Microsoft is axing unlicensed accounts for this popular service

By Judy Sanhz August 13, 2024

Microsoft OneDrive files can sync between a PC and a phone. — Microsoft

Microsoft will soon eliminate OneDrive Business accounts that have remained unlicensed for over 90 days because, as mentioned in a Microsoft Learn blog post, the tech giant feels they pose a significant security threat by leading to confusion and duplication in enterprise environments.

The archiving process will begin in January 2025, and users will not have access to their accounts once they are archived. Those affected accounts will have a $0.60/GB activation fee and a monthly fee of $0.05 per GB for storage in the Microsoft 365 Archive. Once the user pays, the activation process can take as long as 24 hours, but only after following the necessary steps in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

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If Microsoft archives an account, the admin must follow the preceding requirements such as:

Create and Link Azure subscription in Syntex pay-as-you-go
It is essential to have Global admin or SharePoint admin permission
Turn on Microsoft 365 Archive Unlicensed Account billing (billing is available starting April 2025)

Microsoft also points out that these changes do not apply to GCC, EDU, or DoD customers. However, creating an unlicensed account is possible when it’s made but given a license. But it also advises admins to use the SharePoint admin center to create reports on unlicensed accounts by signing into the SharePoint admin center > going to Reports and selecting Use reports > choosing OneDrive usage and Unlicensed users, and then downloading the report as a CVS file.

The reports will show you information such as email addresses, usernames, account type, and last activity date of each unlicensed One Drive account. Microsoft will make these reports available to all commercial customers worldwide by August 16, 2024.

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Computing Writer

Judy Sanhz is a Digital Trends computing writer covering all computing news. Loves all operating systems and devices.

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