As a Microsoft 365 administrator, you need visibility into how your users are using OneDrive for Business. Without a usage report, you cannot identify inactive users, track storage consumption, or plan for capacity needs. The Microsoft 365 admin center provides built-in reports that show active users, total files, and storage used per user. This article explains how to access and customize the OneDrive usage report and how to export the data for further analysis.
Key Takeaways: Generating a OneDrive Usage Report in Microsoft 365 Admin Center
- Microsoft 365 admin center > Reports > Usage > OneDrive: Access the default usage report showing active users, total files, and storage by user.
- Export button in the OneDrive usage report: Download the report as a CSV file for offline analysis in Excel or Power BI.
- Microsoft 365 admin center > Reports > Usage > OneDrive > Columns: Customize the table to show or hide columns such as Last Activity Date, File Count, and Storage Used.
What the OneDrive Usage Report Shows
The OneDrive usage report in the Microsoft 365 admin center provides a per-user breakdown of activity and storage. The report pulls data from the last 7, 30, 90, or 180 days. You can view the total number of active users, total files, and total storage across all OneDrive accounts. Each user row shows the user’s name, email, last activity date, number of files viewed or edited, files shared internally, files shared externally, and storage used in GB.
The report relies on the Microsoft 365 audit log. If auditing is disabled for your tenant, the report will show zero activity even if users are active. To check audit status, go to Microsoft 365 admin center > Security & Compliance > Audit. Audit logging must be turned on to generate accurate usage data.
Prerequisites for Accessing the Report
You need one of the following admin roles to view the OneDrive usage report:
- Global Administrator
- Reports Reader
- Exchange Administrator
- SharePoint Administrator
Users without these roles see an empty report or a permissions error. If you delegate report access, assign the Reports Reader role to non-admin users who need to generate usage reports.
Steps to Generate the OneDrive Usage Report
- Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center
Open your browser and go to https://admin.microsoft.com. Sign in with an account that has Global Administrator or Reports Reader permissions. - Navigate to the Reports section
In the left navigation pane, select Reports. Then click Usage to open the usage reports dashboard. - Select the OneDrive report
On the Usage dashboard, scroll to the OneDrive tile. Click View details or click the report name directly to open the detailed OneDrive usage report. - Choose a time range
At the top of the report, select the time period from the dropdown: 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, or 180 days. The report updates immediately to show data for the selected range. - Customize the data columns
Click the Columns button above the table. Check or uncheck columns to show or hide fields such as Last Activity Date, File Count, Internal Sharing, External Sharing, and Storage Used. Click Apply to save the column layout. - Export the report to CSV
Click the Export button at the top of the report. The admin center generates a CSV file and downloads it to your computer. Open the CSV in Excel or a text editor for offline analysis.
Common Issues When Generating the Report
The report shows zero active users
If the report displays zero active users despite known user activity, audit logging is likely disabled. Go to Microsoft 365 admin center > Security & Compliance > Audit. Turn on audit logging if it is off. It can take up to 24 hours for historical data to populate after enabling audit.
The Export button is grayed out
The Export button requires at least one row of data. If the report shows no users, the button remains inactive. Verify that your time range includes users with OneDrive licenses. Also confirm that the users have accessed OneDrive at least once within the selected period.
The report does not show storage used for some users
OneDrive storage data updates once per day. If a user recently uploaded files, the storage figure may be outdated until the next refresh cycle. Wait 24 hours and regenerate the report to see the updated storage data.
Microsoft 365 Admin Center Report vs SharePoint Online Management Shell
| Item | Admin Center Report | SharePoint Online Management Shell |
|---|---|---|
| Access method | Web browser via admin.microsoft.com | PowerShell cmdlets run from Windows |
| Data granularity | Per-user summary with 7-180 day range | Per-site details including quota, storage used, and last modified date |
| Export format | CSV download | CSV, JSON, or custom object export |
| Requires admin role | Global Admin, Reports Reader, SharePoint Admin, or Exchange Admin | SharePoint Admin or Global Admin |
| Automation capability | Manual export only | Scriptable for scheduled reports |
The admin center report is best for quick, one-time checks. The SharePoint Online Management Shell is better for recurring automated reports or for pulling data on all OneDrive sites including deleted ones. Use PowerShell cmdlet Get-SPOSite -IncludePersonalSite $true to list all OneDrive sites and pipe the output to Select-Object for custom fields.
If you need to audit inactive users older than 180 days, the PowerShell method is required because the admin center report only retains 180 days of activity data. Use the LastContentModifiedDate property to identify sites that have not been modified in over a year.