How to Move OneDrive Data Between Microsoft 365 Tenants in OneDrive for Business

Moving OneDrive for Business data from one Microsoft 365 tenant to another is a common task during company mergers, acquisitions, or rebranding. The source and destination tenants are completely separate environments with their own user accounts, permissions, and storage. OneDrive does not have a built-in tenant-to-tenant migration tool. This article explains the two reliable methods to transfer files: using the Microsoft 365 admin center via a cross-tenant migration policy and performing a manual download-and-upload process for smaller data sets.

Understanding Tenant-to-Tenant OneDrive Migration

OneDrive for Business data is tied to a specific Microsoft 365 tenant. Each tenant has its own Azure Active Directory, SharePoint root site, and OneDrive storage. You cannot simply copy a user’s OneDrive folder to another tenant and expect permissions and sync to work. The migration process requires moving the actual file content, not the metadata or sharing links.

Microsoft provides two primary approaches. The first is a cross-tenant migration feature available in the Microsoft 365 admin center. This method uses SharePoint Migration Tool technology to copy files from the source tenant to the destination tenant while preserving file structure and basic metadata. The second approach is a manual process where users download their OneDrive files locally and then upload them to the new tenant.

Cross-tenant migration is the recommended method for organizations moving more than 10 users or more than 50 GB of data. The manual method is suitable for individual users or very small teams where setting up cross-tenant policies is not justified.

Prerequisites for Cross-Tenant Migration

Before starting a cross-tenant migration, you must have Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator permissions in both the source and destination tenants. Both tenants must use Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise plans that include OneDrive. The source tenant must have SharePoint Online Management Shell access for certain configuration steps.

Prerequisites for Manual Migration

For the manual method, the user needs a local computer with enough free disk space to store all OneDrive files. The user must have a valid Microsoft 365 account on the destination tenant. Internet speed should be at least 10 Mbps for efficient uploads.

Steps to Migrate OneDrive Data Using Cross-Tenant Migration

1. Sign in to the source tenant admin center
   Open a browser and go to https://admin.microsoft.com. Sign in with a Global Administrator account for the source tenant.
2. Navigate to cross-tenant migration settings
   Go to Settings > Org settings > Cross-tenant data migration. If you do not see this option, your tenant may not have the feature enabled. Contact Microsoft support to request activation.
3. Add the destination tenant
   Click Add migration. Enter the destination tenant ID. You can find the tenant ID in the Microsoft 365 admin center of the destination tenant under Settings > Org settings > Organization profile > Tenant ID.
4. Configure migration settings
   Select OneDrive for Business as the workload. Choose whether to migrate all users or specific users. For a targeted migration, enter the user principal names of the source users.
5. Sign in to the destination tenant admin center
   Open a new browser tab or incognito window. Sign in to https://admin.microsoft.com with a Global Administrator account for the destination tenant.
6. Approve the cross-tenant migration
   In the destination tenant, go to Settings > Org settings > Cross-tenant data migration. You should see the pending migration request from the source tenant. Click Approve.
7. Map source users to destination users
   For each source user, specify the corresponding destination user account. The destination user must have a valid OneDrive license and an existing OneDrive site.
8. Start the migration
   Click Start migration. The process runs in the background. You can monitor progress in the migration dashboard under Migration status.
9. Verify migrated data
   After the migration completes, sign in to the destination tenant as one of the migrated users. Open OneDrive and confirm that all files and folders are present.

Steps to Migrate OneDrive Data Manually

1. Install and sign in to OneDrive sync app on the source tenant
   Download the OneDrive sync app from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onedrive/download. Sign in with your source tenant Microsoft 365 account.
2. Sync all OneDrive files to the local computer
   In the OneDrive sync app settings, select Sync and backup > Manage backup. Make sure all folders including Desktop, Documents, and Pictures are set to sync. Wait for all files to download. This may take several hours for large libraries.
3. Sign out of the source tenant OneDrive
   Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray. Select Settings > Account > Unlink this PC. Confirm the unlinking.
4. Sign in to the destination tenant OneDrive
   Open the OneDrive sync app again. Sign in with your destination tenant Microsoft 365 account. Choose a local folder location for the new OneDrive folder. Do not select the same folder as the old OneDrive folder.
5. Copy files from the old OneDrive folder to the new OneDrive folder
   Open File Explorer. Navigate to the old OneDrive folder location. Select all files and folders. Press Ctrl + C to copy. Navigate to the new OneDrive folder. Press Ctrl + V to paste.
6. Wait for upload to complete
   The OneDrive sync app automatically uploads the pasted files to the destination tenant. Monitor the sync icon in the system tray. A green checkmark means all files are uploaded.
7. Verify files in the destination tenant
   Open a browser and sign in to https://onedrive.live.com with the destination tenant account. Confirm that all files appear in the web interface.

Common Issues and Limitations

Cross-tenant migration does not appear in the admin center

The cross-tenant migration feature is gradually rolling out to Microsoft 365 tenants. If you do not see the option in Settings > Org settings, your tenant may not have the feature enabled. Contact Microsoft support and request activation for cross-tenant data migration. Alternatively, use PowerShell commands with the SharePoint Online Management Shell to configure the migration manually.

File names or paths exceed character limits

OneDrive and SharePoint have a 400-character limit for file paths. If any file in the source tenant has a path longer than 400 characters, the migration will skip that file. Before starting the migration, run a path length report using the SharePoint Migration Tool or a PowerShell script. Shorten any paths that exceed the limit.

Manual migration fails due to file size limits

OneDrive for Business has a 250 GB per file upload limit. If you have files larger than 250 GB, the manual method will fail. Use the cross-tenant migration method instead, which supports larger files. Also note that the OneDrive sync app may throttle uploads if you try to upload more than 10,000 files in a single session. Break the upload into batches of 5,000 files.

Permissions and sharing links are not preserved

Neither migration method preserves sharing links or file permissions. After migration, users must re-share files with colleagues. The cross-tenant migration does copy file creation and modification dates. The manual method preserves dates only if you use a third-party tool that supports metadata transfer.

Item	Cross-Tenant Migration	Manual Download and Upload
Best for	More than 10 users or 50 GB data	Individual users or small teams
Admin permissions required	Global Admin in both tenants	None on destination tenant
File metadata preserved	Creation and modification dates	Only modification dates
Preserves sharing links	No	No
Maximum file size	250 GB per file	250 GB per file
Requires local storage	No	Yes, equal to data size
Time to complete for 100 GB	2-4 hours	8-24 hours depending on internet speed

Moving OneDrive data between Microsoft 365 tenants is now achievable with the cross-tenant migration feature or through a manual process. For organizations, the cross-tenant method saves time and reduces user involvement. Individual users can rely on the manual download and upload approach. After migration, verify that all files are accessible and re-establish any necessary sharing permissions. As an advanced tip, use the SharePoint Migration Tool PowerShell module to generate a pre-migration report of file paths and sizes before starting the cross-tenant process.