What and why
We are increasing the maximum auto-expanding archive capacity for eligible Exchange Online archive mailboxes from 1.5 TB to 3 TB in Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management. This enhancement helps organizations retain and manage larger volumes of archived email content without requiring manual archive expansion processes or support requests. Eligible mailboxes with auto-expanding archiving enabled will continue to grow automatically as needed.
Rollout schedule
- General Availability (GCC, GCC High, DoD): Rollout will begin in mid-November 2026 and is expected to complete by early December 2026.
Impact on your organization
Who is affected
- Organizations using Exchange Online archive mailboxes with auto-expanding archiving enabled.
- Administrators responsible for Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management and Exchange Online archiving.
- Users assigned eligible licenses that support the increased archive capacity.
Platforms and services
- Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management
- Exchange Online
- Exchange Online Archiving
What will happen
- Eligible archive mailboxes with auto-expanding archiving enabled can automatically expand beyond the current 1.5 TB limit, up to a maximum of 3 TB per mailbox. Eligible licensing includes:
- Office 365 E5, A5, and G5
- Microsoft 365 E5, A5, and G5
- Microsoft 365 Purview Suite
- Microsoft 365 Purview Suite FLW, EDU, and GOV
- Microsoft Defender + Purview Suite FLW
- Microsoft 365 F5 Compliance
- Microsoft 365 F5 Security + Compliance
- A combination of the eDiscovery & Audit and Insider Risk Management mini suites together with the Information Protection & Governance mini suite
- No additional configuration is required for eligible mailboxes that already have auto-expanding archiving enabled. Mailboxes that do not have an eligible license will continue to be limited to 1.5 TB.
- No per-GB consumption charge is introduced as part of this change.
- Existing archive content, retention configurations, policies, and holds are unchanged.
- No new administrator workflow, user experience, or user interface is introduced.
Action required and recommendations
No action is required if eligible mailboxes already have auto-expanding archiving enabled. We recommend that you:
- Review license assignments for users with large archive mailboxes to confirm eligibility.
- Monitor archive mailbox growth using Exchange Online PowerShell.
- Identify mailboxes approaching their applicable archive capacity limits.
- Update internal documentation, retention guidance, and help desk materials to reflect the new 3 TB limit.
- Review licensing and retention strategies for users whose archive mailboxes are not eligible for the expanded capacity.
Learn more
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.