shared onedrive family but cannot link email

Question

I have had problems arranging for a member to share my family set-up. With the help of this forum I now have managed to have this member join my family group. However, one problem to solve, please. His 'profile' shows 1Tb storage, but his email still shows 5Kb.

How to link his email to his family membership?

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

Are you checking the storage from the OneDrive app on Windows, or from the OneDrive website?

Can you check if the correct 1TB storage shows up when you sign in to OneDrive web at https://onedrive.live.com

If you’re only seeing 5GB inside the Windows OneDrive app, it might just need a refresh. In that case, please try unlinking and re-linking your OneDrive using the steps here: "Unlink and re-link OneDrive" https://support.microsoft.com/office/unlink-and-re-link-onedrive-3c4680bf-cc36-4204-9ca5-e7b24cdd23ea

If the issue still persists, please wait another 24 hours for everything to fully update across your account.

---

Let me know what you find and we can continue from there.

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 2

The family member’s OneDrive storage and Outlook.com email storage are separate. Joining a Microsoft 365 Family subscription gives that account 1 TB of OneDrive storage, but it does not change the default Outlook.com mailbox limit, and there is no “linking” step needed between email and the family membership.

To verify that the OneDrive storage from the family subscription is applied correctly:

1. Confirm the invitation was fully accepted using the correct Microsoft account:
   • The member must use the Get started link in the sharing email, go to the Microsoft Family Safety site, and select Join now to join the family group.
2. After acceptance, wait for the storage to update:
   • Go to Manage storage in OneDrive, refresh the page, and check that the quota shows the increased storage. It can take up to about 2 hours for the change to appear.

Each account has its own storage quota. The 1 TB from Microsoft 365 Family applies to OneDrive for that account. Outlook.com mailbox size is governed separately and is not increased by “linking” to the family group.

If files need to be shared between family members, use OneDrive folder sharing instead of trying to combine or link storage:

• From OneDrive, select the folder or files, choose Share, and send a sharing link or invite to the other family member.

---

References:

• Troubleshoot sharing a Microsoft 365 subscription
• Microsoft storage FAQs
• Share your Microsoft 365 Family or Premium subscription
• Share files and photos with family or Outlook groups