Microsoft 365 Family Storage Is Changing

If you share a Microsoft 365 Family subscription, the way your OneDrive storage works is changing.

At the moment each person on the plan (up to six) gets their own 1TB. Microsoft is replacing this with a single 2TB pot shared by everyone on the plan, for the same price.

1. When does it happen?

- New subscriptions taken out since 8th October 2026 already have the shared 2TB.

- Existing subscribers change at their first renewal on or after 2nd May 2027. Microsoft says it will email you before then.

Your files stay private - other family members still can't see them unless you choose to share.

2. Am I affected?

Only if BOTH of these are true:

- You share your subscription with other people, and

- Between you, you use more than 2TB of OneDrive storage.

If you use Microsoft 365 Family just for yourself, you actually go UP from 1TB to 2TB. Microsoft 365 Personal and Basic are not affected.

3. How to check

See who you share with: go to account.microsoft.com, sign in, open your Microsoft 365 Family subscription and look under Share subscription.

See how much you use: each person goes to onedrive.live.com, signs in, and looks at the storage figure at the bottom of the left-hand menu (or opens Manage storage). Add everyone's figures together.

Remember your Outlook.com email and its attachments count towards your storage too.

4. What if we're over 2TB?

Going over is serious: OneDrive files become read-only, new files won't save or sync, and Outlook.com email can stop arriving. Left long enough, Microsoft may delete files.

Before your renewal, you can:

- Tidy up - delete duplicates and old videos, and empty the Recycle Bin

- Move older photos and videos to an external drive

- Buy extra storage (only the subscription owner can do this), or

- Stop sharing with someone, who would then need their own subscription

5. No need to panic

Most households use far less than 2TB, and existing subscribers have until at least May 2027. It's simply worth a five-minute check before your next renewal.

HTS are happy to check your storage and help tidy up or move files - just get in touch.