{"id":3212,"date":"2026-09-16T16:13:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/2026\/09\/16\/windows-11-microsoft-drops-local-migration-tool-in-favor-of-onedrive\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T16:13:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:13:05","slug":"windows-11-microsoft-drops-local-migration-tool-in-favor-of-onedrive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/en\/2026\/09\/16\/windows-11-microsoft-drops-local-migration-tool-in-favor-of-onedrive\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows 11: Microsoft Drops Local Migration Tool in Favor of OneDrive"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"netgu-3512549044\" class=\"netgu-before-content netgu-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6258556257245998\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6258556257245998\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"3494115342\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><p>Microsoft is discontinuing its built-in tool for local data transfers between two Windows 11 PCs. According to an updated support document, the company will default to its OneDrive cloud service for future data migrations.<\/p>\n<h2>What the Legacy Transfer Tool Offered<\/h2>\n<p>Previously, users could migrate files and personalization settings, such as desktop wallpapers and themes, directly over their home Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable from an old PC to a new one. The key advantage was evident: the transfer took place entirely over the local network and was not constrained by cloud storage limits, relying solely on network speeds and drive performance.<\/p><div id=\"netgu-2539703753\" class=\"netgu-content netgu-entity-placement\"><aside class=\"deals-top deals-top--compact\">\n\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"deals-top__title\">Top-Deals<\/h3>\n\t\n\t\t\t<ul class=\"deals-top__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/ugreen-aluminium-tabletstaender-360-drehbar-hoehenverstellbar\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/2825012_1-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">UGREEN Aluminium Tabletst\u00e4nder | 360\u00b0 Drehbar &amp; H\u00f6henverstellbar<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">16.91 \u20ac<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<s>20.37 \u20ac<\/s>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-discount\">-17%<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature is-hot\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t109\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/train-sim-world-7-starter-pack-kostenlos-fuer-ps4-ps5-xbox-pc\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/capsule_616x353-11-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">Train Sim World 7: Starter Pack kostenlos f\u00fcr PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t55\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/gratis-forschungssuppe-im-clash-of-clans-store\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/2839474_1-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">Gratis Forschungssuppe im Clash of Clans-Store<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t54\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/the-clockwork-scarab-stoker-and-holmes-book-1-kindle-edition\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/4982769_1-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">The Clockwork Scarab (Stoker and Holmes Book 1) \u2013 Kindle Edition<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<s>0.01 \u20ac<\/s>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-discount\">-100%<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t54\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/samwatch-simple-e-2024-yamwatch-analog-fuer-wearos\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/2839836_1-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">SamWatch Simple E 2024 + YamWatch Analog f\u00fcr WearOS<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<s>1.39 \u20ac<\/s>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-discount\">-100%<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t53\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"deals-top__more\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/\">Alle Deals ansehen \u2192<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p>However, this solution did not offer a complete system migration. Installed applications and saved credentials were not transferred, requiring manual reinstallation and setup on the target machine.<\/p>\n<h2>Cloud Requirement Clashes With 5 GB Storage Cap<\/h2>\n<p>Serving as its replacement is the integrated OneDrive-based Windows Backup. With this approach, data to be migrated is uploaded to Microsoft&#8217;s servers first and then downloaded onto the new device. This effectively makes cloud connectivity the default route for native PC-to-PC migration.<\/p>\n<p>For many users, this presents a significant hurdle: the free tier of OneDrive provides only 5 GB of storage. Anyone looking to move large document folders, photo collections, or media libraries to a new PC will quickly hit this cap without a paid Microsoft subscription. Furthermore, the migration time will now largely depend on the upload and download speeds of the user&#8217;s home internet connection.<\/p>\n<h2>Workarounds for Affected Users<\/h2>\n<p>Once this transition is fully implemented, Windows 11 will no longer include a built-in, local PC-to-PC transfer option. Users will be left with the choice of temporarily upgrading their OneDrive storage plan or resorting to manual workarounds:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>External Storage Media:<\/strong> Manually transferring files using an external USB hard drive or SSD remains the most straightforward method to move large volumes of data quickly and without requiring a cloud account.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Network Shares:<\/strong> Users can set up shared folders within their local home network to copy documents directly from one PC to another.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Storage Checks:<\/strong> Before switching PCs, users should verify how much cloud storage they have available if they plan to rely on automatic recovery via their Microsoft account.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/borncity.com\/news\/windows-11-microsoft-zwingt-cloud-migration-statt-lokaler-pc-uebertrag\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Borncity.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"netgu-3414689434\" class=\"netgu-after-content netgu-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6258556257245998\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6258556257245998\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"4559785002\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Switching PCs in Windows 11 will no longer support direct data transfers over local networks. Instead, Microsoft is relying on Windows Backup via OneDrive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1646],"tags":[1492,2037,1520,1491,1656],"class_list":["post-3212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-operating-systems-en","tag-cloud-backup-en","tag-data-backup","tag-microsoft-en","tag-onedrive-en","tag-windows-11-en"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3213,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3212\/revisions\/3213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}