Microsoft’s latest bit of nagging in Windows 11 might come from a good place, but it’s seriously annoying some people

• Windows 11 is warning some folks to back up their PC with a banner in the Settings app
• This is a way of pushing Microsoft’s own Backup app which uses OneDrive
• Not everyone needs to hear about this, and some users are getting frustrated with the banner repeatedly appearing

If you use Windows 11, you’re doubtless accustomed to Microsoft’s attempts to prod you into using its various services, and there’s been another spot of nudging (or shoving, even) in the OS regarding OneDrive.

Windows Latest picked up on this one, and it works in a roundabout kind of way, meaning that it’s not a flashing banner telling you that ‘You must use OneDrive’ (that’s coming in next month’s update – not really, ahem, though you never quite know with Microsoft).

The tech site tells us that Windows 11 is pushing an ‘Action advised – backup your PC’ warning panel on certain users, at the top of the Settings app home screen. And when I classify it as a warning, that’s because it’s displayed in yellow with an exclamation mark to urge taking action.

According to Windows Latest, this warning is being presented on a regular basis to them (and others). So, what happens if you click on the ‘Continue’ button in the banner? Windows 11 will launch its built-in Backup app, a tool designed to fully back up your PC to the cloud.

But of course, it’s tied specifically to Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage locker, which is why this is an indirect way of promoting that service. The catch is that if you don’t have enough storage space on OneDrive – and the free allocation almost certainly won’t be enough – you might be tempted to buy more space in order to back up your PC, and then Microsoft makes a bit of extra cash.

Back off on the backups, Microsoft – or at least provide a choice here

Isn’t backing up your PC a useful thing to do, though, if you haven’t? Well, yes, very definitely, so to be fair, for novice computer users who haven’t taken any such steps to protect their data (or indeed system settings), this could be very useful.

But OneDrive isn’t the only way forward in this regard, and if you’ve already availed yourself of a third-party backup solution of one kind or another, then you might not – well, you almost certainly won’t – want to get nagged in this way on a trip to the Settings app.

And nagged you will be, apparently, as Windows Latest notes that this banner only appears in Settings for users who have turned off cloud syncing and backup settings in Windows 11 (which, of course, you’re likely to have done if you’re taking care of backup duties yourself, and not leaving it to the OS). The repeated nature of this warning popping up also makes it more irksome.

Don’t get me wrong, I actually like the idea of the Backup app, which Microsoft has done some commendable work on in recent times to make it a good way to transfer all your stuff from an old PC to a new one. It’s convenient and handy for less tech-savvy folks in that respect, for sure, despite some limitations (notably third-party apps aren’t included in the backup images, just software from the Microsoft Store).

Even so, this remains a case of overreaching with ‘recommendations’ from Microsoft (once again). Windows Latest further observes there’s a fair bit of chatter on the likes of Reddit discussing possible fudges and workarounds to turn off this warning, but we shouldn’t have to resort to that.

Really, at the very least, there should be a box to tick along the lines of ‘don’t show this again’ with the banner, for those who know what it’s all about, and have their backups well in hand themselves. Surely that isn’t too difficult to implement, Microsoft, while still leaving the nudge present for those who might genuinely benefit from it?

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