My storage account is disabled because the spending cap was reached. I need temporary access to delete unnecessary files from the File Share and bring the storage usage back within the budget limit.

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My storage account is disabled because the spending cap was reached. I need temporary access to delete unnecessary files from the File Share and bring the storage usage back within the budget limit.

Statistical Office Republic of Serbia 024 20

I need to delete excess files from my Azure File Share, but the storage account is currently disabled due to the spending cap. Can anyone temporarily enable the account so I can remove the files and reduce the usage?

Statistical Office Republic of Serbia 024 20 Reputation points

2025-10-27T10:42:43.9733333+00:00

I think I don't have permission to do that. When is the end of cycle? On the 1st of the month or 15th?
Jeevan Shanigarapu 3,280 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-28T05:34:21.5733333+00:00

Hello @Statistical Office Republic of Serbia 024,

For Azure subscriptions with a spending cap, such as Free or Pay-As-You-Go, the billing cycle usually resets on the 1st of each month. When the new cycle begins, your spending cap is refreshed and any paused services, like your storage account, are automatically reactivated.

While the spending cap is in place, Azure blocks all services that would incur charges to avoid extra costs. Since you can’t remove the cap, you’ll need to wait until the next billing cycle for services to be restored.

You can confirm your subscription type in the Azure Portal under Cost Management + Billing → Overview. If you need immediate access, ask someone with the Owner or Billing Administrator role to temporarily remove the spending cap for you.

Removing the spending cap will re-enable your services immediately but may incur charges if you exceed your budget.

Please let us know if you need further help.
Statistical Office Republic of Serbia 024 20 Reputation points

2025-10-30T10:38:38.8233333+00:00

Hi Jeevan,

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Could you please confirm the exact date when the new billing cycle starts for Visual Studio subscriptions — is it on the 1st or the 15th of each month?
Jeevan Shanigarapu 3,280 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-31T11:27:20+00:00

Hello @Statistical Office Republic of Serbia 024,

Thank you for your follow up question.
Billing is processed on the 1st of each month and covers the entire calendar month.

Regard's
Jeevan S

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Statistical Office Republic of Serbia 024 20 Reputation points

2025-10-27T10:42:43.9733333+00:00

I think I don't have permission to do that. When is the end of cycle? On the 1st of the month or 15th?
Jeevan Shanigarapu 3,280 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-28T05:34:21.5733333+00:00

Hello @Statistical Office Republic of Serbia 024,

For Azure subscriptions with a spending cap, such as Free or Pay-As-You-Go, the billing cycle usually resets on the 1st of each month. When the new cycle begins, your spending cap is refreshed and any paused services, like your storage account, are automatically reactivated.

While the spending cap is in place, Azure blocks all services that would incur charges to avoid extra costs. Since you can’t remove the cap, you’ll need to wait until the next billing cycle for services to be restored.

You can confirm your subscription type in the Azure Portal under Cost Management + Billing → Overview. If you need immediate access, ask someone with the Owner or Billing Administrator role to temporarily remove the spending cap for you.

Removing the spending cap will re-enable your services immediately but may incur charges if you exceed your budget.

Please let us know if you need further help.
Statistical Office Republic of Serbia 024 20 Reputation points

2025-10-30T10:38:38.8233333+00:00

Hi Jeevan,

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Could you please confirm the exact date when the new billing cycle starts for Visual Studio subscriptions — is it on the 1st or the 15th of each month?
Jeevan Shanigarapu 3,280 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-31T11:27:20+00:00

Hello @Statistical Office Republic of Serbia 024,

Thank you for your follow up question.
Billing is processed on the 1st of each month and covers the entire calendar month.

Regard's
Jeevan S

Answer 1

Hello @Statistical Office Republic of Serbia 024,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Platform. Thank you for reaching out & hope you are doing well.
I understand your question. When your Azure subscription hits the spending cap, all billable services, including your storage accounts get paused. That means you can’t access, delete, or change files while the cap is active. The spending cap keeps you from going over budget. When you hit the limit, Azure freezes anything that costs money until you either raise the cap or a new billing cycle begins.

Follow the steps below to get access again:

Go to Azure Portal → Cost Management + Billing → Spending Cap. Select Remove Spending Cap and confirm. Once removed, you’ll be able to get into your storage account and delete files. You can reapply the cap after cleaning up. (Only account owners or those with billing permissions can do this.) If you don’t want to remove the cap, just wait for the next cycle, your account will become active again automatically.

Azure spending limit - Microsoft Cost Management | Microsoft Learn

Kindly let us know if the above helps or you need further assistance on this issue.

Please do not forget to "Accept the answer” and “up-vote it” wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members__.__ It would be greatly appreciated and helpful to others.

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My storage account is disabled because the spending cap was reached. I need temporary access to delete unnecessary files from the File Share and bring the storage usage back within the budget limit.

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