Syncing large files through OneDrive is about to get better on Windows 10

By Sean Endicott
published

The new OneDrive sync client will make it easier to sync large files as well as larger numbers of files.

Use OneDrive
Use OneDrive (Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • The 64-bit OneDrive sync client for Windows is now available in public preview.
  • The current OneDrive sync client for Windows is only 32-bit.
  • The 64-bit version is better for syncing large files or a large number of files.

Microsoft is testing an improved version of the OneDrive sync client for Windows. The new version is 64-bit, as opposed to the current version that's only 32-bit. The 64-bit OneDrive sync client for Windows is available now in public preview.

64-bit OneDrive sync client for Windows will help sync larger files and will handle large numbers of files better than the current 32-bit version.

Microsoft explains the benefits of the 64-bit version in a Tech Community post (opens in new tab):

The 64-bit version is the right choice if you plan to use large files, if you have a lot of files, and if you have a computer that's running a 64-bit version of Windows. Computers running 64-bit versions of Windows generally have more resources—such as processing power and memory—than their 32-bit predecessors. Also, 64-bit applications can access more memory than 32-bit applications (up to 18.4 million Petabytes).

The 64-bit OneDrive sync client for Windows is only available in public preview for AMD64 devices, meaning that people with ARM64 devices have to stick with the 32-bit version.

The new version of the OneDrive sync client is rolling out in public preview now, and it should be generally available by the end of the month, according to Petri.

 (opens in new tab)
64-bit OneDrive sync client for Windows


The 64-bit OneDrive sync client for Windows delivers better performance when syncing large files and larger numbers of files than the current 32-bit version. It's available in public preview now.

Sean Endicott
Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com (opens in new tab).

16 Comments
  • Awesome. Testing it now. I know this will help quite a few of my clients. Seems faster™
  • A very welcome addition.
  • No ARM version? How difficult is it to recompile it for ARM? If it IS hard, maybe MS needs to take a step back and fix that problem. That is prob why so few developers bother creating apps in the MS store.
  • preparing 64bit version took that much time, go calculate for ARM version :D
  • They've literally bothered to release Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams for ARM64 since what 2016? The Skype UWP app was even an ARM native app but when the Skype team dumped UWP, we were forced to used the Win32 32-Bit. Skype performance has literally got worse on Windows on ARM devices :(
  • Truth be told Windows on ARM will support AMD64 (x86 64-Bit) by the end of the year so we'll be able to use it in 64-bit (emulated) then. I expect it's the best we can hope for. At least there's no performance issues whatsoever using the 32-bit client on Windows on ARM devices. It's Skype I want a native ARM64 version for.
  • Better than nothing: We're working on ARM64 support but don't yet have a timeline to share. Source: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-onedrive-blog/onedrive-...
  • Often the problem for a developer in wanting to support ARM64 is not their own code, but the lack of support for ARM64 in one or more of the 3rd-party packages their app has a dependency on. Until each and every one of those packages is upgraded/re-compiled (and they may themselves rely on other packages that haven't yet been upgraded), an ARM64 version of the app won't be possible.
  • When this is officially released as a finalised product will the 64bit version upgrade current 32bit installs?
  • I'm not sure they can do that. Like the OS itself, I think you'll have to reinstall it.
  • Answer here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-onedrive-blog/onedrive-...
  • The request on UserVoice dates back to 2016.....
  • Lol. Very responsive. It's an odd oversight as it seems like an obvious feature. Wonder what the backstory is of why it took so long.
  • "The 64-bit version is the right choice if you plan to use large files, if you have a lot of files, and if you have a computer that's running a 64-bit version of Windows." I mean, at least two of those applies to, like, 80% of adults. Strange this took so long. But a welcome upgrade. We'll see if it Seems Faster. (I probably won't notice.)
  • Soon, like when? Yesterday was already too late for this.
  • "The 64-bit version is the right choice if you plan to use large files!" It would be nice if they said why? And what constitutes a "large" file?