When storage space is at a premium What should you do to ensure that everyone has enough space?
[Update April 2022: As we step into Koofr's 10th year of service, we're introducing several changes to our plan structure. All Koofr users now receive 10 GB of free cloud storage space instead of the previous 2 GB of free space, no matter what plan they are on.] You've decided that it's time to stop dreading the moment when your computer or external hard drive breaks down and takes all your family photos and work documents down with it. Fantastic! Backing up your files online is a smart decision for many reasons. You can read more about them in our blog post. Now you're probably looking at different options, applications and services for backing up your files safely and without a hefty bill. But, the first question you need to answer is: "How much cloud storage space do I need?" So how do I know how much cloud storage I need to get? Watch our video and follow the steps below to find out! 1. Your current situation This step will require some digging around your computer and your existing drives. You need to take a look at the files you intend to store online. Check the sizes of folders and files, and add them together if needed, to come to a total, which will help you determine how much space you should buy. The rule of thumb is to multiply whichever number you get by at least two and you get the amount of cloud storage you need. 2. Types of files The size of storage space you'll need in the long run mostly depends on the type of files you intend to back up. The actual sizes of files vary and depend on many different factors. For example, if you're a professional photographer, your photos will take up more space than if you're only taking photos with your smartphone. If all you want to store are Word documents with very few pictures, you will likely need a smaller plan. Rich PowerPoint presentations are bigger. If you're a graphic designer, the files you work with will be significantly bigger. Despite these differences and variations, we put together a table of average file sizes which will hopefully help evaluate storage needs for an average user. *Keep in mind the sizes may vary. Do a quick check of your files to see how big most of them are and determine an average. A practical example: let's say you only want to backup the photos you're taking with your phone. You want your photos to be automatically backed up on your cloud. Let's say you take 3 photos per day and a 1-minute long video, per week on average. A 10GB storage account will offer you enough room for about a year. Of course, don't forget about the photos you might already have on your drive and want to back up! 25GB should cover your needs for a while. 3. Bigger is not necessarily better One important advantage of cloud storage is the fact that you can start small. If you realize you need more space, you can always upgrade the plan. Most online storage services offer a set amount of space with a free account, which ranges from 2GB to 15GB. For many users, that won't be enough to cover all their storage needs in the long run. Advanced, premium plans then suddenly jump up in price significantly. You don't necessarily have to go big right away and buy a 100GB, 1TB or an unlimited plan, as practical and attractive this solution might seem. Because unless your backup needs are very specific, you'll probably never need this much space. And you probably don't want to pay for space you don't need, right? This is where Koofr really comes through for you – we offer a number of smaller, more affordable plans that cater to your specific needs and store your files in a secure place with many additional features you might enjoy, such as simple sharing, connectivity with other storage services, access to your files through different devices and many more. Interested? Open your free Koofr account and try it out. Want to talk to us? Join us on the Koofr subreddit! Enjoyed this article? Why not check out what we do. Check your OneDrive storage to see how much space you’ve used, and free up space if you’re getting close to your storage limit.
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OneDrive storage and billing questionsHere are some common questions about storage and billing. Select any topic below, and it will open to show more info: If you bought additional storage in-app, but you cannot see it, follow these steps. Please note it may take 48 hours for storage purchases to show.
To see how much OneDrive costs for you in your country, visit OneDrive Plans. Here are some key points regarding our OneDrive subscription service:
Why can I only see 1 TB with Microsoft 365 Family? With a Microsoft 365 Family subscription, you get a total of 6 TB storage: that's 1 TB (or 1000 GB) per user. You can share your total storage around and have use of more than 1 TB by sharing folders between users and adding the shared folders to your own OneDrive. To manage your Microsoft 365 subscription, visit your Microsoft account portal.
How do I update my billing information or payment method used with my subscription?
Note: To update your billing information for a payment method, at the top of the page, select Payment & billing > Billing info or Payment options, depending on which information you want to update. When will my subscription expire? To see when your subscription expires, view your Account Services & Subscriptions. Can I prepay on a monthly plan? You can't prepay for multiple months, but monthly plans renew automatically, so you don't need to worry about remembering to pay each month. Why hasn't my storage updated? It can take up to 24 hours for storage allowances to be updated after purchasing more storage or a subscription. I want to uninstall OneDrive If you don't want to use OneDrive, the easiest solution is to unlink it. Follow the steps in Turn off, disable, or uninstall OneDrive, for how to unlink, hide, and uninstall OneDrive. How do I cancel my subscription? The following steps are for cancelling a OneDrive storage subscription. (For Microsoft 365 subscriptions, see Cancel or turn off recurring billing for a Microsoft subscription.)
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What happens to my data if I cancel my subscription or my bonus storage expires and I’ve exceeded my 5 GB free storage limit? If you cancel your subscription or if your free storage bonus expires, your data will continue to be accessible. You'll still be able to view, share, and download files on your OneDrive, but you won't be able to upload files until you buy more storage or free up space. If you continue to exceed your storage limit for an extended period of time, your account will be frozen. For info about bringing a frozen account back into good standing, see What does it mean when your OneDrive account is frozen? Unable to apply the subscription It can take up to 24 hours for your subscription to become visible.
Subscription is redeemed on another account This can be because you are signed in with a different Microsoft account. Check which account is on your mobile device.
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Payment & billingGet help with payments, billing, gift cards, or your Microsoft account balance Related topicsDelete files or folders in OneDrive Find lost or missing files in OneDrive How to cancel your Microsoft subscription Need more help? |