OneDrive for Business FAQ

The default quota for most users is currently set to 100 GB. For a limited time (until 1st August 2026) you can use the Increase Storage Quota for OneDrive for Business service request available to ask for a higher quota on approval by your local IT support staff, which will be granted incrementally through the following quota tiers: 

On 100GB > Move to 300GB
On 300GB > Move to 500GB
On 500GB > Move to 1TB

1TB increases will be applied from thereon up to a service limit of 5TB, but all requests will be assessed on current use. If you are using less than 80% of your storage or if you are already using 5TB, your request will be rejected and cancelled. 

All requests will be assessed and considered by IT Services and final approval rests with the Service Sponsor.

Please read Using OneDrive for Business and OneDrive for business - housekeeping before completing the quota request form. 

No. Secondary accounts are not entitled to OneDrive in order to avoid misuse as a replacement for a dedicated cloud or networked file store, or to avoid potential security problems caused by multiple ownership of these accounts. 

No. It is not possible to share a OneDrive file with an anonymous access setting so that anyone with the link can access the file. You may find Microsoft documentation that will provide guidance on how to share anonymously, but this functionality has been disabled in the Nexus365 Service. This is a global setting across the whole service enabled to ensure that data is sufficiently protected, this cannot be enabled on a case-by-case basis. 

No. It is not possible to set expiry dates for files shared using Nexus365 OneDrive. File expiry dates are only possible on links that are shared anonymously, but this is disabled in the Nexus365 service to ensure that data is sufficiently protected.

If you already use OneDrive and don’t want to move any data you can use two separate OneDrive accounts.  You will be prompted when logging in to select which you would like to use, Business or Personal.

If you want to move data from your personal OneDrive to your OneDrive for Business account, be aware that personal OneDrive accounts are not supported by IT Support Staff.  See Microsoft guidance on how to move files from OneDrive to OneDrive for Business.

Data in Nexus365’s OneDrive is only recoverable by Microsoft if there is a major disaster, such as one of their data centres being destroyed.  Documents you save to OneDrive keep a history of editing activity meaning that you can easily return to a previous version of a file.  However, your OneDrive files are not backed-up to tape in the way that you may be used to, so users are strongly advised to keep local backups of important files, backed up to the University's HFS / Spectrum Backup system.  There are some protections against accidental file deletions, such as being able to roll your OneDrive back to a previous date (data is retained in this way for 30 days so ensure that you take action as quickly as possible to avoid permanent data loss - see Restore your OneDrive (microsoft.com)

The Nexus Team cannot intervene nor troubleshoot issues with the OneDrive client on PC or Mac, so please check the web version of OneDrive and use the methods detailed above if you believe you have lost data and need to revert your OneDrive to a previous date. 

Deletion rules for OneDrive are the same as for your email account.  A deleted item will be held in the Deleted Items folder for 90 days, this is then followed by 30 days in the Recoverable Items folder.

If you want to restore deleted files, follow the Microsoft guidance to restore your OneDrive.

When you leave the University, your Nexus365 account is placed in a "wind-down" state. Users who have been granted access to items in your OneDrive may be able to access them for a short time during this period. Continued access once a OneDrive owner has left is not a given, and should not be relied upon ongoing as there are no facilities to recover items or change ownership once a OneDrive instance has been fully deleted. Please ensure that any business-critical items stored in your OneDrive are moved to a more appropriate place before you leave to avoid loss of data.

Yes, via the web browser.

The key difference between unauthorised cloud storage services and Nexus365's OneDrive is that Nexus365 has enterprise-level support, availability, troubleshooting and network capacity.  We can also prioritise issues in a way you won’t get on a free or single user unauthorised storage solution.

If you are considering other storage solutions, please check the University’s guidelines on cloud services and how to use them safely.

No, this cannot be done.

OneDrive for Business is administered by IT Services. The owners are responsible for the content, administration, permissions and sharing options in their OneDrive instances.

ITSS (preferably ITSS01) or a senior member of a Unit, College or Department may request access to an existing user's OneDrive for Business instance, or one belonging to a recent leaver. Requests should be submitted through the IT Self Service using the OneDrive for Business Emergency Access service request. Please read the terms and conditions of the service request before submitting, and note that requests may not be possible if the user's OneDrive for Business instance has been fully deleted from the service.