Downgrading Premium Storage to Standard Without Migration

Question

Downgrading Premium Storage to Standard Without Migration

Niccolo 60

Hi,

In our Azure subscription, we have a Premium Storage Account that is significantly increasing our costs. We've recently determined that we don't need this tier and have already moved our workloads to another storage service. Now, we'd like to downgrade the storage from Premium to Standard without requiring a migration, as migration could introduce additional costs.

Is it possible to directly change the storage tier from Premium to Standard without data migration? If not, what alternative cost-effective options would you suggest?

For your reference, this storage currently has zero writes.

Thanks in advance for your guidance!

Best regards, User's image

Niccolo 60 Reputation points

2025-02-13T21:55:49.5+00:00

Upon subscribing, it was not made clear that downgrading from Premium to Standard storage would necessitate a cumbersome and costly migration process.

This oversight has led to significant and unforeseen expenses for our organization. The lack of a straightforward downgrade path not only hampers operational efficiency but also imposes financial burdens that are both unreasonable and avoidable.

It is imperative that Microsoft addresses this glaring deficiency promptly. We demand the introduction of a seamless method to transition between storage tiers without the need for data migration. Failing to do so not only undermines user trust but also tarnishes Microsoft's reputation as a customer-centric service provider.
KarishmaTiwari-MSFT 20,777 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2025-02-14T00:19:05.8266667+00:00

@Niccolo Thanks for sharing this valuable feedback. I completely understand your frustration regarding the unexpected costs and operational inefficiencies caused by the lack of a straightforward downgrade path from Premium to Standard storage. I will ensure that this feedback reaches the product team.

Meanwhile, I would recommend exploring cost-effective alternatives such as using AzCopy for data transfer. Although it involves some costs, it can help mitigate the financial impact compared to other migration methods. If you have questions related to this, let us know in the comments and we would be happy to help further.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/operational-excellence/relocation-storage-account?tabs=azure-portal#move-data-to-the-new-storage-account
KarishmaTiwari-MSFT 20,777 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2025-02-17T21:42:25.75+00:00

@Niccolo Checking in to see if this helped or you have further questions. Let us know in the comments.
Niccolo 60 Reputation points

2025-02-17T22:43:54.08+00:00

It didn't help I sent an official complaint at buscond@microsoft.com
KarishmaTiwari-MSFT 20,777 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2025-02-18T22:25:46.7233333+00:00

Hi @Niccolo, I apologize for not being able to get back to you yesterday due to the US holiday.

I understand how frustrating it must be to deal with this product limitation, especially when it has led to significant expenses for your organization. I want you to know that I am here to support you every step of the way.

Please create a free billing support ticket so that our team of support engineers can review your case. They will do their best to help you, regarding expenses incurred. You can follow the steps described to create the support request: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-portal/supportability/how-to-create-azure-support-request#open-a-support-request-from-the-global-header

Please select 'billing' in the Issue Type, as shown below:

Once you have created the support request, please share the support request number with me. I will monitor it internally to ensure that you are receiving the support you need. If you have any concerns about the progress of your support request, please let me know. I am here to advocate for you.

I have also shared your feedback with the product team and am in discussions with them about this limitation. I will keep you updated on any developments.

Accepted answer

2 additional answers

Your answer

Niccolo 60 Reputation points

2025-02-13T21:55:49.5+00:00

Upon subscribing, it was not made clear that downgrading from Premium to Standard storage would necessitate a cumbersome and costly migration process.

This oversight has led to significant and unforeseen expenses for our organization. The lack of a straightforward downgrade path not only hampers operational efficiency but also imposes financial burdens that are both unreasonable and avoidable.

It is imperative that Microsoft addresses this glaring deficiency promptly. We demand the introduction of a seamless method to transition between storage tiers without the need for data migration. Failing to do so not only undermines user trust but also tarnishes Microsoft's reputation as a customer-centric service provider.
KarishmaTiwari-MSFT 20,777 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2025-02-14T00:19:05.8266667+00:00

@Niccolo Thanks for sharing this valuable feedback. I completely understand your frustration regarding the unexpected costs and operational inefficiencies caused by the lack of a straightforward downgrade path from Premium to Standard storage. I will ensure that this feedback reaches the product team.

Meanwhile, I would recommend exploring cost-effective alternatives such as using AzCopy for data transfer. Although it involves some costs, it can help mitigate the financial impact compared to other migration methods. If you have questions related to this, let us know in the comments and we would be happy to help further.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/operational-excellence/relocation-storage-account?tabs=azure-portal#move-data-to-the-new-storage-account
KarishmaTiwari-MSFT 20,777 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2025-02-17T21:42:25.75+00:00

@Niccolo Checking in to see if this helped or you have further questions. Let us know in the comments.
Niccolo 60 Reputation points

2025-02-17T22:43:54.08+00:00

It didn't help I sent an official complaint at buscond@microsoft.com
KarishmaTiwari-MSFT 20,777 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2025-02-18T22:25:46.7233333+00:00

Hi @Niccolo, I apologize for not being able to get back to you yesterday due to the US holiday.

I understand how frustrating it must be to deal with this product limitation, especially when it has led to significant expenses for your organization. I want you to know that I am here to support you every step of the way.

Please create a free billing support ticket so that our team of support engineers can review your case. They will do their best to help you, regarding expenses incurred. You can follow the steps described to create the support request: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-portal/supportability/how-to-create-azure-support-request#open-a-support-request-from-the-global-header

Please select 'billing' in the Issue Type, as shown below:

Once you have created the support request, please share the support request number with me. I will monitor it internally to ensure that you are receiving the support you need. If you have any concerns about the progress of your support request, please let me know. I am here to advocate for you.

I have also shared your feedback with the product team and am in discussions with them about this limitation. I will keep you updated on any developments.

Answer 1

@Niccolo Thanks for your patience and working with us towards the resolution of your issue.I am summarizing the issue here for others to reference. Please "Accept" the answer when you get a chance. Accepted answers show up at the top, resulting in improved discoverability for others.

Issue: Customer shared - In our Azure subscription, we have a Premium Storage Account that is significantly increasing our costs. We've recently determined that we don't need this tier and have already moved our workloads to another storage service. Now, we'd like to downgrade the storage from Premium to Standard without requiring a migration, as migration could introduce additional costs.

Is it possible to directly change the storage tier from Premium to Standard without data migration?
If not, what alternative cost-effective options would you suggest?

Solution:

A premium blob storage account stores data on SSD-based clusters, whereas standard storage accounts use HDD-based clusters. Transitioning from a premium to a standard storage account requires physically moving the data between storage clusters, meaning data transfer is unavoidable and this comes with associated costs. To summarize, it is not possible to change a storage account to a different type after it's created. To move your data to a storage account of a different type, you must create a new account and copy the data to the new account.
Use tools like AzCopy, Azure Storage Explorer, or Azure Data Factory to copy data from the premium storage account to the new standard storage account. AzCopy is a command-line utility designed for copying data to and from Azure Storage, and it can handle large data transfers efficiently and is the most cost-effective option.

Reference docs:
-https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/operational-excellence/relocation-storage-account?tabs=azure-portal#move-data-to-the-new-storage-account

-https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-use-azcopy-v10?tabs=dnf#use-cases-for-azcopy

What is being done to improve the customer experience?
Though, it is mentioned in the official document that - "You can't change a storage account to a different type after it's created. To move your data to a storage account of a different type, you must create a new account and copy the data to the new account.", we are looking into options, for example, can the customer be warned of this during the creation of storage account itself? etc.

We have shared the feedback with the Product team, and they have acknowledged that there is scope for improvement. The product team will be considering this in the semester planning and evaluate potential options to fill this gap.

If you have further questions, please let us know in the comments how we can assist. We are here to help you and strive to make your experience better and greatly value your feedback.

Answer 2

Hello Niccolo,

Welcome to the community! It is not possible to directly change the storage tier from Premium to Standard. To move from a premium storage account to a standard storage account in Azure, you need to follow a few steps since direct conversion is not supported. Here’s a detailed process:

Create a New Storage Account: First, you need to create a new storage account of the desired type (Standard). This can be done through the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or PowerShell.
Copy Data to the New Account: Use tools like AzCopy, Azure Storage Explorer, or Azure Data Factory to copy data from the premium storage account to the new standard storage account. AzCopy is a command-line utility designed for copying data to and from Azure Storage, and it can handle large data transfers efficiently.
Update References: Once the data is copied, update any references in your applications or services to point to the new standard storage account. This includes updating connection strings and any configurations that reference the old storage account.
Verify Data Integrity: Ensure that all data has been copied correctly and that your applications are functioning as expected with the new storage account. Perform thorough testing to verify data integrity and application performance.
Delete the Old Storage Account: After confirming that everything is working correctly with the new standard storage account, you can delete the old premium storage account to avoid incurring additional costs.

Additional reference material:

Copy or move data to Azure Storage by using AzCopy v10 | Microsoft Learn

Using Storage Explorer with Azure Files | Microsoft Learn

Migrate data from data lake and data warehouse to Azure - Azure Data Factory | Microsoft Learn

Niccolo 60 Reputation points

2025-02-13T20:30:19.79+00:00

Thanks Andrew for your prompt reply. Upon subscribing, it was not made clear that downgrading from Premium to Standard storage would necessitate a cumbersome and costly migration process.

This oversight has led to significant and unforeseen expenses for our organization. The lack of a straightforward downgrade path not only hampers operational efficiency but also imposes financial burdens that are both unreasonable and avoidable.

It is imperative that Microsoft addresses this glaring deficiency promptly. We demand the introduction of a seamless method to transition between storage tiers without the need for data migration. Failing to do so not only undermines user trust but also tarnishes Microsoft's reputation as a customer-centric service provider.
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Answer 3

Hello Niccolo,

Welcome to the community! Unfortunately, it is not possible to directly change the storage tier from Premium to Standard. To move from a premium storage account to a standard storage account in Azure, you need to follow a few steps since direct conversion is not supported. Here’s a detailed process:

Create a New Storage Account: First, you need to create a new storage account of the desired type (Standard). This can be done through the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or PowerShell.
Copy Data to the New Account: Use tools like AzCopy, Azure Storage Explorer, or Azure Data Factory to copy data from the premium storage account to the new standard storage account. AzCopy is a command-line utility designed for copying data to and from Azure Storage, and it can handle large data transfers efficiently.
Update References: Once the data is copied, update any references in your applications or services to point to the new standard storage account. This includes updating connection strings and any configurations that reference the old storage account.
Verify Data Integrity: Ensure that all data has been copied correctly and that your applications are functioning as expected with the new storage account. Perform thorough testing to verify data integrity and application performance.
Delete the Old Storage Account: After confirming that everything is working correctly with the new standard storage account, you can delete the old premium storage account to avoid incurring additional costs.

Additional reference material:

Copy or move data to Azure Storage by using AzCopy v10 | Microsoft Learn

Using Storage Explorer with Azure Files | Microsoft Learn

Migrate data from data lake and data warehouse to Azure - Azure Data Factory | Microsoft Learn

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Downgrading Premium Storage to Standard Without Migration

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