OneDrive backup
Keep a leaver’s OneDrive files after the licence goes.
ArchiveBridge copies OneDrive files to separate storage and checks each copy. It never touches the original. Do it in this order: back up first, then change the licence.
Free under 100 GB — no card, no time limit. Metered pricing above that; routine restores included. Immutable (compliance-locked) backups need a paid account.
When someone leaves
Back up first. Then change the licence.
Turn on OneDrive backup
In the console, open Protection policy and switch on Back up every user’s OneDrive. Leave the user list blank so leavers stay covered. If you list users, anyone not on the list is skipped.
Let it finish
Wait for the backup to finish before you change anything on the account. Not sure it has finished? Talk to an engineer.
Then change the licence
Reassign the licence or delete the user. The copies stay because they don’t depend on the person’s Microsoft account.
If the account changes first, removing the licence stops backups. Nothing after the last copy is saved. A deleted user’s OneDrive isn’t picked up at all.
What you keep
Copies that outlast the person’s Microsoft account.
- A checked copy of each file, kept apart from the person’s Microsoft account. It stays after the licence and the account are gone.
- Backup never changes or removes anything in the OneDrive. It copies held, labelled and record-locked files too.
Getting files back
Download any file from the console. Or restore files into the same person’s OneDrive while it still exists.
Restoring into another person’s OneDrive isn’t built. To give a colleague the files, download them from the console first.
Microsoft’s rules
Microsoft locks an unlicensed OneDrive at day 60, then archives or deletes it.
Which one happens depends on whether you removed the licence or deleted the user.
| When | What Microsoft does |
|---|---|
| Day 60 | Makes the OneDrive read-only. |
| Day 93 | Archives it, if the user still exists. Nobody can open it until an admin adds a licence back, which has no fee, or turns on Microsoft’s billing for unlicensed OneDrives. |
| User deleted | Deletes it through the normal process instead. Retention settings and holds apply first, if that billing is on. Then it goes to the recycle bin and is deleted for good. |
| With that billing on | About US$51 per TB a month for every OneDrive unlicensed past day 93, plus about US$614 per TB to reactivate one. |
| 365 unpaid days | At risk of deletion, even with a retention setting or hold. |
Days count from when the licence is removed or the user is deleted. Prices are converted from Microsoft’s US prices, and your agreement may differ. Education and US government tenants follow other rules. Source: Microsoft Learn, Manage unlicensed OneDrive user accounts. Checked 30 September 2026.
What ArchiveBridge charges
The same per-terabyte price as SharePoint: US$35 per TB a month with managed storage, or US$24 per TB plus your own storage bill. Before tax, with no per-seat fees. Above 100 GB you pay for what you store. We measure it every day and charge for each day at the published price per TB, automatically, to your card. Month to month, no lock-in.
Questions
What IT usually asks.
Does ArchiveBridge ever delete OneDrive files?
No. OneDrive is backup only: ArchiveBridge makes a checked copy and leaves the original alone. Archiving, which removes originals to free up space, is for SharePoint only.
What if the licence has already been removed?
Any copy made before then stays. If the user still exists, add the licence back and the next backup picks up their OneDrive again. Let it finish, then remove the licence. If the user was deleted, ArchiveBridge can’t reach that OneDrive. Talk to an engineer before Microsoft deletes it.
What access does OneDrive backup need?
Your Microsoft 365 admin approves the ArchiveBridge app on Microsoft’s own screen. For OneDrive it uses Files.ReadWrite.All to back up and restore files, and User.Read.All to find each OneDrive. It’s the same app that archives SharePoint, so the approval also lists its SharePoint permissions. The write permissions cover your whole Microsoft 365. The full list is in the IT and procurement pack. The app never sees or stores anyone’s password.
Turn on OneDrive backup before the next person leaves.
Your Microsoft 365 admin approves the backup app. Nothing in OneDrive is changed.