Accessing, sharing, and managing documents and media within Microsoft Teams Free
In Microsoft Teams Free, file attachments use OneDrive storage that is part of the overall Microsoft cloud storage quota. Even if Teams itself has been used very little, the shared storage can already be full because it also includes:
- OneDrive files and photos
- Items in the OneDrive Recycle Bin
- Outlook.com attachments and inline images
- Microsoft Teams message attachments and recordings
When the Microsoft storage quota is exceeded:
- New files cannot be uploaded, edited, or synced to OneDrive (existing files become read-only).
- It is not possible to send or receive any Microsoft Teams messages that contain attachments.
To restore the ability to share files in Teams Free, reduce storage usage or purchase more storage:
- Go to OneDrive on the web and delete unneeded files and folders.
- Empty the OneDrive Recycle Bin (items there also count toward the quota).
- Optionally, reduce other content that counts toward Microsoft storage (for example large Outlook.com attachments).
- After freeing space or buying more storage, it can take some time for services to update; then file sharing in Teams should work again.
Note that in Teams Free:
- Files attached to chats/communities are stored in the “Microsoft Teams Chat Files” folder in OneDrive and count against the 5 GB free storage.
- Images and videos shared via Gallery or Media do not use OneDrive and do not have a storage limit.
If storage remains over quota for an extended period (months), OneDrive and its files may eventually be deleted, so keeping usage under the limit is important.
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