Prevent OneDrive files from syncing over metered connections

ComputerNeeds changes for IntunePreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork

Supported on Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 only

25H2 · 1.0

What it does

This policy setting allows configuration of OneDrive file sync behavior on metered connections.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive

Why it needs changes for Intune

Policy references a Windows supportedOn definition.
ADMX-INTUNE-WINDOWS-SUPPORTEDON-REFERENCE

In Intune

No native CSP; import the ADMX (needs changes first).

From Microsoft's Policy CSP DDF files (DDF v2 Files, February 2026), read 18 Oct 2026.

Options

Option	Type	Registry value	Allowed values
Metered Network SettingDefault: Block syncing on all metered connections	Drop-down list	`DisableMeteredNetworkFileSync`	Block syncing on all metered connections`0` Block syncing on metered connections only when roaming`1`

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

Enabled · Computer · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive]
"DisableMeteredNetworkFileSync"=dword:00000000

PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Prevent OneDrive files from syncing over metered connections
# Name: PreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: SkyDrive.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive' -Name 'DisableMeteredNetworkFileSync' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 0

The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_SkyDrive/PreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_SkyDrive/PreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="OneDriveMeteredNetwork_Dropdown" value="0"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>

Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Prevent OneDrive files from syncing over metered connections
# Name: PreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: SkyDrive.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive' -Name 'DisableMeteredNetworkFileSync' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 0
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive\DisableMeteredNetworkFileSync') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Prevent OneDrive files from syncing over metered connections
# Name: PreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: SkyDrive.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive' -Name 'DisableMeteredNetworkFileSync' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 0

History 5 retained releases

22H2 · 1.015 Jul 2024
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

4 later releases left it unchanged.

Template

Internal name: PreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork
Namespace: Microsoft.Policies.OneDrive
Template file: SkyDrive.admx
Release: Windows 11 25H2 · 1.0 · file set de4e49983ebd651f…

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Machine" displayName="$(string.PreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork)" explainText="$(string.PreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork_help)" key="Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive" name="PreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork" presentation="$(presentation.PreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.OneDrive:OneDrive" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows_6_3only" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="OneDriveMeteredNetwork_Dropdown" valueName="DisableMeteredNetworkFileSync">
          <item displayName="$(string.OneDriveNeverSyncOnMeteredRoaming)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="0" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.OneDriveSyncOnMeteredNotRoaming)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="1" />
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="PreventOneDriveFileSyncOnMeteredNetwork" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="0" noSort="true" refId="OneDriveMeteredNetwork_Dropdown">Metered Network Setting</dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

Microsoft.Policies.OneDrive:category:OneDrive
<category displayName="$(string.OneDriveSettingCategory)" name="OneDrive" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:definition:SUPPORTED_Windows_6_3only
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_Windows_6_3only)" name="SUPPORTED_Windows_6_3only" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <range ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows_6_3" />
          <range ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsServer_6_3" />
          <range ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows_6_3_RT" />
        </or>
      </definition>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsServer_6_3
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsServer_6_3" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows_6_3
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows_6_3" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows_6_3_RT
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows_6_3_RT" />
Microsoft.Policies.OneDrive:category:OneDrive
<category displayName="$(string.OneDriveSettingCategory)" name="OneDrive" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.OneDrive:OneDriveSettingCategory">OneDrive</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents">Windows Components</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents_Help">Contains settings for operating system components.</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:definition:SUPPORTED_Windows_6_3only
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_Windows_6_3only)" name="SUPPORTED_Windows_6_3only" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <range ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows_6_3" />
          <range ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsServer_6_3" />
          <range ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows_6_3_RT" />
        </or>
      </definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows_6_3only">Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 only</string></strings>