Microsoft 365 Family — Will U.S. Subscribers Receive the Additional 5 TB of Free OneDrive Storage in 2027?

Haim L 0 Reputation points
2026-10-15T21:12:15.9533333+00:00

I recently received an email from Microsoft announcing upcoming changes to Microsoft 365 Family subscriptions, including a change from 1 TB of OneDrive storage per person to 2 TB of shared family storage.

The email also states that subscribers in "select markets" will receive an additional 5 TB of bonus storage at no cost, bringing the total to 7 TB.

I am a longtime Microsoft 365 Family subscriber in Arizona, USA. My subscription renews annually in August, and I share it with 4–5 family members. We rely heavily on OneDrive for family photos, videos, documents, and computer backups.

Under the current arrangement, our family has 4–5 TB of combined storage allowances. If we are moved to only 2 TB of shared storage, this would represent a significant reduction in our available storage.

My questions are:

  1. Will existing Microsoft 365 Family subscribers in the United States qualify for the additional 5 TB of free bonus storage?
  2. If not all U.S. subscribers qualify, what determines eligibility?
  3. If our family currently uses more than 2 TB, what happens to our existing files and backups when the new storage limits take effect?
  4. Will Microsoft offer existing subscribers an option to retain their current individual 1 TB storage allowances?
  5. When will Microsoft publish the list of eligible markets or provide account-specific confirmation?

I have reviewed Microsoft's support article:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/changes-to-microsoft-365-storage

Unfortunately, the article does not clearly identify which markets qualify for the additional storage, and I have been unable to obtain an answer through Microsoft Support.

I would greatly appreciate a response from a Microsoft representative who can clarify the official policy, particularly regarding eligibility for existing U.S. Family subscribers.

Thank you.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | Other | Other

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  1. AI answer

    2026-10-15T21:12:33.4233333+00:00

    The published guidance confirms these points:

    1. Existing Microsoft 365 Family subscribers may receive bonus storage only if they meet eligibility requirements in supported markets.
    2. The public support content does not identify which specific markets are eligible, and it does not list the eligibility criteria.
    3. For existing Microsoft 365 Family subscribers, the move to shared storage generally happens after the first subscription renewal on or after May 2, 2027, unless an eligible plan change happens earlier.
    4. Microsoft 365 Family includes 2 TB of shared storage after the change, drawn from a single shared pool for the primary subscriber and up to five additional members.
    5. Files remain private by default even though storage is shared.
    6. Additional storage purchases are added to the shared pool.
    7. The subscription holder can extend storage, and subscription types can be extended up to 10 TB.

    For the specific questions:

    • Will U.S. subscribers qualify for the extra 5 TB?
      No published confirmation in the available support content identifies the United States as an eligible market.
    • What determines eligibility?
      The available support content states only that existing Family and Premium customers who meet eligibility requirements in supported markets might receive bonus storage when the subscription renews after shared storage rolls out. It does not define those requirements.
    • What happens if current usage is above 2 TB?
      No answer is provided in the available support content for that scenario.
    • Will there be an option to keep the current per-person 1 TB model?
      The available support content states that Microsoft 365 subscriptions now use shared cloud storage instead of individual user storage quotas. No option to retain the old per-person allocation is described.
    • When will Microsoft publish eligible markets or account-specific confirmation?
      The available support content says customers receive communications with more details before the change is applied to their subscription. No publication date or market list is provided.
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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