Solution to OneDrive issue

Dear Shafik Mubiru,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Based on your description, you are unable to edit files due to an expired license. After assigning a new license, the same issue persists. It is not uncommon for the system to take some time to propagate after a license change. In some cases, this can take up to 24 hours. May I know how long it has been since your IT administrator assigned the new license? 

One way to help expedite the syncing process is to sign out of your Office account and then sign back in. You can do this from any Microsoft 365 app, as they all sync licensing information if the issue is license related. 

Alternatively, you may refresh your work account connection by doing the following: 

Please click the Windows icon to go to Start > select Settings > go to Accounts > select Access work or school > disconnect your Work or School account > restart your device > reconnect and sign in again. 

If the issue persists after this, please let me know, as further checks in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center may be required.

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The error persists because OneDrive is still treating the account as unlicensed even after a license was assigned. Resolution requires both a valid license that includes OneDrive and correct OneDrive site ownership.

Follow these steps (must be done by a Microsoft 365/SharePoint admin):

1. Confirm a valid license that includes OneDrive is assigned
   1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Users > Active users.
   2. Select the affected business account.
   3. In Licenses and apps, expand Licenses and verify that a plan that includes OneDrive for work or school is assigned.
   4. If not, assign a license that includes OneDrive.
   5. Allow time for propagation: up to 24 hours for active accounts and up to 48 hours if the account was archived.
2. Ensure the user is the primary site collection administrator of their OneDrive This must be done by someone with the SharePoint Administrator role. The user must be set as the primary site collection administrator of their own OneDrive site. Being only a secondary owner or secondary site collection admin is not sufficient and can cause the same error. The admin should:
   • Open the SharePoint admin center.
   • Locate the user’s OneDrive site.
   • Set the user as the primary site collection administrator for that OneDrive site.
   Important: Do not remove the user as admin of their own OneDrive site, as this can break user experiences.
3. If the issue persists after the above and the wait period
   • Have the admin remove and re-add the OneDrive/SharePoint license for the user (again via Users > Active users > Licenses and apps), then wait several hours and test again.
   • If more than 24–48 hours have passed since the correct license and primary admin settings were applied and the error still appears, contact Microsoft 365 Technical Support with details that the account is licensed and the user is primary site collection admin.

This combination (valid OneDrive-including license + user as primary site collection admin + propagation time) is required to clear the “license ended” message and restore edit/upload capability.

References:

• Error "You can't edit your files because your license to use OneDrive ended over a couple of months ago"
• What happens when your OneDrive account becomes unlicensed?
• OneDrive for Business stopped at "Setting up..." or "We're still setting up a few things" screen
• Error 0x8004de85 or 0x8004de8a when signing in to OneDrive