If you’ve subscribed to Microsoft 365 Family or Personal, you expect to receive 1TB of OneDrive storage as part of the package. However, many users have reported that their OneDrive storage remains stuck at the default 5GB despite having an active subscription.
What’s Going On?
Several users on Microsoft’s support forums have raised concerns about this issue. One user reported:
“I recently subscribed to Microsoft 365 Family, and even after adding my family members, they are only seeing 5GB of OneDrive storage instead of 1TB. It’s frustrating!”
Another user experiencing the same issue said:
I just got the invitation from my family to join Microsoft family to get 1TB. However, after i joined, my OneDrive storage is still the same 5GB, not 1TB.
Another user shared that:
I have recently bought a Family Plan of Microsoft 365, which does include 1 TB of cloud storage per person. However, my OneDrive storage still says I only have 5 GB of storage available to be used, as it would if I had not bought the subscription plan.
This issue seems to affect both primary account holders and family members added to a Microsoft 365 Family plan. In some cases, the storage upgrade is simply delayed, while in others, a deeper issue might be causing the problem.
Possible Causes
Based on user discussions and Microsoft’s responses, these are the most common reasons why your OneDrive storage may not be updating:
- Storage Upgrade Delay: Microsoft states that it can take up to 24 hours for OneDrive storage to reflect the correct amount after purchasing or renewing a subscription.
- Family Member Access Issues: If you are part of a Family plan, ensure that you have accepted the invitation properly and that you are logged into the correct Microsoft account.
- Subscription Recognition Errors: Sometimes, OneDrive does not immediately recognize an active subscription, causing it to show incorrect storage limits.
Solutions That Have Worked for Users
Microsoft has acknowledged this issue, with a Microsoft Community Support Specialist stating:
“Numerous users have recently reported issues with accessing the 1TB OneDrive storage space included in their shared Microsoft 365 Family subscriptions. This emerging concern has drawn the attention of the OneDrive team, who are currently investigating the matter.”
Thankfully, some users have found ways to resolve this problem. One user shared a simple yet effective solution:
“I signed out of OneDrive on my computer and logged back in, and suddenly, my storage changed from 5GB to 1TB. Maybe it just needed a refresh?”
Another user, Scott Snell1, detailed his success:
“I followed the advice of Thomas LEONG-SHE1, who suggested turning off the auto-renewal option… I went into my account, turned it off… Then, I went back in, clicked auto-renew, and MAGICALLY, IT WORKED!!!”
This suggests that toggling the auto-renewal setting may force OneDrive to refresh and apply the correct storage allocation.
Here are some additional steps that might help:
1. Give It Some Time
If you’ve just subscribed or renewed your Microsoft 365 plan, wait at least 24 hours to see if your storage updates automatically.
2. Unlink and Relink OneDrive
Try signing out and back into your OneDrive account:
- Click the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray.
- Go to Settings > Account > Unlink this PC.
- Sign back in and check if your storage has been updated.
3. Verify Your Microsoft 365 Subscription
- Go to Microsoft 365 Account Page.
- Check if your subscription is active and properly assigned.
- If you are a Family member, ensure you have accepted the invitation correctly.
4. Check OneDrive Online
Go to OneDrive.com and log in. Sometimes, the storage allocation updates on the web before it appears on your desktop app.
5. Contact Microsoft Support
If the issue persists beyond 48 hours, it’s best to reach out to Microsoft Support. As one frustrated user pointed out:
“I had to contact Microsoft Support, and they manually refreshed my account settings. After that, my storage finally updated to 1TB.”
Microsoft has advised affected users to wait for some time and, if the problem persists, to contact their support team for further assistance.
Final Thoughts
While it’s frustrating to face storage issues after paying for a subscription, most users have found that patience and a few troubleshooting steps resolve the issue. If your OneDrive storage hasn’t updated yet, try the solutions above and give it some time. If all else fails, Microsoft Support should be able to assist you.
Have you encountered this issue? Let us know in the comments how you fixed it!
