Starting January 27, 2025, any OneDrive account that has been unlicensed for more than 93 days will be automatically archived. This means the data will only be viewable via admin tools, and the account will be inaccessible to both admins and end users until further action is taken. These changes do not apply to educational (EDU), Government Community Cloud (GCC), or Department of Defense (DoD) customers.
What to do now? Monitor Unlicensed Accounts and Assign Licenses before end of 2025-01
We recommend:
- create a report of unlicensed users (see below), and then
- assign licenses to these unlicensed OneDrive accounts before January 27, 2025.
Note that as long as the unlicensed OneDrive account is not archived, there are no additional charges. However, once the account is automatically archived after 93 days, there will be additional charges for storage and account reactivation through Microsoft 365 Archive.
1. Monitoring Unlicensed OneDrive Accounts within Your Organization
A OneDrive account becomes unlicensed when a license is removed from a user or when a user is deleted. These accounts can pose security and compliance risks, as well as create confusion and duplication of files within an organization.
Unlicensed OneDrive accounts are not associated with a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription. Monitoring these accounts is crucial for managing potential risks and planning for migration or deletion.
To generate a report of unlicensed OneDrive accounts, use the SharePoint admin center:
- Sign in to the SharePoint admin center.
- Go to Reports and select User reports.
- Under OneDrive usage, select Unlicensed users.
- Download the report as a CSV file.
Starting January 2025, an interactive UI will be available to view details of unlicensed accounts directly.
2. Assigning Licenses to Unlicensed OneDrive Accounts
To assign a license to an unlicensed OneDrive account, you need to assign a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription to the user that includes OneDrive. Assigning a license allows the user to access their OneDrive files with their work or school account, and lets you manage their settings and policies.
You can also bulk assign licenses using either of the following methods:
Assign licenses to user accounts in the Microsoft 365 admin center
Assign licenses to user accounts with PowerShell
Note that before archival, you can assign a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription to the user. After archival, you need to reactivate the account before assigning a license.
FAQ
Unlicensed OneDrive accounts did not occur charges before but from 2025-01-27 they do because they are now being automatically achieved after 93 days?
Yes. The new policy means that unlicensed OneDrive accounts, which previously did not incur charges, will now generate additional costs once they are automatically archived after 93 days. Organizations will need to pay for the storage and any reactivation of these archived accounts.
This change emphasizes the importance of managing and either a) licensing or b) deleting unlicensed accounts promptly to avoid unnecessary charges, if the data of the unlicensed user accounts is no longer relevant for your organization.
What happens to an unlicensed OneDrive account after the unlicensed OneDrive account archival?
An account can be deleted from the archived state without reactivation. However, if the account is subject to a retention policy, the unlicensed account can’t be deleted, and the administrator will receive an error message.
How do I assign a license to an unlicensed OneDrive account?
Before archival, you can assign a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription to the user. After archival, you need to reactivate the account before assigning a license.
How do I delete an unlicensed OneDrive account?
Before archival, you can delete the account using the Microsoft 365 admin center, PowerShell, or Microsoft Graph API. After archival, you can delete the account directly unless it is subject to a retention policy.
What does it mean to archive an unlicensed OneDrive account?
Archiving an account means it remains in a long-term storage state, allowing you to retain the data for future retrieval if needed. Archived accounts are inaccessible to users and admins until reactivated.
Are there any charges associated with archived accounts?
Yes, Microsoft 365 Archive will incur charges for both storage and account reactivation.
How can I procure more licenses to assign to the unlicensed OneDrive accounts?
Contact SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT for licensing advice and to get the Microsoft licenses you require.
More information
Find everything relevant about unlicensed OneDrive accounts in this documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/unlicensed-onedrive-accounts.
Learn about Microsoft Licensing here: https://www.schneider.im/software/microsoft.
Contact us for expert services on your specific Microsoft software and online services requirements and request a quote today.