How to Remove the Microsoft Office Upload Center From Windows 10

If this monitoring feature annoys you, get rid of it

By
Martin Hendrikx
Martin Hendrikx
Martin Hendrikx
Writer
  • Galen University
Martin Hendrikx is a former Lifewire writer and an instructor with a background in technology whose work has been published by How-To Geek and other outlets.
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Updated on March 22, 2021
Reviewed by
Lisa Mildon
Lisa Mildon
Reviewed by Lisa Mildon
  • Southern New Hampshire University
Lisa Mildon is a Lifewire writer and an IT professional with 30 years of experience. Her writing has appeared in Geekisphere and other publications.
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In May 2020, Microsoft replaced the Upload Center with the less intrusive Files Needing Attention feature. Now, you can find and resolve Office documents that haven't saved by going to File > Open > Files Needing Attention. This view is specific to each Office program; for example, you won't find unsaved Word documents on this screen in Excel.

If you have Microsoft 365/Office, you're probably familiar with the Microsoft Office Upload Center, which appears in the taskbar on the lower-right corner of the window, where the clock and other background apps are located. This feature keeps tabs on your documents as you upload them to OneDrive or another online server.

While the Upload Center can be a useful feature, it's been criticized for being intrusive and annoying. If it bothers you, remove this feature from your taskbar temporarily or permanently by changing the settings in the Office Upload Center.

The Microsoft Office Upload Center is part of Microsoft Office 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010, as well as Microsoft 365.

People discussing something over a laptop in an office
Luis Alvarez / Getty Images

How the Upload Center Works

The Office Upload Center allows you to monitor document uploads and downloads during synchronization with your OneDrive account or another online server. It lets you know if the uploads were successful, failed, or uninterrupted.

One of its benefits is allowing you to create backups for your documents easily and securely. When you save a document, it saves on your computer, and then, when you connect to the internet, the files automatically back up to your OneDrive account.

If you upload and download a lot of documents to a company server, the Microsoft Upload Center is a useful tool. However, if you work occasionally with files in Office and don't use OneDrive, you may prefer to remove it.

Remove Office Upload Center for Current Session

To get rid of the Office Upload Center icon for the current session on your computer instead of removing it entirely:

  1. Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del and then clicking Task Manager or pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc. 

  2. Select the Processes tab and search for MSOSYNC.EXE.

  3. Click MSOSYNC.EXE to highlight it and then press Delete to stop it from running.

  4. Next, search for OSPPSVC.EXE and do the same thing.

  5. The Office Upload Center icon is now removed from the current session on your computer.

Remove Office Upload Center Permanently

To remove the Office Upload Center from Windows 10 permanently:

  1. Open Office Upload Center.

  2. Choose Settings in the pop-up menu.

  3. Locate the Office Upload Center and select Settings on the toolbar.

  4. In the new menu box for the Microsoft Office Upload Center Settings, go to Display Options.

  5. Locate the Display icon in notification area option and uncheck that box.

  6. Select OK to save the changes and exit the menu.

  7. Close the Office Upload Center window by selecting the X in the upper-right corner.

  8. The Microsoft Upload Center has now been removed.

Disabling the Office Upload Center doesn’t mean you can’t access it. To navigate back to it, select the Start menu, choose All Apps, and then select Microsoft Office [Your Version] Tools.

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