Microsoft 365 Archive Eliminates Reactivation Fees by March 31, 2025
We are excited to announce a significant update to Microsoft 365 Archive, our low-cost, long-term, compliant storage solution for inactive SharePoint content. By March 31, 2025, we will no longer charge a reactivation fee for SharePoint sites or content stored in the Microsoft 365 Archive. This change does not apply to archived OneDrive accounts. We’re making this change based on your feedback to simplify the process of archiving content in SharePoint, helping you fully benefit from the platform with less effort. Microsoft 365 Archive Launched in May 2024, Microsoft 365 Archive allows you to archive large volumes of data within minutes and reactivates content with just a few clicks. It retains search indexes, metadata, and Microsoft 365 compliance and security features while excluding archived data from Microsoft 365 Copilot outputs to reduce the risk of oversharing irrelevant or unmanaged data. Key changes No Reactivation Fee: By March 31, 2025, we will remove the reactivation fee for sites and content in the Archive storage tier. Deployment of this change will start in early March and will be live in all tenants by March 31. After that change is live in your tenant, reactivations will no longer incur a charge. This does not apply to OneDrive accounts, which will still incur their normal reactivation fee. Re-archiving Restrictions: There will be a restriction against re-archiving content for four months after it has been reactivated. This is to prevent constant movement of content in and out of the archive tier. When file-level archive is launched, it will also conform to the same free reactivation with limited re-archiving timelines. As a reminder, you can always reactivate recently archived content within 7 days instantly; however, content archived more than 7 days ago will have the same 24-hour reactivation delay that exists today. Common questions What are the new restrictions against re-archiving content that was recently reactivated? Instead of the reactivation fee, admins will be blocked from re-archiving a SharePoint site that was reactivated in the past 120 days. These restrictions will begin simultaneously with the removal of the reactivation fee. Will I still have 7 days to instantly reactivate recently archived sites? Yes, when a SharePoint site is archived, it can be reactivated instantly and for free within the first 7 days. Sites reactivated from this ‘recently archived’ state can be archived again immediately, if desired. Will I know when this change has been enabled for my tenant? Yes, the SharePoint admin center will indicate during reactivation whether the reactivation will still cost money or will be free when the admin confirms the reactivation of an archived site. Will this change apply to individual files when file-level archiving is available? Yes, the same behavior will apply to individual files when file-level archiving is possible. In other words, reactivating individual files that had previously been individually archived will not incur a reactivation fee. Closing This update will provide you with greater value and flexibility when managing your SharePoint content. By eliminating the reactivation fee, we aim to make it easier and more cost-effective for organizations to access and utilize their archived data. Stay tuned for more updates and enhancements as we continue to improve our solutions to better meet your needs. Calls to Action Learn more about Microsoft 365 Archive Visit our adoption hub page Access learn documentsPreserving strategic value: Microsoft 365 Archive + Preservica Active Digital Preservation
In the AI era, long-term content is no longer just a compliance overhead – it’s a strategic asset. From completed project sites in SharePoint to legacy records, organizations are increasingly required to retain critical, high-value content for decades to meet regulatory, legal, and operational needs, and for unlocking insights through AI.
