License & Subscription Issues

Why Does OneDrive Show a 100 GB Storage Limit for Organization Accounts?

WPS Editor Sep 27, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user is asking why their school or organization Microsoft 365 account only provides a 100 GB OneDrive storage capacity instead of the expected 1 TB.

Why Does OneDrive Show a 100 GB Storage Limit for an Organization Account?

Product: OneDrive
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Checking cloud storage capacity on an educational or organizational Microsoft 365 account.
Observed behavior: The OneDrive storage limit unexpectedly shows 100 GB, and occasionally fluctuates, rather than providing the standard 1 TB storage previously advertised.

Before you start

Before troubleshooting, log into the OneDrive web portal to check your exact current storage usage. It is highly recommended to back up any critical files locally to prevent sync interruptions if your account has already exceeded its quota.

Solution 1Recommended

Contact Your Organization's IT Administrator

Storage limits for educational and enterprise accounts are strictly managed at the organizational level by your IT department.

In February 2024, Microsoft updated its storage policies for Microsoft 365 Education accounts, shifting to a pooled storage model. This change reduced the default individual limit for many users to 100 GB. Because these are managed accounts, individual users cannot manually upgrade their quotas or purchase more storage directly.

Identify your tenant administrator

Determine who manages your school or company's Microsoft 365 licenses. This is typically the IT helpdesk, technical support department, or university technology services.

Request a quota verification

Reach out to the IT department and ask them to verify your current tenant configuration and assigned OneDrive storage quota.

Ask for a storage increase

If your organization has available pooled storage remaining, ask the administrator if they can manually allocate a higher capacity (such as 500 GB or 1 TB) to your specific user account through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Fluctuating Storage Limits: If your storage limit recently changed from 100 GB to 500 GB, this is likely because your IT administrator is actively adjusting tenant policies following Microsoft's recent education storage updates.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Did Microsoft change the 1 TB storage limit for education accounts?

Yes. As of February 2024, Microsoft updated its storage policies for Microsoft 365 Education accounts. They replaced the unlimited or 1 TB individual quotas with a 100 TB pooled storage limit shared across the entire institution. As a result, default individual limits are often capped at 100 GB.

Can I personally buy more OneDrive storage for my school account?

No. Individual users cannot purchase additional storage for an organization or school-managed Microsoft 365 account. Any storage upgrades must be purchased and allocated by your institution's IT administrator.

Why did my OneDrive storage limit suddenly change from 100 GB to 500 GB?

Your IT administrator likely adjusted your specific storage quota manually within the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. Administrators have the ability to increase limits for specific users if the institution's overall pooled storage has enough capacity.

What happens to my files if I exceed the 100 GB OneDrive limit?

If you exceed your assigned quota, your OneDrive will become read-only. You will still be able to view and download your existing files, but you will not be able to upload new files, edit existing ones, or sync data from your desktop until you delete files to free up space or your admin increases your limit.

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