets converted to Sheets.

Meanwhile, Box starts with a 250MB file size limit on its free plan, and tops out at 5GB on its Business and Enterprise editions.

Microsoft also said it has sped up OneDrive’s syncing process on PCs and Macs, making it approximately three times faster. The rollout of this improvement will be completed worldwide in the coming weeks. It’s also now possible for OneDrive users to drag and drop folders from their computers to OneDrive.com when using the Chrome browser.

In addition, Windows 7 and Windows 8 users can now create a link to share files from their OneDrive folder without needing to do that on OneDrive.com. “By simply right-clicking the item or items you’d like to share, you’ll see a ‘Share a OneDrive link’ option that will create a sharing link and add it to your Clipboard. From there, you can paste it directly into an email, IM, or other message,” Moore wrote.

This feature should be rolled out worldwide within the coming weeks, and available on Windows 8.1 and Mac OS at an unspecified later date.

Quickly get information about your Windows computer’s network connections.

Finding out about your computer’s network connection can be fun.

Is your computer gigabit speed-capable? Does it support the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard? At what speed does it connect to your current network? What the hell is your current IP address? And how do you find the MAC address? If you’ve ever pondered any of these questions, this is the post for you.

This tip works on Windows 10, 8 and 7, but the examples here were done with a Windows 10 machine.

1. Under the Start Menu, search for View Network Connections, and as the result appears, press Enter or click on it. This will open the Network Connections window. You will see one or more items in this window, each of them representing a network or communication adapter (or service) inside your computer.

For most computers, you’ll likely see two items, one for the wired adapter, often named Ethernet or Local Area Connection, and the other for Wi-Fi. Some may have another for Bluetooth. In this tip, though, we focus on the Ethernet and Wi-Fi.

2. Right-click on an empty space within this Network Connections window, select View, then Details. Now your adapters will appear with in a more detailed view with a few important columns including:

• Name is just the name of a connection. You can right-click on an item and rename it whatever you want.
• Status indicates if the item is disabled or enabled, connected to a network or not, etc. Right-clicking on one will give you the option to disable or enable it. When connected, it shows the name of the current network.
• Device Name shows more than just the name of the network adapter. It often also indicates the type of adapter it is. For wired connection, if you see the word “gigabit” or “GbE” in the device name, the adapter is gigabit-capable, meaning it can deliver up to 1,000Mbps. (You can always Google the device name to find out detailed specs.) For a Wi-Fi adapter, this will likely show the Wi-Fi standard, be it the latest 802.11ac or a legacy standard such as 802.11n.
• Connectivity indicates if the current network connection allows for access to the internet or not. If you have two adapters that are both connected to the same network (or the internet), remember that the computer only uses one at a given time. That said, you should disable whichever is slower (likely the Wi-Fi) for better connection speed.

3. If an adapter is currently connected, double clicking on it will open up the Status window of that adapter, which shows the duration of the connection, the current connection speed and signal strength (for a Wi-Fi adapter only). For a wired connection the speed will likely be either 1Gbps or a 100Mbps; for a Wi-Fi connection, the speed varies a great deal.

4. Now if you click on the Details button of the Status windows, you’ll see the MAC address (aka Physical Address), the IP address of the adapter, as well as that of the router it’s connected to, and other information.

And that’s it. Keep this tip handy — you’ll be surprised how often you want to know about your computer’s connection in the future.

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In recent months, several customers running OneDrive as a service have complained of torturously slow uploads. Files created on a PC take a very long time to appear in the cloud. In one case, it took more than 3 days for a small Word document to show up on OneDrive’s website!

The first instinct was to suspect AlwaysUp. Perhaps running as a Windows Service had somehow crippled OneDrive. But a few tests quickly disproved that theory. The performance problem showed up even when OneDrive was started normally on the desktop, outside of AlwaysUp.

The mystery has persisted for several months but recent feedback on various forums suggest that there may be a workaround. Apparently disabling the new Files On-Demand feature often restores sanity.

What is OneDrive Files On-Demand?

Files On-Demand is Microsoft’s attempt at making more efficient use of your hard drive. Instead of automatically transferring each file in the cloud onto your PC as soon as possible, OneDrive will delay the transfer of each file until you explicitly open it.

You can turn Files On-Demand on or off from your OneDrive Settings window. Right-click on the OneDrive tray, select Settings from the menu and move to the Settings tab in the window that comes up. The Files On-Demand option appears at the bottom of the form. It appears to be on by default:

Files On-Demand trades space for speed of access. For example, let’s say you have a 10 MB PowerPoint presentation in the cloud. Without Files On-Demand, that document will be automatically copied to your computer, immediately consuming 10 MB on your hard drive. With Files On-Demand, OneDrive will “know about” the file but will not automatically transfer it. Your hard drive stores 10 MB less — great.

But the downside of Files On-Demand becomes evident when you need to use the file. Without Files On-Demand, you simply double-click the file and away you go. The document loads quickly because it is already on your computer.

With Files On-Demand enabled, double-clicking the PowerPoint issues a command to the cloud to dynamically download the file. At best you wait a few seconds for the download to complete and the file to open; at worst you can’t retrieve the document because you are not connected to the Internet.

As contributor Craig Long points out, “Files On-Demand is for those who have limited space available or for those who only occasionally need to open a file”. It’s a fine choice for individuals/hobbyists looking to conserve precious resources.

However, please be cautious when considering Files On-Demand in a professional setting. It would be a disaster in an office where OneDrive is mapped to a shared folder because the files not downloaded would never fully show up on the shared drive!

And furthermore, as Microsoft mentions, “you cannot search the contents within online-only files because they aren’t stored on the device” — a potential deal-breaker in a commercial environment.

Complaints of slow uploads with Files On-Demand

Several folks experiencing slowness were able to speed things up by disabling Files On-Demand. Here is one data point from the popular OneDrive forum hosted by UserVoice:

“John S” had a similar comment:

Apparently there may be problems with the new feature.

How to disable Files On-Demand

You can easily turn off Files On-Demand by un-checking the box on OneDrive’s settings page (available by right-clicking on the tray icon). Click OK on the conformation window to commit your changes:

Hopefully this simple change will put the spring back in OneDrive’s step!