Sad news for those who have opted for the 15GB storage for Microsoft OneDrive as it will automatically drop to 5GB when July 2016 comes. Back in November of last year, it was announced that the free storage from the Microsoft cloud-based service would decrease from 15GB to 5GB to both existing and new users. Furthermore, the 15GB camera roll storage would also be discontinued. Furthermore still, the company also ditches the unlimited storage for Office 365 users and capping it off at 1TbB of free space. Despite the backlash, the tech giant said back in December that it will allow their users to keep the 15GB of free storage but only if they have claimed the offer by January 31, 2016. For those who have opted for the offer or not, the storage will still drop automatically to 5GB within the next three months.
Microsoft OneDrive Storage Drops to 5GB in July 2016
Microsoft OneDrive has already been notifying their customers through email about the move. For those who have opted to receive an email, the company said their accounts will not be affected. Also, those who did not opt in, but currently have less than 5GB of data stored within their cloud storage will get a reminder that they will only have 5GB of storage space moving forward. However, Microsoft is offering those who are affected with a free, one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, which is normally priced with $69.99-per-year.
For those who have more than 5GB of data stored in their Microsoft OneDrive Storage, things do get a bit trickier. As per a Microsoft FAQ, files will only become read-only when July rolls in. However, users will have nine months to view and download them. Once the nine months are up, accounts will be locked as the FAQ says, “you will not be able to access the content in your OneDrive until you take action.” After one year of inactivity, any data found within a OneDrive storage that is over the 5GB limit will automatically be deleted.
For those who want more storage space for their Microsoft OneDrive accounts, the company is offering a paid option of 50GB for $1.99 per month. As for the exact date as to when the storage for the cloud-based service will decrease, there are some users who report that a July 27 date is listed on the email they have received from Microsoft. However, there are others who state that it’s on July 13. A Microsoft spokesman told PCMag the following pertaining to the topic: “because Microsoft is rolling out the storage changes in different waves, this date varies for some customers.”