Top 3 Ways to Enable or Disable Sync Settings in Windows

When you use the same Microsoft account across all your multiple devices, Windows allows you to sync various settings, such as your wallpapers, passwords, language, and more. With this feature, you can also sync your Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices, eliminating the need to apply the same settings to each device individually.

You can turn off sync settings on devices you don’t want to be synchronized. You can turn sync settings on or off using the Settings app, Registry Editor, or Group Policy Editor. In this post, we will cover three methods in detail.

1. How to Turn Sync Settings On or Off Using the Settings App

The Settings app gives you several options for managing your account preferences, including the ability to enable or disable sync. Whether you want to configure a single setting or stop syncing altogether, you can use the following steps to manage sync settings in Windows.

Step 1: Right-click on the Start icon and select Settings from the list.

Step 2: Use the left pane to navigate to the Accounts tab.

Step 3: Select Windows backup from the right pane.

Step 4: Click on Remember my preferences to expand it. Then, use the checkboxes to enable or disable sync for accessibility, passwords, language preferences, and other Windows settings.

Alternatively, you can use the toggle next to Remember my preferences to enable or disable sync entirely.

2. How to Turn Sync Settings On or Off With the Registry Editor

The Registry Editor is a useful tool that lets you configure various system settings by modifying a few registry files. However, as registry files contain important settings for Windows and its system apps, it’s important to be cautious while making any changes.

Even if you are comfortable using the Registry Editor, you should consider backing up all the registry files or creating a restore point beforehand.

Use these steps to enable or disable sync settings via the Registry Editor.

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type in registry editor, and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Select Yes when the User Account Control (UAC) prompt appears.

Step 3: Paste the following path in the address bar at the top and press Enter to quickly navigate to the SettingSync key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SettingSync

Step 4: Right-click on the SettingSync key in the left sidebar, choose New from the context menu, and select DWORD (32-bit) Value from the submenu. Name the new DWORD DisableSettingSync.

Step 5: Right-click on the SettingSync key in the left sidebar, choose New from the context menu, and select DWORD (32-bit) Value from the submenu. Name the new DWORD DisableSettingSyncUserOverride.

Step 6: Double-click the DisableSettingSync DWORD and change its Value data to 2 – to disable sync settings. Then, click OK.

Step 7: Double-click the DisableSettingSyncUserOverride DWORD and set its Value data to 1 – to disable sync settings. Then, click OK.

Similarly, if you want to configure Windows to sync settings across your devices, set value of the DisableSettingSync and DisableSettingSyncUserOverride DWORDs to 0.

Finally, restart your PC to apply the changes.

3. How to Turn Sync Settings On or Off Using the Group Policy Editor

The Group Policy Editor provides yet another way to configure sync settings on your Windows computer. However, you can only use this method if you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 11 Professional, Education, or Enterprise editions. If you’re using Windows Home edition, you will have to use the Settings app or the Registry Editor solutions above to enable or disable sync settings.

To enable or disable sync settings using the Group Policy Editor, use these steps:

Step 1: Press the Windows + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run dialog box. Type gpedit.msc in the text box and hit OK.

Step 2: When the User Account Control (UAC) prompt appears, select Yes to proceed.

Step 3: Use the left pane to navigate to the following folder:

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Sync your settings

Step 4: Double-click the Do not sync policy from the right pane.

Step 5: Select the Enabled option if you want to stop Windows from syncing settings across devices. If you want to turn on sync settings, select Disabled or Not Configured instead.

Step 6: Click Apply followed by OK.

Keep Your Devices in Harmony

Enabling sync settings can be helpful if you work on multiple Windows devices. That said, you may want to disable it if you prefer to keep different settings preferences on different devices. Either way, enabling or disabling sync settings in Windows with the methods above is fairly easy.