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Suzy92's avatar
Suzy92
Copper Contributor
Jan 01, 2026

Over storage problem

Hello,

 

I have Family 365 Office version. I have recently run out of subscription and updated it again with a few weeks delay. The onedrive on my main account is working fine, but one of my family member's account is not updating properly. It still shows that I am over the storage with about 0.2TB files stored whereas the subscription plan allows for 1 TB - see photographs below. Could you please advise what can be done? 

 

Many thanks,

Suzy

 

 

 

 

office 365

1 Reply

  • NikolinoDE's avatar
    NikolinoDE
    Platinum Contributor
    Jan 04, 2026

    This is not an actual storage overuse problem, but a known provisioning / synchronization issue that can occur with Microsoft 365 Family accounts after a subscription lapses and is later renewed.

    Your screenshots clearly show a contradiction:

    • The banner says:
      “You’re over your storage limit (3562%)”
      → this corresponds to the 5 GB free tier
    • The storage management page shows:
      178.1 GB used out of 1 TB (17%)
    • The account is listed under an active Microsoft 365 Family subscription (1,024 GB)

    Conclusion:
    The family member account does have 1 TB assigned, but one or more Microsoft services (OneDrive / Photos / Outlook backend) are still treating the account as a Free (5 GB) account.

     

    Why this happens

    This typically occurs when:

    • A Microsoft 365 Family subscription expires
    • The account temporarily falls back to the Free 5 GB quota
    • The subscription is later renewed
    • One or more family member accounts fail to re-provision correctly

    As a result:

    • OneDrive web may show the correct quota
    • Uploads, Photos, or email attachments are blocked
    • The “over storage” warning persists indefinitely

    Waiting does not reliably fix this.

     

    What does NOT fix the issue

    The following actions are usually ineffective:

    • Signing out and back in
    • Clearing browser cache
    • Deleting files
    • Clicking “Manage storage”
    • Waiting for automatic sync

    The quota is wrong server-side, not client-side.

     

    Recommended solution (most reliable)

    Remove and re-add the family member

    This forces Microsoft to re-provision the storage correctly.

     1. Sign in as the Family Organizer
    https://account.microsoft.com/family

     2, Remove the affected family member completely
    (Do not just change storage — remove them from the family)

     3. Wait 10–15 minutes
    This is important to allow backend cleanup.

     4. Re-invite the family member

    • Have them accept the invitation
    • Confirm that 1 TB storage is assigned

     5. On the affected account:

    In most cases, the “over storage limit” banner disappears shortly after this.

     

    My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

    Hope this will help you.

    Was the answer useful? Mark as best response and like it!

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