Microsoft 365 Family Storage Cut to 2TB Shared in Malaysia

Microsoft has scrapped the individual 1TB OneDrive allowance in its Microsoft 365 Family, Premium and Pro plans and replaced it with one shared storage pool. The change applies to new and upgraded subscriptions from 8 October 2026 and cuts the maximum total storage for a full six-member household from 6TB to 2TB on Family and Premium.

The previous model gave the subscription owner and up to five other members 1TB each. Microsoft 365 Pro now provides a 5TB shared pool for the same six people. Single-user plans are unaffected. Microsoft 365 Basic keeps 100GB and Microsoft 365 Personal keeps its dedicated 1TB.

Existing Family and Premium subscribers keep their per-person storage until their first renewal on or after 2 May 2027. Microsoft said it will send email notices before the switch. Anyone who upgrades their plan before that date moves to the shared model immediately, while those who downgrade keep the old model until the deadline passes at renewal.

Malaysian subscribers face the same cut at unchanged prices. The official Microsoft Store lists Microsoft 365 Family at RM540 a year and Microsoft 365 Personal at RM440 a year. Several local resellers still sell Family licences at a discount while advertising the old promise of up to 6TB of storage at 1TB per person, so buyers checking listings now may not realise what they are signing up for after the transition.

Microsoft has presented the change as a flexibility measure. A household with one heavy user and several light users gains room, because a single member can draw on the whole pool rather than being capped at 1TB. Files remain private, since each member can only see their own content unless it is deliberately shared. Add-on storage purchases feed the shared pool, which can grow to 10TB, and eligible family members’ free storage grants also count towards the total.

Households that exceed the limit will not lose access right away. Microsoft sends warnings as a plan approaches the 2TB mark and allows continued access to files for up to one year while members free up space, buy extra storage or change plans. Customers in supported markets who meet eligibility rules may receive transitional bonus storage at their first renewal, at no extra charge.

The move sits alongside a wider reshuffle of consumer benefits. An email to subscribers reported by The Verge confirms that Copilot and AI usage will become shareable with all six plan members, ending the current restriction that reserves AI features for the subscription owner. Separate limits for individual AI features will be replaced by a single shared allowance, with extra usage available to purchase. Prices in the United States remain at $129.99 a year for Family and $199.99 for Premium.

Reaction among long-term subscribers has been largely negative, with prominent threads encouraging users to disable automatic renewal before the 2027 transition. Reporting from Tom’s Hardware links the reduction to rising infrastructure costs, with hard drive prices climbing by 46 percent between September 2025 and January 2026, though Microsoft has not connected the change to any storage shortage.