Windows 10: What does "Remove a device from your Microsoft account" actually do?

What does "Remove a device from your Microsoft account" actually do?

What does "unlink the device from your Microsoft account" actually do?


According to my understanding I cannot access the laptop in any way from my Microsoft account after removing it from my list of devices. But can the new owner of the laptop access my account in any way? I had signed-in to my Microsoft account on the laptop.

I'm asking these questions because I sold my old laptop to a stranger and I followed these steps:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/10547/microsoft-account-selling-gifting-windows-10-device-xbox-one

Another question:

Does "Remove a device from your Microsoft account" mean the previous laptop won't have access to my OneDrive cloud documents? Can I still save documents to OneDrive without worry that they'll be accessible by the new owner?

:)

 

Remove account

I suggest you backup your personalized files first before removing the account.
To delete an account, follow these steps:

1. Press WIN + X keys and click Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu.
2. Type the following command and press Enter. Replace test with the name of your sister's account. Code:

 

Remove Devices

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that you are facing issues while removing the device from your Microsoft account as it keeps popping back after removing.



It could be possible that the device was using OneDrive with the same Microsoft account and that might be the reason you are able to see the device listed under your profile. I would suggest you to remove the device from OneDrive
and see if that helps.



You can follow the steps to remove the device from OneDrive.

1. Login to
   https://onedrive.live.com.
2. Now on the left hand pane click on PC’s.
3. Now click on the devices that are listed under PC’s and on the right hand side click on
   Remove PC.

If the issue persists, please get back to us with the results of the troubleshooting steps to assist you further.



Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator

 

Device still listed under Microsoft account after removing it

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that you are facing issues while removing a device from your Microsoft account.



As you have mentioned that you have removed the device from the Microsoft account, it could be possible that the device was using OneDrive with the same Microsoft account and that might be the reason you are able to see the device listed under your
profile. I would suggest you to remove the device from OneDrive and see if that helps.



You can follow the steps to remove the device from OneDrive.

1. Login to
   https://onedrive.live.com.
   
2. Now on the left hand pane click on PC’s.
   
3. Now click on the devices that are listed under PC’s and on the right hand side click on
   Remove PC.
   

You can refer the screenshot for more help.





If the issue persists, please get back to us with the results of the troubleshooting steps to assist you further.



Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator