Onedrive files recovery and retention

Question

Hi,

I want to disable a user in Active Directory while AD synchronization is enabled. My questions are:

1. If I disable the user in Active Directory, will it delete all user files and shared folders from OneDrive?
2. If I want to keep all files in OneDrive, do I need to maintain the Office license after disabling the user?

I will not delete or move the user to a non-O365 users group; I will just disable the user account in AD. Will this affect that user's files in OneDrive, especially since those files are shared with my owner?

Please advise on the best way to proceed.

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi Mohammed Kasim2,

Thank you for your further explanation. Here are the answers to your questions.

1. However, you mentioned that once a user is disabled, they will be deleted, and their OneDrive files will also be deleted. Could you please verify this?

This was concluded based on our support experience. Many other users encountered the same problem and searched for our assistance because they disabled the user account from local AD. Then that account was deleted from Microsoft 365 with OneDrive deletion. Once they re-enable it from local AD, a new account with same email was created from Microsoft 365. However, it is a pretty new account and not the same as before one. So it caused some accessing issue. That is why we do not suggest you this method. For official article, there is no direct words about this, however, I found this one for your reference.
Fix site user ID mismatch in SharePoint or OneDrive - SharePoint | Microsoft Learn

2. Additionally, as you mentioned, if I set a retention period after disabling the user, the files shared by this user in OneDrive will still be accessible to others, correct?

The retention policy should be set BEFORE the user account is disabled. The retention policy only can be applied to ACTIVE OneDrive sites. If you set it after account disabling, the site might have already been deleted.

**3. Please note that I want to retain this user’s mailbox, so I have converted it to a shared mailbox and will keep the license. If I disable the user or move them to the non-Office 365 group, will the shared mailbox also be lost?**Or litigation hold i have to perform,which is better?

If you want to retain the user's mailbox, converting it to shared mailbox should be the better option. Because if you apply retenrion policy to user OneDrive, it only keeps the OneDrive site, it does not stop user account deletion. And if you disable the user or move them to the non-Office 365 group, the shared mailbox will also be lost. In this situation, you can just keep it as shared mailbox and remove license from it. License removing does not cause any data loss.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any further queries. At the same time, if the information we provided is useful to you, please vote at bottom of the answer, with your vote, other users who are facing same query can easily find this thread and check suggestion when they search on community. Your vote helps other user to resolve their queries.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Best regards,

Answer 2

Hi,

We have set the retention period for OneDrive to 7 years. Now Can I disable the user account and move it to a non-O365 group? Will the OneDrive files shared with others still be accessible for 7 years, even if the owner's account is disabled and deleted?

Thank you!

Answer 3

Usually, after disabling a user in AD, we move that user to the non-Office 365 group. At that time, the Office license and the user are automatically removed from the Office 365 admin center.

However, you mentioned that once a user is disabled, they will be deleted, and their OneDrive files will also be deleted. Could you please verify this?

Additionally, as you mentioned, if I set a retention period after disabling the user, the files shared by this user in OneDrive will still be accessible to others, correct?

Please note that I want to retain this user’s mailbox, so I have converted it to a shared mailbox and will keep the license. If I disable the user or move them to the non-Office 365 group, will the shared mailbox also be lost?

Or litigation hold i have to perform,which is better?

Answer 4

Hi Mohammed Kasim,

Thank you for reaching out with your questions regarding OneDrive retention after disabling a user in Active Directory.

When you disable a user in Active Directory (AD) with AD synchronization enabled, the user’s Office 365 account, including OneDrive, is set for deletion. This would also result in the removal of their OneDrive files unless a retention policy is applied.

To retain OneDrive files after disabling the user, you can apply a retention policy that preserves the content. Here’s how you can set up a retention policy for OneDrive:

Steps to Apply Retention Policy for OneDrive:

1. Access the Microsoft 365 Compliance Center:

• Go to compliance.microsoft.com and sign in with your admin account.

2. Navigate to Retention Policies:

• Under the Solutions section, select Information Governance, then choose Retention Policies.

3. Create a New Retention Policy:

• Click on + New retention policy.
• Name your policy and add a description (optional).

4. Choose the Locations to Apply the Policy:

• Select OneDrive accounts as the location.
• You can specify specific users by entering the OneDrive URL for that user or apply the policy across the organization as needed.

5. Set Retention Settings:

• Choose how long you want to retain content (e.g., 7 years).
• Set it to either Retain items for a specific period or Indefinitely.
• Choose Retain content only (so items are preserved but not deleted).

6. Review and Apply:

• Review the settings, then select Create to apply the retention policy.

7. Wait for 24 hours until the policy status turns "Enabled(Success)".

This approach allows you to disable the user in AD without deleting OneDrive files. The files will be retained according to your retention settings and won’t be immediately affected by the AD synchronization.

Please let us know if you need any additional guidance.

Best regards,

Sophia