Microsoft Teams - Managing your Teams Storage and Monitoring Storage Capacity in SharePoint Online

Table of Contents

Overview

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for checking available storage capacity within SharePoint Online (SPO) Sites, Site Collections, and Microsoft Teams environments.

Understanding Teams Storage Architecture

When you upload files to Microsoft Teams channels, these files are automatically stored in the associated SharePoint Online site. For example, all content shared across channels in your "IT Conference" team is housed within the corresponding "IT Conference" SharePoint site. Therefore, to monitor Teams storage usage, you'll need to check the associated SharePoint site using the methods outlined below.

Access Requirements

Important: You must have site owner permissions to view storage metrics for any SharePoint Online site or site collection.

Navigate to a Teams SharePoint Site

  1. In Teams (web or desktop app) navigate to your team's General channel.
  2. Click Files in the upper navigation menu.
  3. Look for the three dots drop down in the menu that appears below the navigation menu. Click the dots.   
     
               
  4. Choose Open in SharePoint. Your browser will open, displaying the files in SharePoint.
    Click Open in Sharepoint 


 Checking Your Current Storage

  1. Navigate to a Teams SharePoint site or select a SharePoint site from the SharePoint site page
     
  2. Click the gear icon in the top right of the screen, next to your profile icon.  
            
  3. Click Site contents on the left menu pane.
    Click Site Contents
     
  4. Select Site settings in the top right corner.
  1. Under Site Collection Administration, select Storage Metrics.
  1. The Site Collection dashboard displays the site’s current storage usage on the top right. Below, you'll find a list of directories showing each asset's size and last modification date, allowing you to efficiently manage your storage resources.

Making space in your Teams/Sharepoint storage

If you need to free up some space, you'll need to remove files from your Team's folders.

Follow these instructions to move files to recycle bin and empty it to reclaim storage:

Start with the oldest. 
If a folder hasn’t had an update in years, it might be a good candidate for cleanup.

 

Step 1: Move Files to Recycle Bin

In SharePoint:

  • Navigate to the document library or folder containing the files
  • Select the file(s) you want to remove by checking the box next to each file
  • Click "Delete" in the ribbon, or right-click and select "Delete"
  • Confirm the deletion when prompted

In Microsoft Teams:

  • Go to the Files tab in your Teams channel
  • Select the file(s) you want to remove
  • Click the "..." (More options) menu and select "Delete"
  • Confirm the deletion

 

Step 2: Empty the Recycle Bin to Reclaim Storage

  • In SharePoint, go to Site Contents
  • Click "Recycle bin" in the left navigation
  • Select the files you want to permanently delete, or click "Empty recycle bin" to remove all items
  • Click "Delete" and confirm when prompted

 

Please Note: 
Files in the Recycle Bin still count against your storage quota until permanently deleted. After a file is emptied from the recycle bin, it is still recoverable by an administrator for up to 63 days. Please contact Help Desk Central (hdc@tamu.edu) for assistance with recovering files.
 
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