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Version: 2.48.61

Prepare your tenant for Microsoft 365 Archive

Overview​

The Microsoft 365 Archive connector moves a SharePoint site into Microsoft's cold storage instead of only archiving a Team. Two things must be in place in your Microsoft 365 tenant before it can work. EasyLife 365 cannot set either of them for you, and with either missing Microsoft rejects every archive.

This guide covers both prerequisites and shows how to confirm them from EasyLife 365 Admin.

Prerequisites​

  • A Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator account.
  • An Azure subscription you can link for pay-as-you-go billing.
  • Permission to manage billing in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Steps​

1. Set up pay-as-you-go billing​

Microsoft charges archive storage to an Azure subscription. Until pay-as-you-go billing is set up, every archive is refused with "There's a problem with your billing profile" and nothing is archived.

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
  2. Set up a pay-as-you-go billing profile and link the Azure subscription that should carry the charges.
  3. Follow Microsoft's Microsoft 365 Archive setup guide for the current steps.
warning

Billing is checked first. With no billing profile, Microsoft refuses an archive before the feature switch is ever consulted, so turning the feature on is not enough on its own.

2. Turn on Microsoft 365 Archive​

  1. Sign in to the SharePoint admin center.
  2. Go to Settings → Microsoft 365 Archive.
  3. Turn Microsoft 365 Archive on for your organization.

3. Select the connector in EasyLife​

For Microsoft 365 Groups and Teams:

  1. Open EasyLife 365 Admin (https://admin.easylife365.cloud/collab/).
  2. Go to Settings → Teams & Groups → Archive settings.
  3. Set Archive connector to Microsoft 365 Archive.
  4. Save the settings.

For standalone SharePoint sites:

  1. Go to Settings → SharePoint sites → Archive settings.
  2. Set Archive connector to Microsoft 365 Archive.
  3. Save the settings.

Result​

As soon as you select the connector, EasyLife 365 Admin reads your tenant's archive settings and reports what it found:

MessageMeaning
Microsoft 365 Archive is readyBoth prerequisites are met. The message also states whether users can archive individual files.
Microsoft 365 Archive billing is not set upNo Azure subscription is linked. Complete step 1.
Microsoft 365 Archive is not turned onThe service is off for your organization. Complete step 2.
Could not check Microsoft 365 ArchiveEasyLife could not read your settings, so it cannot confirm that archiving will work. Verify both prerequisites manually.

The same wording appears in the management panels when you archive a resource, so the explanation is identical wherever you meet it.

info

Archiving a site stops it consuming your normal storage quota. Reactivation is immediate within the first seven days, and can take up to 24 hours after that.