Standard storage for unlicensed OneDrive accounts

Overview

Standard storage gives SharePoint administrators more control over how long unlicensed OneDrive accounts remain active before they are archived. It also lets an administrator reactivate a specific archived account for longer than the ordinary 30-day reactivation period. It builds on the default unlicensed account lifecycle described in Manage unlicensed OneDrive user accounts.

The billing experience has two distinct steps:

Connect pay-as-you-go billing. Before admins can reactivate archived unlicensed OneDrive accounts, set up pay-as-you-go billing in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Follow Set up pay-as-you-go billing to link an Azure subscription, then enable that billing subscription for unlicensed OneDrive account billing. For more information about the unlicensed account lifecycle and billing states, see Manage unlicensed OneDrive user accounts.
Enable Standard storage. Standard storage is a separate opt-in that unlocks the tenant-wide duration control and lets selected reactivated accounts remain active beyond 30 days. When Standard storage is available, enable it from the dedicated unlicensed OneDrive accounts experience in the Microsoft 365 admin center. There is no SharePoint Online PowerShell parameter for enabling the billing policy or Standard storage.

Enabling Standard storage does not reactivate every archived account. Administrators choose which accounts to reactivate. Content is billed according to its current tier: archived content uses the Archive meter, and active content retained through Standard storage uses the Standard meter.

Note

Standard storage will be generally available for unlicensed OneDrive accounts starting in October 2026. Until then, the Standard storage billing option might not appear in the Microsoft 365 admin center, even after you connect pay-as-you-go billing.

Capabilities

Standard storage billing

Set up pay-as-you-go billing and enable Standard storage in the Microsoft 365 admin center before using the new duration controls. There is no SharePoint Online PowerShell parameter for enabling the billing policy or Standard storage.

Duration and account controls

Scenario	Scope	Intended behavior
Set the active-storage period	Tenant (all applicable unlicensed OneDrive accounts)	Changes when accounts become read-only and are archived. Supported values are 93 through 3,650 days.
Check the current period	Tenant	Reads the current active-storage period through Get-SPOTenant.
Reactivate until a specific date	One archived unlicensed OneDrive account	Reactivates the account and keeps it active until the date supplied with -KeepActiveUntil.
Extend an active period	One active or reactivating account	Updates the Standard storage end date by running the same command with a later valid date.
Archive early	One active account	Returns the account to Archive storage before its scheduled date.

The tenant period can't exceed 3,650 days, and an account-specific extension requires a date. Both the tenant period and the per-account -KeepActiveUntil flag require a duration or date. There's no way to keep an account active indefinitely. Extend the period or date later if continued access is required.

Manage these duration controls through SharePoint Online PowerShell. Controls for the same scenarios are planned for the SharePoint admin center later.

Pricing

Archive storage, Standard storage, and reactivation are billed through pay-as-you-go. For current prices, see Storage services.

An ordinary reactivation includes the standard 30-day access period. Standard storage charges apply when an account remains active beyond that window. During calendar year 2026, the reactivation fee is waived when Standard storage is enabled.

Lifecycle example

The default tenant-wide archive point is 93 days after an account becomes unlicensed. The account becomes read-only 33 days before it is archived. For the complete default timeline, including read-only, eDiscovery, and deletion milestones, see Manage unlicensed OneDrive user accounts.

If an administrator changes the tenant period to 365 days:

The account remains active through day 331.
The account becomes read-only on day 332.
The account is archived on day 365.

After an account is archived, ordinary reactivation provides 30 days of access. Use -KeepActiveUntil when the account must remain active beyond that standard window.

Before you begin

Confirm the following prerequisites:

Pay-as-you-go billing is connected for unlicensed OneDrive accounts. For details about identifying and managing these accounts, see Manage unlicensed OneDrive user accounts.
Standard storage is enabled in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
You're using a SharePoint Online Management Shell version that exposes the new parameters.
You're connected to SharePoint Online as a SharePoint administrator.
You have the OneDrive personal-site URL for each account you want to manage.

Connect to the SharePoint Online admin endpoint:

Connect-SPOService -Url "https://contoso-admin.sharepoint.com"

Replace contoso and all sample OneDrive URLs in this article with values for your tenant.

Admin workflow

1. Set the tenant-wide Standard storage period

Use Set-SPOTenant to specify how many days an unlicensed OneDrive account remains active before it is archived:

Set-SPOTenant `
    -UnlicensedOneDriveAccountsActiveStoragePeriod 365

The supported range is 93 through 3,650 days. The command displays a confirmation prompt. The read-only stage begins 33 days before the configured archive date.

Standard storage normally must be enabled to change this setting. If a tenant previously configured a custom value and later disables Standard storage billing, the service defaults to 93 days functionally.

Best practice: Keep the default at 93 days unless your organization has a defined business, legal, or compliance need for a longer lifecycle. Use the shortest period that meets the requirements.

2. Check the current tenant setting

Get-SPOTenant | Select-Object UnlicensedOneDriveAccountsActiveStoragePeriod

If the property returns 0, the connected SharePoint Online endpoint might not yet expose the property. Update the SharePoint Online Management Shell and verify that the feature is available for the tenant.

3. Reactivate an account for the ordinary 30-day period

Use ordinary reactivation when 30 days of access is sufficient:

Set-SPOSiteArchiveState `
    -Identity "https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/user_contoso_com" `
    -ArchiveState Active

The target must be an archived unlicensed OneDrive personal site. Connecting the billing policy permits this ordinary reactivation even when the account-specific Standard storage extension is not used.

4. Reactivate an account until a specific date

Use -KeepActiveUntil when access is required beyond the ordinary 30-day period:

Set-SPOSiteArchiveState `
    -Identity "https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/user_contoso_com" `
    -ArchiveState Active `
    -KeepActiveUntil "2027-08-13"

The supplied date is interpreted in the administrator's local time and converted to UTC. For a newly reactivated account, the date must extend beyond the ordinary 30-day reactivation window. The server validates billing eligibility, rollout availability, site type, site state, and the date.

5. Extend an account that is active or reactivating

Run the same command with a later valid date:

Set-SPOSiteArchiveState `
    -Identity "https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/user_contoso_com" `
    -ArchiveState Active `
    -KeepActiveUntil "2027-10-31"

This command updates the stored Standard storage date. It doesn't change the tenant-wide active-storage period.

6. Return an account to Archive storage early

When active access is no longer needed, archive the account before its scheduled date:

Set-SPOSiteArchiveState `
    -Identity "https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/user_contoso_com" `
    -ArchiveState Archived

This command returns the account to Archive storage and stops continued Standard storage use for that account.

Choose the right control

Scenario	Recommended action
The default 93-day lifecycle is appropriate for most accounts	Leave the tenant period at 93 days.
All applicable unlicensed accounts need a longer lifecycle	Set UnlicensedOneDriveAccountsActiveStoragePeriod to a justified value from 94 through 3,650.
A single archived account needs access for 30 days or less	Reactivate it with -ArchiveState Active and omit -KeepActiveUntil.
A single archived account needs access beyond 30 days	Reactivate it with -ArchiveState Active and a valid -KeepActiveUntil date.
An active or reactivating account needs more time	Run the command again with a later -KeepActiveUntil date.
Access is no longer needed	Set -ArchiveState Archived to return the account to Archive storage early.

Best practices

Use a longer tenant-wide period only when the requirement applies broadly. Use account-specific dates for exceptions.
Return accounts to Archive storage when active access is no longer required.
Monitor both Archive and Standard storage consumption and charges.

Troubleshooting

The tenant parameter isn't recognized

Update the SharePoint Online Management Shell. Confirm that the installed build includes UnlicensedOneDriveAccountsActiveStoragePeriod.

Get-SPOTenant returns 0 for the property

The connected endpoint might not yet have the server build that exposes the read-back property. Verify rollout eligibility and try again after updating the management shell.

These standard-storage properties require PowerShell version 16.0.27600.12000 or higher.

The tenant setting update is rejected

Verify that:

The value is from 93 through 3,650.
Standard storage billing is enabled.

If billing was disabled after a custom value was configured, only a reset to 93 is allowed.

Reactivation or extension is rejected