The Windows users who have not yet outgrown their version 7, 8 or 8.1 and use OneDrive will have some other difficulty to continue working with their files from next day 1 of March 2022. Then, as confirmed by Microsoft, users of these operating systems will no longer have updates to OneDrive, as Redmond will only release OneDrive updates for newer versions of Windows for consumer computers: Windows 10 and Windows 11.
This does not mean that the files these users have on OneDrive will disappear. They will be accessible from the OneDrive app regardless of the version of Windows that whoever wants to use it. What will happen is that the changes made to them will no longer be automatically uploaded and recorded in the cloud. Files can continue to be uploaded to OneDrive from the app in Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. Of course, as we have seen, if it is not done in this way, the changes made to them will not be reflected in the version saved in OneDrive.
But before March 1, 2022, OneDrive users with Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 will already be at a disadvantage. Why OneDrive on those operating systems will lose support as of next January 1, 2022. According to Microsoft, the reasons for making this change is «focus resources on new technologies and operating systems, as well as provide users with the most up-to-date and secure experience«.
These operating systems have long been out of support. The Lifecycle of Windows 8 ended in 2016, and the main support for Windows 8.1 ended in 2018. That of Windows 7 did so last year 2020. The next system that is scheduled to end its life cycle is Windows 10, although it is still a long way off: it will be in 2025.
