I recently had to switch from my personal OneDrive to a new work account, and I need to transfer a lot of files over. Is there an easy way to move everything at once, or do I need to download and upload them manually? Any tips to speed up the process would really help.
Moving Files Between Multiple OneDrive Accounts on Mac: What Actually Works?
Alright, here’s the breakdown if you’re stuck with more than one OneDrive account on your Mac and want to shuffle stuff between them like it’s no big deal.
“So, has anyone actually done this?”
Let me tell you, I was in that spot—two OneDrive accounts (work + personal), desperately wanting to throw files between them without the hassle-fest of downloading and re-uploading like it’s 2009. Turns out, there’s this lightweight Mac app called CloudMounter that flips the script on how you handle your OneDrives.
Plug ‘Em All in Like Extra Hard Drives
After tossing CloudMounter on my Mac, it let me hook up each OneDrive account like it was just another local folder in Finder. I ended up with these two “drives,” side-by-side in Finder—felt almost illegal how easy it was. Seriously. No frantic browser tab juggling. No more “Where did I download that file to?” nights.
Here’s the part folks skip: When you’re dragging files from one OneDrive “drive” to the other, the files are routed via your Mac—not directly cloud-to-cloud. So, yeah, your computer’s bandwidth gets a workout, but you’re spared the agony of the OneDrive web interface (which, let’s be real, is usually a lesson in frustration).
Why Use This Instead of Just Sticking to One Account?
You might ask if it’s all that better than logging out and back in on web. Let’s compare:
- Web switching: Log out, log in, forget the password, get annoyed, clear cookies, rinse, repeat.
- CloudMounter: Both accounts are always there, files can be tossed back and forth like swapping Pokémon cards with your own accounts.
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TL;DR
If you’ve got a Mac and multiple OneDrive accounts, CloudMounter makes ‘em feel like extra drives in Finder, so you drag stuff between ‘em with regular mouse moves. It isn’t 100% cloud-to-cloud magic—the files do pass through your Mac—but compared to the tedious web workaround, it’s a game-changer. Try it if you’re tired of the endless login loops.
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I see what @mikeappsreviewer is saying about using CloudMounter—and yeah, it’s slick if you’re on a Mac and don’t mind your internet getting a lap workout since files pass thru your device. But if you want to skip using a third-party tool (maybe you’re on Windows, can’t install stuff at work, or just weary of cloud drive management apps), here’s another angle:
Honestly, the “easy way” depends on volume and your patience. If you’ve got a ton of files, downloading and re-uploading them is the old standby, but let’s be real: it’s slow, and your local hard drive might throw a tantrum if you don’t have the space.
A slightly less painful web-based hack: Use OneDrive’s “Shared” folder trick. Log in to your old account and share your top-level folders/files with your new work account’s email. Then, log in to your new OneDrive, go to “Shared with me,” and add those shared folders/files to your new drive (“Add to my OneDrive” button). It’s not a true migration, but it lets you access everything in-place—no downloads! But beware: You’re just granting access, not copying. The original files stay stuck in your old account; delete them there, and poof, gone everywhere.
For actual transfers (like, you want your old account cleaned out or you’ll lose access soon), you could also use a cloud-to-cloud transfer service, like MultCloud or Mover.io. Some are free with small limits, others want your $$ for big jobs. They kinda act like a robot assistant: log into both OneDrives and let them mule everything over, fully online. This can be way faster and doesn’t drain your own bandwidth, but you gotta trust a third-party with your logins, which some folks (me included) side-eye pretty hard.
So there’s options: Go the CloudMounter route if you’re cool with your Mac handling the grunt work—agreed with mikeappsreviewer, the Finder integration is way slicker than the browser mess. Or, if you want more of a true cloud-to-cloud hands-off move, those migration tools/services might be worth poking at.
TL;DR: No, you don’t have to do boring old download-and-upload. Just depends if you want pure copy, access-only sharing, or to risk the wild west of third-party migration bots. Pick your poison.
Not to throw more opinions into the already crowded pool from @mikeappsreviewer and @yozora, but here’s my $.02—straight up, the best solution depends almost entirely on how much you trust third-party apps and whether your IT overlords allow you to install them. Skipping the well-traveled ground they covered (CloudMounter for Mac = yes, very slick if you like pretending all your drives are local; sharing folders for awkward in-place access; and cloud transfer bots with varying degrees of sketch factor), I wanna bring up a missing angle: automation.
If you’re even remotely handy with scripting and you’ve got both OneDrive sync clients installed (yeah, you can run both personal and business on one machine, just not in the same OneDrive app—personal goes in the regular OneDrive app, biz in OneDrive for Business), then you can script a copy or run a good ol’ batch move between the synced folders. So if your files are under, say, ~/OneDrive and ~/OneDrive - Work, you can drag and drop, or go full command line ninja—cp -R ~/OneDrive/ImportantStuff/* ~/OneDrive\ -\ Work/SomeFolder/. It’s nerdy but ultra-fast, especially if you want to move instead of just share.
One caveat: the files have to upload/download through your device, much like CloudMounter (so, yeah, not true cloud-to-cloud, but at least you don’t have to babysit your browser with endless download progress bars or trust some rando cloud bot with your credentials).
As for the “easy way,” sorry, no magic “Move Everything In One Click” button from Microsoft, unless your org spring$ for a migration tool. All these methods are workarounds, and every single one has tradeoffs—manual copy is boring but safe, CloudMounter is convenient but local bandwidth-dependent, cloud transfer bots are hands-off but privacy-worrying, and folder sharing is basically just temporary access. No silver bullet; just pick your flavor of pain.
Slightly disagree with the whole “shared folder” thing being viable long-term—have seen access go janky or things get lost if someone revokes sharing down the line. If permanence and full ownership matter? Actually copy the files over, by whatever method.
tl;dr: No, you don’t need to waste your life downloading/uploading one file at a time, but you DO have to pick your hassle. For Mac, CloudMounter really is peak convenience if you can run it. If you want nerd cred (or you’re on Windows), scripting between synced OneDrive folders is fast and private—just don’t expect instant results if you’ve got terabytes of cat memes to migrate.
CloudMounter is definitely the flashy Mac trick, but let’s not pretend it’s the only act in town. Here’s the quick-and-dirty: unlike the tedious download/upload shuffle, CloudMounter makes your OneDrive accounts show up as extra drives in Finder—drag, drop, done. Major pro: seamless interface, simultaneous access, absolutely zero browser tab chaos. But remember, it’s not actual cloud-to-cloud transfer; your internet takes the full round trip, which can bottleneck if your upload/download speeds are meh or you’re working on stacks of data. Also, there’s a cost—CloudMounter isn’t free, and some IT folks might get twitchy about extra apps.
On the flip side, scripting efforts (shout out to the power-user voices) using both OneDrive clients tap the same “local move, cloud sync” pattern—faster in bulk, and zero third-party privacy drama, but way less friendly if you’re not into command lines. Competitors tout folder sharing, but honestly, relying on temporary access is just waiting for a sync disaster. If your move is one-and-done and you want full control, local copy/sync feels safer.
So, TL;DR: CloudMounter = ultra-easy, Finder-native, but local bandwidth + cost. Power-user script = nerd cred, private, but less spoonfed. Folder sharing = risky for permanent moves. Pick your flavor of hassle—none is magic, all beat babysitting a zip download bar for hours.