Upgraded my personal plan from 100GB OneDrive to the Family Plan set up by my wife.

Question

Upgraded my personal plan from 100GB OneDrive to the Family Plan set up by my wife.

Van Eden 20

I had the Basic plan giving me 100GB OneDrive data. My wife upgraded her plan from Free to Family, and included me. My OneDrive quota then went up to 2.21 TB. Great! So I cancelled my Basic Plan (why pay twice?) Except now I get threatening pink banners telling me I will lose my OneDrive access on December 1st when my Basic plan finishes.

Is the pick banner correct, that I will lose access even though I am a member of a Family Plan that gives me 1TB.

If it is correct, then how do I get this sorted out.

Van

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Answer accepted by question author

John Jefferson Doyon 90,560 Independent Advisor

Hi, @Van Eden

The secondary alias should not cause a problem, provided it belongs to the same Microsoft account. Microsoft confirms that aliases share the same subscriptions and online storage.

Since your account already shows 2.2 TB, the Family storage appears to be active. As long as your wife’s Family subscription remains active and you remain a member, cancelling your separate Basic subscription should not remove your Family storage.

Reference: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/microsoft-storage-faqs

Regarding the folder issue, I understand that you must retain C:\Users\myname\OneDrive. Please do not move or rename it.

Could you share a screenshot of the complete error message so I can identify why OneDrive is rejecting the existing folder?

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Thanks!

Van Eden 20 Reputation points

2026-11-01T17:15:47.6933333+00:00

On restarting the computer this morning I got the warning message again (the tray icon). I cleared it (clicked the icon, and then the X next to the warning). Unlike yesterday, it is staying cleared. Yesterday, even after rebooting, the message would return. Now, once cleared, the icon no longer says Processing xx,xxx files. Just backed up and synced.

I am hoping the issue is now resolved.....

I wonder if the issue was replication time between MSFT systems.

Thanks for your help John!

3 additional answers

Your answer

Van Eden 20 Reputation points

2026-11-01T17:15:47.6933333+00:00

On restarting the computer this morning I got the warning message again (the tray icon). I cleared it (clicked the icon, and then the X next to the warning). Unlike yesterday, it is staying cleared. Yesterday, even after rebooting, the message would return. Now, once cleared, the icon no longer says Processing xx,xxx files. Just backed up and synced.

I am hoping the issue is now resolved.....

I wonder if the issue was replication time between MSFT systems.

Thanks for your help John!

Answer 1

Craig Long 19,025

You may get "Processing changes" if you have unlinked OneDrive, which you should only do when problems arise.

The online OneDrive is the main source for your files. By default, the online OneDrive syncs to your computer as "Files On-Demand" cloud files, which you can then turn into "Always available" files.

When I need to unlink and relink OneDrive, I create a new empty folder for the OneDrive location. It syncs in less than a minute with cloud files that don't need processing. If I wish, I can then turn them into locally available files

What good are aliases if you don't know which one goes with which Microsoft account? Only you can straighten this out.

Van Eden 20 Reputation points

2026-11-01T17:04:00.7433333+00:00

Aliases are recommended by MSFT - create the primary account name and never share it with anyone. That is the only alias that can "log in" to your account. The others are your public face, and they get attacked. I used to get several Authenticator requests a day from attackers. No more.

If I change the location of the local OneDrive then it will affect my workflow.

Answer 2

Van Eden 20

I unlinked again. Same issue. During the process to start OneDrive, it accepts the old directory, then starts working, gets to about 6000 files, and then fails.
The cloud icon in the system tray says "Processing 11,123 changes" with that number counting down. This is exactly what it did last time. It takes about 15-30 minutes. I let it finish before trying to sign in . It appears that OneDrive is the cloud service that is interfering and not releasing my files.
This is the problem. After choosing Unlink this PC, it finishes by saying "Backed up and synced". The unlink fails.

John Jefferson Doyon 90,560 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-11-01T04:09:20.8233333+00:00

@Van Eden Thanks for the update. I was actually in the process of preparing a response when your latest comment came through.
John Jefferson Doyon 90,560 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-11-01T04:10:19.85+00:00

Based on your description, OneDrive appears to still be processing pending sync changes even after you select "Unlink this PC."

Please don't unlink it again or move your existing OneDrive folder for now.

Could you confirm whether the OneDrive icon eventually shows "Up to date" before you attempt to unlink it, or does it remain stuck processing changes?

Thanks!
Van Eden 20 Reputation points

2026-11-01T04:37:40.37+00:00

After I unlinked it, the icon eventually said "Backed up and synced". As if it were still linked.
John Jefferson Doyon 90,560 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-11-01T04:46:05.83+00:00

Thanks for clarifying. That is unusual, and I don't want you to repeat the same steps without identifying why the unlink isn't completing.

Could you open OneDrive Settings > Account and check whether your Microsoft account is still listed with the "Unlink this PC" option?

Please share a screenshot of that page. This will help confirm whether OneDrive is actually disconnected or remains linked.

Please don't move or rename your existing OneDrive folder.

Thanks!
Van Eden 20 Reputation points

2026-11-01T05:58:52.9566667+00:00

It still has the Unlink this PC available.
It also has moved the default save folder for the Snip tool from ~\OneDrive\Pictures, to just ~\Pictures. So it has bifurcated my folders.
Trying to attach the screen capture failed, am trying again.Screenshot 2026-10-31 194349.png

Answer 3

Here is a wrinkle: I have several aliases for my account. My primary account is a username I do not share lightly for security reasons. A secondary alias is my "visible" alias. My wife added me to the Family account using the secondary alias. Will this make a difference? It should not.

My account very clearly says I am using 26GB of 2.2TB.

I followed your advice and Unlinked this PC from OneDrive. I then restarted OneDrive and signed in. I selected the same folder (C:/Users/myname/OneDrive). It errors out that it contains another Cloud storage. It does not. It was only ever OneDrive. DO NOT make me move OneDrive to a different folder. The path is used by multiple tools (Codex, etc).