Error: Read-onlyThis file is in view-only mode because it is stored on an unlicensed OneDrive for Business site. Please contact your administrator to restore editing access

Hi Rachelle,

If you're seeing the following message:

"This file is in view-only mode because it is stored on an unlicensed OneDrive for Business site. Please contact your administrator to restore editing access."

the issue is typically not related to the tenant's invoice status, subscription renewal, or account balance. Even when the Microsoft 365 subscription is active, all invoices have been paid, and the balance shows $0.00, it still identifies the specific OneDrive owner account as unlicensed.

An unlicensed OneDrive account occurs when the user no longer has a valid license assigned that includes OneDrive. This can happen if a license was removed, expired, or was never properly assigned. When this occurs, the OneDrive site is placed into read-only mode, preventing users from editing files, and eventually move it into an archived state if the licensing issue is not resolved. OneDrive accounts can enter read-only mode after 60 days without a valid license assignment.

Because of this, it is important to verify not only that the tenant subscription is active, but also that the owner of the OneDrive site where the file is stored has a valid license assigned that includes OneDrive for Business.

To make sure that your account is assigned a valid license that includes OneDrive:

1. Go to Microsoft 365 admin center with your Microsoft 365 Global Admin account, go to Users > Active users.
2. Select the affected user account.
3. In the details pane, select Licenses and apps.
4. Expand the Licenses section, and then check whether a valid license that includes OneDrive is assigned. If it isn't, assign the required license to the user.
5. You can also try unassigning and then reassigning the license to the affected user account to force a refresh of the user's OneDrive licensing status

For more information, please consult Manage unlicensed OneDrive user accounts - SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn

If the issue persists, make sure that your account is assigned as the primary site collection administrator of their OneDrive site.

1. In the SharePoint admin center also with your Global admin account, select More Features.
2. Under User Profiles, select Open.
3. Under People, select Manage User Profiles.
4. In the Find profiles search box, enter the affected user account, and then select Find.
5. Right-click the user and select Manage site collection owners.
6. In the Primary Site Collection Administrator section, check whether the user account is displayed. If it's not, add the user account, and then select OK.

For reference:

What happens when your OneDrive account becomes unlicensed? | Microsoft Support

You Can't Edit Your Files Because Your License to Use OneDrive Ended Over a Couple of Months Ago - …

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