I've done a lot of device replacement and Windows 10 migration projects, and OneDrive Known Folder Move has become one of the tools I rely on most. Convenience is part of it, but the real benefit is continuity when a user gets a new machine or their laptop dies without warning. In the tenants I look after, zero-touch deployments only run smoothly when Desktop, Documents and Pictures go to the cloud by default. It makes a huge difference to data safety, support volume and user satisfaction, as long as the rollout is done properly and you steer clear of a few classic pitfalls.

The Intune settings catalog covers every policy Known Folder Move needs

You no longer have to mess around with ADMX imports to get the OneDrive group policies into Intune. The settings catalog now has all the options that matter. For a reliable deployment I always configure these three policies:

  • Silently move Windows known folders to OneDrive (with your tenant ID)
  • Prevent users from redirecting their Windows known folders to their PC
  • Silently sign in users to the OneDrive sync app with their Windows credentials

Combining the silent move with a block on moving folders back stops the chaos you get when users try to keep things local. The tenant ID is mandatory, because it makes sure the folders end up in the right tenant. I also turn on Files On-Demand at the same time so the drive doesn't fill up with every file downloading at once. If you want to control the user prompts or exclude specific folders, the settings catalog has plenty of fine-grained switches for that. The full list and deployment guidance are in the docs at Redirect known folders to OneDrive and Configure OneDrive using Intune.

{
  "Setting": "SilentlyMoveKnownFoldersToOneDrive",
  "TenantId": "<TENANT_ID>"
}

You'll find this setting in the Intune settings catalog policy. Don't forget the tenant ID.

Files On-Demand saves storage and makes the migration easier

Files On-Demand doesn't get much attention, but Known Folder Move depends on it. On older or smaller devices in particular, the first KFM rollout can swamp a user's SSD by syncing everything up front. With Files On-Demand enabled, only the files someone actually needs are stored locally and the rest appear as placeholders, which saves you a lot of frustrated support calls. The setting sits right there in the catalog, and it should be live before you push the main KFM policy. I've also found it reassures users who are nervous about "cloud-only" storage. Explorer looks and behaves the way it always did, they just get better backup and fewer sync headaches.

The OneDrive sync health report shows whether the rollout worked

Even when the policies are configured perfectly, I still want proof that the migrations went through, especially during big Windows 10 upgrade waves. The OneDrive sync health dashboard in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center (config.office.com → Health → OneDrive sync) has matured to the point where it's actually useful. It gives you an overview of folder migrations, sign-in and sync errors and the reasons for failures, so you can fix things before users get stuck. If you need deeper analysis or your own dashboards, export the data and slice it however you like. More details are in OneDrive Sync Health.

Get the timing right. Roll out too early and devices can end up migrating twice. Roll out too late and files stay behind on the old hardware.

flowchart TD
    User["User"] --> OldPC["Old device"]
    User --> NewPC["New device"]
    OldPC --> OneDrive["OneDrive cloud"]
    NewPC --> OneDrive
    OneDrive --> Monitoring["Sync health report"]

Figure: Data flow during a KFM rollout. Old and new devices both sync to OneDrive, and the sync health report monitors it.

PST files, path length and file types cause most real-world problems

The same three issues come up in deployment after deployment. Large Outlook PST files are the first. They change all the time and are notorious for sync conflicts. The only real fix is to move them out of Documents before the migration and tell the affected users. Very long file paths are the second, and they can break migrations, especially where users have built deeply nested folder structures. The third is that OneDrive simply doesn't support some files (reserved characters, system files and similar).

Pro tip: Before you roll out KFM broadly, check user profiles for large PSTs and tell staff about the quirks. They'll thank you, and so will your helpdesk.

KFM makes device migrations far less painful

For me, OneDrive Known Folder Move is what makes Windows 10 to 11 migrations and device swaps go smoothly. Once KFM is set up correctly through Intune, users sign in and their core files are simply there, whether the device was rebuilt, replaced or wiped with Autopilot. Manual file transfers and lost data become a thing of the past. What matters is knowing where things tend to go wrong and keeping an eye on sync health. When KFM is done right, nobody notices it. When it isn't, you'll notice very quickly.