MS Onedrive instead of Dropbox for Android and Mac OS?

[stanw]

Anyone know if OneDrive will synch files between Android, iPad, and multiple Macs the same way that Dropbox does? I don't care about using it for editing Word docs, I just want it for cloud storage. I'm hoping a Mac user with an Android may have already tried it and can give me a firsthand account of it compared with Dropbox?

Thanks.

 

[joudbren]

Yes. Works the same but much cheaper if you need additional storage. OneDrive can also be set to backup pics automatically from iPad, iPhone and I believe Android now as well. Supports Windows, IOS, Android and OSX. Can also be accessed via web browser. Cheers!

 

[appledes7]

Copy will give you more storage for free. 15GB to start, 5GB for each referral with an unlimited number of referrals (so yes, you can have well over a couple hundred GBs without ever paying).

This is one of Copy's best features:

 

[nick_elt]

Mega.co.nz gives you 50gb for free to start. I do have both mega and dropbox and mega is much faster for syncing large files too

 

[BlueGoldAce]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but onedrive for ios doesn't have a search function. That keeps me from using it.

 

[Phil A.]

Mega.co.nz gives you 50gb for free to start. I do have both mega and dropbox and mega is much faster for syncing large files too

Not sure I'd trust large amounts of data to mega.co.nz after what happened to mega upload.

I've moved most of my stuff from Dropbox to OneDrive (mainly because I got 200GB free with my Surface Pro) and it's generally pretty good: I particularly like the way it's integrated in Windows 8.1 (i.e. metadata is synced about all files so you can see them in explorer but only download them when you want to use them: you can also search them as if they're stored locally)

One thing to be aware of though is that currently OneDrive doesn't support differential uploads (e.g. if you have a 50mb file and update it, Dropbox will just upload the bits that have changed, whereas OneDrive will upload the entire file again). Depending on the sort of data you're storing and the speed of your internet connection, this will either be an issue or it won't

They did used to support it for some document types with SkyDrive and the office document uploader. I'm not sure they still do but I would imagine Microsoft will add differential uploads for all file types to OneDrive at some point

 

[BenTrovato]

I have OneDrive but rarely use it over Dropbox. One Drive had a limitation on the sizes of files that could be uploaded last I used it. Did they remove that limitation yet?

 

[roadbloc]

I have OneDrive but rarely use it over Dropbox. One Drive had a limitation on the sizes of files that could be uploaded last I used it. Did they remove that limitation yet?

I'm a regular user of OneDrive and I haven't encountered such a limitation, so my guess is yes.

 

[TacticalDesire]

I have OneDrive but rarely use it over Dropbox. One Drive had a limitation on the sizes of files that could be uploaded last I used it. Did they remove that limitation yet?

They removed that years ago.

 

[BenTrovato]

They removed that years ago.

Well I knew it wasn't "years" ago since I encountered the restriction sometime last year, so you prompted me to search. Apparently with the switch from SkyDrive to One Drive they upped the max file size limit from 100mb to 2gb. So the restriction still exists.

 

[ozaz]

I think OneDrive is still a service that shows a lot of promise (due to integration with MS Office, nice online interface, and reasonable pricing) but its still not there yet.

My main issues with it are:

* It doesn't have a file-type-agnostic version history feature (it only has it for MS Office files). They need to sort this out for me to make this my main cloud storage.

* When you share a file, you also share the path to that file within your OneDrive. I consider this a bit of a privacy problem.

 

[TacticalDesire]

Well I knew it wasn't "years" ago since I encountered the restriction sometime last year, so you prompted me to search. Apparently with the switch from SkyDrive to One Drive they upped the max file size limit from 100mb to 2gb. So the restriction still exists.

But it's not the 50mb restriction they had when the service was started which is what I though you were referring to.

 

[Traverse]

I'm a regular user of OneDrive and I haven't encountered such a limitation, so my guess is yes.

I have just received 30GB of OneDrive with my Office University subscription. Can I ask a few quick questions:

It doesn't seem as polished as Dropbox, but does it work the same way? When I add an item to the folder it syncs. If I edit a Word document with Office:Mac that is saved in the OneDrive folder, when i hit "save" with OneDrive automatically update the file. If I edit that file on my iPad, will it then be updated?

Have you found it to be reliable?


Basically, does it sync and update like iCloud and Dropbox?


Thank you for taking the time to help me!

 

[maflynn]

Yes, it works the same way as dropbox works. You change a file on your work computer, it will sync to home your computer, or mobile device.

I will make one clarification, like dropbox, files are not stored on your mobile device so there's no "syncing" in the truest sense of the word. You download the file and update it, then it gets uploaded where it then propagates to all the computers you have registered with OneDrive

 

[roadbloc]

I have just received 30GB of OneDrive with my Office University subscription. Can I ask a few quick questions:

It doesn't seem as polished as Dropbox, but does it work the same way? When I add an item to the folder it syncs. If I edit a Word document with Office:Mac that is saved in the OneDrive folder, when i hit "save" with OneDrive automatically update the file. If I edit that file on my iPad, will it then be updated?

Have you found it to be reliable?


Basically, does it sync and update like iCloud and Dropbox?


Thank you for taking the time to help me!

It works exactly like Dropbox. On my connection, OneDrive is actually a lot faster but that is subject to lots of environmental factors. Not once had a problem.

One added benefit OneDrive has over Dropbox is OneDrive support in applications. My copy of Office (Office 365) can directly fetch files straight from OneDrive without the OneDrive client being installed.

 

[Traverse]

It works exactly like Dropbox. On my connection, OneDrive is actually a lot faster but that is subject to lots of environmental factors. Not once had a problem.

One added benefit OneDrive has over Dropbox is OneDrive support in applications. My copy of Office (Office 365) can directly fetch files straight from OneDrive without the OneDrive client being installed.

It will smoother when Office:Mac 2014 comes out with better OneDrive support.

Thank you.

I don't like using two services, I'd rather have a local and cloud copy and OneDrive seems like a much better deal now then my 7GB of Dropbox.

 

[lshirase]

Why not both? I put my OneDrive folder inside my Dropbox folder so i can access all of my synced MS files (OneNote, Word, etc.) with Dropbox. I prefer the Dropbox UI as well as the ability to search files on my iOS devices.

 

[Traverse]

Yes, it works the same way as dropbox works. You change a file on your work computer, it will sync to home your computer, or mobile device.

I will make one clarification, like dropbox, files are not stored on your mobile device so there's no "syncing" in the truest sense of the word. You download the file and update it, then it gets uploaded where it then propagates to all the computers you have registered with OneDrive

It works exactly like Dropbox. On my connection, OneDrive is actually a lot faster but that is subject to lots of environmental factors. Not once had a problem.

One added benefit OneDrive has over Dropbox is OneDrive support in applications. My copy of Office (Office 365) can directly fetch files straight from OneDrive without the OneDrive client being installed.

Would lshirase's response above me work?

Would putting one syncing folder inside the other cause some kind of data loss or problems? Seems like it could complicate things.

 

[Lloydbm41]

Would lshirase's response above me work?

Would putting one syncing folder inside the other cause some kind of data loss or problems? Seems like it could complicate things.

Another big plus for OneDrive is getting 100GB free. All that you have to do is use Bing to do searches. 100 points gets you 1 year free of 100GB on OneDrive. Only takes a few days of quick clicking I think you can get 17 points a day starting out. Silver gets you 22 and Gold level gets you 31 a day. Not to mention all the other free stuff you can get.

Take a look. Left image is my Dashboard for Bing rewards and on the right is just a sample of the free stuff you can get just by doing searches using Bing. This literally takes me 60 seconds out of my day to quickly click through images:

 

[lshirase]

Would lshirase's response above me work?

Would putting one syncing folder inside the other cause some kind of data loss or problems? Seems like it could complicate things.

No data loss, no complications.

 

[petvas]

I would suggest you stay with DropBox. It is faster, supports all Mac OS file system features (like symbolic links), has no file limitations, and there is even an app on Android that will sync your Dropbox files with your device in the background, on the folder you choose. Much better than OneDrive.

OneDrive is slow, has a 2GB file limitation and doesn't accept file names that use characters that are allowed in OS X..It is a good solution for Windows users..

 

[ozaz]

I would suggest you stay with DropBox. It is faster, supports all Mac OS file system features (like symbolic links), has no file limitations, and there is even an on Android that will sync your Dropbox files with your device in the background, on the folder you choose. Much better than OneDrive.

OneDrive is slow, has a 2GB file limitation and doesn't accept file names that use characters that are allowed in OS X..It is a good solution for Windows users..

File size limit is 7GB.

Edit. No. You're right. 2gb.

 

[ozaz]

Another big plus for OneDrive is getting 100GB free. All that you have to do is use Bing to do searches. 100 points gets you 1 year free of 100GB on OneDrive. Only takes a few days of quick clicking I think you can get 17 points a day starting out. Silver gets you 22 and Gold level gets you 31 a day. Not to mention all the other free stuff you can get.

Take a look. Left image is my Dashboard for Bing rewards and on the right is just a sample of the free stuff you can get just by doing searches using Bing. This literally takes me 60 seconds out of my day to quickly click through images:

Bing Rewards seems to be US only

 

[maflynn]

OneDrive is slow, has a 2GB file limitation and doesn't accept file names that use characters that are allowed in OS X..It is a good solution for Windows users..

It is slower but depending on your usage habits that may be a moot point (along with the file sizes). I don't use large files, so once the initial sync finished up I've not noticed anything negative with my OneDrive.

Of course I use mine mostly for documents, pictures and what not, nothing huge

 

[spinedoc77]

Another big plus for OneDrive is getting 100GB free. All that you have to do is use Bing to do searches. 100 points gets you 1 year free of 100GB on OneDrive. Only takes a few days of quick clicking I think you can get 17 points a day starting out. Silver gets you 22 and Gold level gets you 31 a day. Not to mention all the other free stuff you can get.

Take a look. Left image is my Dashboard for Bing rewards and on the right is just a sample of the free stuff you can get just by doing searches using Bing. This literally takes me 60 seconds out of my day to quickly click through images:

Wow this is pretty cool, never knew this existed. I just signed up. I'm a diehard OneDrive user, it's superior to Dropbox when you have a lot of documents. Dropbox has issues with viewing and editing some documents and it's hit or miss on different OS. eg I think on Android you can edit text docs, but you cannot on iOS or PC. OneDrive takes all the documents I have and lets me edit them online and makes it very seamless. It's very well integrated and works on iOS, android, windows, etc.