Services
Summary
SharePoint Online will update storage quota enforcement by late May to June 2026, aligning user quotas with license limits. Users exceeding licensed storage will enter read-only mode until usage is reduced or licenses upgraded. Admins should identify and address over-quota users; no action needed if users comply.
Details
Introduction
We’re updating the way SharePoint Online enforces user storage quotas to ensure they are consistently aligned with license entitlements. This change fixes an issue where user-specific storage limits could be incorrectly applied during quota refreshes, which could result in inaccurate storage enforcement. These updates help ensure predictable storage behavior and improve reliability for admins managing storage at scale.
When this will happen
General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCCH, and DoD): We will begin rolling out in late May 2026 and expect to complete in June 2026.
How this affects your organization
Who is affected
- Microsoft 365 tenants using SharePoint Online
- Users who are currently over the OneDrive for Business storage quota allowed by their assigned license
- Admins who have set user-specific storage limits above licensed entitlements
What will happen
- User storage quotas will be re-evaluated against license limits during the refresh process.
- Users whose OneDrive for Business storage usage exceeds their licensed quota will be placed into a read-only state, which temporarily restricts write access to existing SharePoint content until storage usage is remediated.
- This includes scenarios where:
- An admin-set user quota exceeds the license allowance, or
- A user with an EDU license exceeds their licensed storage limit.
- No changes are made for users who are within their licensed storage limits.
What you can do to prepare
- Identify users exceeding licensed storage limits
- Review OneDrive storage usage across your organization to identify users whose usage exceeds their licensed quota.
- Microsoft will provide a PowerShell script to assist with this assessment. A link to the script will be added to this message when available.
- Take corrective action for affected users. For users exceeding their licensed storage limits:
- Upgrade the user’s license to increase available storage, or
- Work with the user to reduce storage usage to within licensed limits.
- Inform your helpdesk and SharePoint admins about this change so they can support users who may be placed into a read-only state.
- If all users are within their licensed storage quotas, no action is required.
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.