One Drive full at 5GB but I have 1TB with MS Business Standard 365

sian richardson 20 Reputation points
2026-10-15T16:50:54.57+00:00

I am unable to save or back up files as it says One Drive is full (5GB), but I have an active Microsoft 365 sub which has 1TB storage. What do I do to fix this? Urgent!

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For business | Other
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Answer accepted by question author
Emily T 990 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-10-15T17:10:51.32+00:00

Hi sian, 

It’s possible that OneDrive is still signed in with a different Microsoft account, such as a free account from a previous computer, which only includes 5 GB of storage.

First, please verify the account signed in to OneDrive

  • Click the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray (taskbar).
  • Select the Help & Settings (gear) icon, then choose Settings.
  • Open the Account tab and check the email address currently signed in.

If the account shown is not the one associated with your Microsoft 365 subscription:

  • Click Unlink this PC.
  • After the account is unlinked, sign in again using the Microsoft account that has the Microsoft 365 subscription and 1 TB of OneDrive storage. For more information, please follow this guidance: Unlink and re-link OneDrive | Microsoft Support
  • Restart your OneDrive by right clicking the OneDrive icon in the system tray.
  • Select Quit OneDrive.
  • Reopen OneDrive from the Start menu to refresh the connection and sync status.

Please ensure that both Microsoft Office and OneDrive are updated to the latest available version before proceeding with additional troubleshooting.

If confirming the correct account does not resolve the issue, resetting OneDrive can help clear local application settings and force a fresh synchronization.

You can follow the instructions in the following Microsoft article: Reset OneDrive

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-10-15T16:51:42.3666667+00:00

    Check OneDrive on the web with the work account assigned the Business Standard license; if it still shows 5 GB, a Microsoft 365 administrator must verify the license assignment and change that user’s OneDrive quota to 1 TB.

    1. Determine which OneDrive account is full

    Microsoft 365 Business Standard provides 1 TB of OneDrive storage per licensed user, while a free personal Microsoft account provides 5 GB.^1^

    1. Sign in to Microsoft 365 using your work email address, not a personal Microsoft account.
    2. Open the app launcher—the nine-dot menu—and select OneDrive. This opens OneDrive for work or school.^2^
    3. In OneDrive on the web, select Storage used in the lower-left corner.
    4. Check whether it reports:
      • About 1 TB: The web quota is correct, but the desktop client is connected to the wrong account.
      • 5 GB: The business license or the server-side OneDrive quota needs administrator correction.

    2. If the web account has 1 TB

    Reconnect the OneDrive desktop app to the same work account:

    1. Select the OneDrive cloud icon in the Windows notification area.
    2. Select Help & Settings → Settings → Account.
    3. Identify any account showing the 5 GB limit.
    4. Select Unlink this PC for that account.
    5. Sign in again with the licensed work or school account.
    6. Confirm the displayed organization name and OneDrive folder, then test uploading a small file.

    Unlinking does not delete cloud files, but confirm important files are visible on the web before changing the desktop connection.

    3. If the work account itself shows 5 GB

    Ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to perform these checks:

    1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, open Users → Active users and select your account.
    2. Verify that Microsoft 365 Business Standard is assigned to that exact user and that its OneDrive/SharePoint service is enabled.
    3. Open the user’s OneDrive tab.
    4. Under Storage used, select Edit.
    5. Choose Maximum storage for this user, enter 1 TB, and select Save.^3^
    6. Allow time for SharePoint Online to reevaluate the site, then sign out of OneDrive, sign back in, and test uploading or editing a file.

    Business Standard’s documented maximum is 1 TB per user, so the administrator should not set a value above the licensed entitlement.^1^

    If the UI cannot apply the quota, a SharePoint administrator can use SharePoint Online PowerShell. For 1 TB, the quota value is 1,048,576 MB:^3^

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

Set-SPOSite `
  -Identity https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/user_contoso_com `
  -StorageQuota 1048576 `
  -StorageQuotaWarningLevel 996147

    Replace both example URLs with your tenant’s actual SharePoint admin and OneDrive site URLs.

    If access remains read-only

    When usage exceeds the effective quota, OneDrive blocks uploads, edits, and synchronization, although existing content can still be downloaded or deleted. Write access returns after the administrator increases the quota within the license entitlement or storage usage is reduced below the effective limit.^4^

    If the quota reverts or remains at 5 GB after the correct license and quota are applied, the administrator should run the OneDrive storage diagnostic available from the Microsoft 365 admin center and, if unresolved, open a Microsoft 365 business support request.^3^

    References

    1. OneDrive service description
    2. What is OneDrive for work or school? | Microsoft Support
    3. Change a specific user's OneDrive storage space
    4. OneDrive site is read-only because storage quota was exceeded
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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