License & Subscription Issues

Can a Home User Get 6 TB of OneDrive Storage on a Single Account?

Kushani Nimanthika Oct 9, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user wants to know if it is possible to allocate the entire 6 TB of OneDrive storage included in a Microsoft 365 Family subscription to a single individual account.

Can a Home User Get 6 TB of OneDrive Storage?

Product: Microsoft OneDrive
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing cloud storage capacity for personal use within a Microsoft 365 Family plan.
Observed behavior: Microsoft restricts individual consumer accounts to a maximum of 1 TB of storage (or up to 2 TB with an extension), rather than pooling the 6 TB into one account.

Before you start

Verify your current Microsoft 365 subscription tier and check how much OneDrive storage is currently allocated to your primary account.

Solution 1Recommended

Maximize Microsoft 365 Family Storage Using Shared Folders

Since you cannot pool 6 TB into one account, you can create separate accounts for the remaining 5 TB and share their folders with your primary account.

Microsoft 365 Family provides 6 TB of total storage, but it is strictly allocated as 1 TB per person for up to six people. To utilize the full 6 TB yourself, you must use separate Microsoft accounts.

Create additional Microsoft accounts

Invite the new accounts to your Family plan

Log in to your primary Microsoft account, navigate to your Microsoft Family settings, and send invitations to the new email addresses to join your subscription.

Accept the invitations

Log in to each of the new accounts, accept the family invitation, and confirm that each account now has 1 TB of OneDrive storage active.

Create and share folders

Inside each secondary account's OneDrive, create a new master folder. Right-click the folder, select 'Share', enter your primary account's email address, and grant 'Can edit' permissions.

Add shared folders to your primary OneDrive

Log back into your primary account, go to the 'Shared' section in OneDrive, select the folders shared by the secondary accounts, and click 'Add shortcut to My files' for convenient access.

Maximize Microsoft 365 Family Storage Using Shared Folders

Storage Management: While this method gives you access to the full 6 TB, no single file can exceed the 1 TB limit of the specific account hosting it.

Solution 2

Purchase a Storage Extension for a Single Account

If you prefer not to manage multiple accounts and only need up to 2 TB, you can purchase an official storage extension for your primary account.

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Try WPS Office for a Lightweight and Compatible Experience

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1. Download and install: Visit the official WPS website, download the free version, and follow the installation wizard.
2. Connect your cloud storage: Open WPS Office, click on 'Open' in the left sidebar, and select 'Add Cloud Storage' to connect your preferred drives.
3. Edit documents seamlessly: Open, edit, and save files directly to your connected cloud drives with full Microsoft format compatibility.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I merge the 6 TB of Microsoft 365 Family storage into a single account?

No, Microsoft restricts the 6 TB storage to be divided equally among up to six users. Each individual account is capped at a base limit of 1 TB and cannot be merged into a single 6 TB quota.

What is the absolute maximum OneDrive storage for a single home user?

A single home user account can have a base of 1 TB through a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription, and can purchase an additional 1 TB storage add-on, bringing the absolute maximum to 2 TB per account.

Will adding a shortcut from a shared folder take up my primary account's storage space?

No. When you add a shortcut to a shared folder in your primary OneDrive, the files inside that folder only consume storage space on the secondary account that originally created and shared the folder.

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