Microsoft 365 Family: How is reducing 6 TB to 2 TB an improvement?

Question

Microsoft 365 Family: How is reducing 6 TB to 2 TB an improvement?

Ákos Hajdu 5

Microsoft is replacing six individual 1 TB OneDrive allowances with just 2 TB shared across all six users.
That's a 66.7% reduction in total included storage, presented as greater flexibility for families.

I've been paying for Microsoft 365 Family for years, and I find this decision completely unacceptable. Individual storage allowances were one of the main reasons I subscribed.

Why should existing customers accept such a significant reduction in benefits? Will Microsoft reduce the subscription price accordingly?

If this change goes ahead without adequate compensation or equivalent storage, I will seriously consider cancelling my subscription.

Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Boone, Warren (IST) 0 Reputation points

2026-10-09T06:33:23.2266667+00:00

That is not cool... Perhaps set the limit to 2TB shared and if you go over it automatically extentds by 1TB until you reach the 6TB limit. This was one of the reasons I moved from a lifetime 2022 licence to o365 and OneDrive.
Stefan Blom 354.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-10-09T08:47:01.7033333+00:00

@Boone, Warren (IST)

To send feedback to Microsoft, use the portal at https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/ .

The feedback forum will be read by decision makers and developers at Microsoft (unlike the Q&A forums, which are strictly user-to-user forums).
Ken Collins 0 Reputation points

2026-10-09T21:07:20.1966667+00:00

This change from 6 TB to 2 TB is terrible. I hate how Microsoft phrases it like a benefit. I am definitely going to complain about it.
Dave Preston 0 Reputation points

2026-10-10T13:33:40.19+00:00

The change isn't unreasonable, but the first I knew about it was an email the day it was implemented a couple of days ago. If I'd had any clue it was going to happen I would have purchased extra keys to extend it to the 5 year limit as I am using 1.5GB now; at least mine doesn't expire until December 2027, so I feel sorry for the people that are near their expiry. There is some mention that people in this position may qualify for bonus storage but no details are available yet.
Rushton1986-1810 0 Reputation points

2026-10-12T20:23:56.3533333+00:00

This is outrageous. Microsoft needs to rethink this.
DS 0 Reputation points

2026-10-13T21:04:07.5666667+00:00

Whoever is in charge of Microsoft 365 is doing their very best to drive people away to Google. Idiots. Disingenuous and disrespectful to try presenting this as an improvement. Offensive and idiotic.

I am finding it increasingly difficult to persuade others to continue collaborating in Microsoft.
Steve Tamargo 0 Reputation points

2026-10-16T17:29:23.66+00:00

Same. I've been a subscriber for over a decade, but if this change actually happens, I will immediately switch to Google and Open Office.

2 answers

Your answer

Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Boone, Warren (IST) 0 Reputation points

2026-10-09T06:33:23.2266667+00:00

That is not cool... Perhaps set the limit to 2TB shared and if you go over it automatically extentds by 1TB until you reach the 6TB limit. This was one of the reasons I moved from a lifetime 2022 licence to o365 and OneDrive.
Stefan Blom 354.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-10-09T08:47:01.7033333+00:00

@Boone, Warren (IST)

To send feedback to Microsoft, use the portal at https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/ .

The feedback forum will be read by decision makers and developers at Microsoft (unlike the Q&A forums, which are strictly user-to-user forums).
Ken Collins 0 Reputation points

2026-10-09T21:07:20.1966667+00:00

This change from 6 TB to 2 TB is terrible. I hate how Microsoft phrases it like a benefit. I am definitely going to complain about it.
Dave Preston 0 Reputation points

2026-10-10T13:33:40.19+00:00

The change isn't unreasonable, but the first I knew about it was an email the day it was implemented a couple of days ago. If I'd had any clue it was going to happen I would have purchased extra keys to extend it to the 5 year limit as I am using 1.5GB now; at least mine doesn't expire until December 2027, so I feel sorry for the people that are near their expiry. There is some mention that people in this position may qualify for bonus storage but no details are available yet.
Rushton1986-1810 0 Reputation points

2026-10-12T20:23:56.3533333+00:00

This is outrageous. Microsoft needs to rethink this.
DS 0 Reputation points

2026-10-13T21:04:07.5666667+00:00

Whoever is in charge of Microsoft 365 is doing their very best to drive people away to Google. Idiots. Disingenuous and disrespectful to try presenting this as an improvement. Offensive and idiotic.

I am finding it increasingly difficult to persuade others to continue collaborating in Microsoft.
Steve Tamargo 0 Reputation points

2026-10-16T17:29:23.66+00:00

Same. I've been a subscriber for over a decade, but if this change actually happens, I will immediately switch to Google and Open Office.

Answer 1

VB 0

I honestly feel that this is a bad move. If you have a family that is sufficiently using their storage then 2 TB is a really huge reduction. I am seriously evaluating if I should continue sticking to O365 or move to Google or Box or other providers.

O365 had pricing structure which gave them huge advantage and boost and now if you keep it more competitive to other providers then you are giving options to your current and future customers to seriously consider them as well specially given the price range. Not sure who came up with this idea but it is a dumb move overall.

0 comments

Answer 2

Microsoft provided a reason for instituting this change, but if you're like me, you won't find it very satisfying. In Changes to Microsoft 365 storage Microsoft says that sharing storage among all users means that a user otherwise running out of space in their OneDrive can benefit from a user on the same Family or Premium plan who is not using anywhere close to their allocation. That's not totally unreasonable, but it still doesn't explain the decrease from 6TB to 2TB.

As to your second question, Microsoft writes "For existing Microsoft 365 Family and Premium subscribers, this change generally takes effect after the first subscription renewal on or after May 2, 2027 ..." so for now nothing changes.

If you want my personal opinion - which I actually don't recall you asking about - I always thought that 1TB per user was a ridiculous amount of space to give away for free, particularly when other storage providers make good money on selling that amount of storage. I think that may be closer to real answer here.

James Reed 0 Reputation points

2026-10-10T20:42:38.4466667+00:00

1TB per user has not been free. And even with Google's plans, the Pro level gives 5TB shared and AI all for all members of the family. https://one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans/
With Samsung no longer partnering for the photos backups or integration, it's making it a lot harder to justify staying with Microsoft.