Automatically save photos and videos with OneDrive on iPads

The camera roll on your device only uploads to OneDrive - it does not sync photos both ways. That means you can delete uploaded photos and videos from your device, and the copies in OneDrive won't be affected.

To automatically upload your iPhone or iPad camera roll to OneDrive

  1. In the OneDrive app, tap your account image:

    OneDrive app account image location

  2. Tap Settings OneDrive settings then Camera Upload

    Important: You can only upload your camera roll to one account at a time, so make sure you're signed in with the account that you want to upload photos to. Tap the relevant account icon to switch accounts.

  3. Turn on Camera Upload to automatically upload photos and videos to OneDrive.

  4. To make sure videos automatically upload, turn on Include Videos. 

  5. The photos can be found in your OneDrive under Pictures/Camera Roll/yyyy/mm

  6. Please remember to delete unwanted photos. Kept photos must be renamed before moving them to the Photos Team.


If automatic camera upload isn’t working, or only some pictures are uploaded, follow these steps:

  • Connect your charger. iPad won't let OneDrive backup your photos if the battery is less than 20%.

  • Enable/disable Background App Refresh in the iOS settings: Settings > Scroll down to our app > toggle on/off Background App Refresh.

  • Don't close the app. Apple recommends that customers leave the OneDrive app running in the background. Automatic uploading cannot work if the app has been Force Closed (double-tap Home and swipe up and away).

  • Check connection to Wi-Fi