Fix Teams Expiration Policy Does Not Renew a Team in a Multi-Geo Tenant

Your Teams expiration policy is set to auto-renew, but some teams in your multi-geo tenant still get deleted. The renewal process fails silently when the group’s data location differs from the tenant’s primary geography. This article explains why the policy does not renew these teams and provides the exact steps to fix it.

Why the Expiration Policy Does Not Renew Teams in a Multi-Geo Tenant

In a multi-geo tenant, each Microsoft 365 group has a PreferredDataLocation property. This property determines where the group’s data is stored. The expiration policy runs on a timer that checks groups in the primary geography. Groups with a PreferredDataLocation that differs from the primary geography are skipped by the renewal job.

The renewal action is performed by the Azure AD expiration background job. This job reads the group’s data location and compares it to the tenant’s primary data location. If they do not match, the job does not renew the group. The group remains in the grace period and eventually gets deleted.

This behavior is by design. The expiration policy does not have a multi-geo aware renewal engine. You must either align the group’s data location or use a third-party tool that handles multi-geo renewals.

Steps to Diagnose and Fix the Expiration Policy Renewal Issue

Follow these steps to identify teams that will not renew and to apply a fix.

Step 1: Identify Teams with a Different Data Location

1. Sign in to the Teams admin center
   Go to Teams admin center > Teams > Manage teams. Look at the Data location column for each team. Teams with a location other than your primary geography are at risk.
2. Export the team list
   Select Export to download a CSV file. Open the file in Excel and filter for teams with a Data location that differs from the primary geography.
3. Run a PowerShell query
   Open PowerShell and run the following command to list all groups with their data locations:

   Get-UnifiedGroup | Select-Object DisplayName, PreferredDataLocation

Step 2: Decide on the Correct Fix

You have two options. You can change the group’s data location to the primary geography, or you can exclude the group from the expiration policy. Changing the data location is the only way to make the built-in renewal work.

Step 3: Change the Data Location with PowerShell

1. Connect to Exchange Online
   Run Connect-ExchangeOnline and sign in with an account that has the Exchange Administrator role.
2. Find the group’s current location
   Run Get-UnifiedGroup -Identity "TeamName" | FL PreferredDataLocation to confirm the current value.
3. Update the data location
   Run the following command to set the location to your primary geography. Replace PrimaryGeo with your actual location code, such as EUR or NAM:

   Set-UnifiedGroup -Identity "TeamName" -PreferredDataLocation PrimaryGeo

4. Verify the change
   Run Get-UnifiedGroup -Identity "TeamName" | FL PreferredDataLocation to confirm the new value. The renewal job will now process this team.

Step 4: Exclude the Team from the Expiration Policy

If you cannot change the data location, you can exclude the team from the policy. This prevents automatic deletion but also disables automatic renewal.

1. Open the Azure AD admin center
   Go to Azure Active Directory > Groups > Expiration.
2. Edit the policy
   Select the policy that applies to your teams. Under Excluded groups, add the team that is in a different geo location.
3. Save the policy
   Select Save. The team will no longer be subject to the expiration policy.

If Teams Still Has Issues After the Main Fix

Teams Are Still Deleted Even After Changing the Data Location

The change may take up to 24 hours to propagate. If the team is already in the grace period, you must restore it first. Go to Teams admin center > Teams > Deleted teams, select the team, and choose Restore. After restoration, change the data location again if needed.

PowerShell Shows an Error About PreferredDataLocation

The Set-UnifiedGroup cmdlet may fail if the location you specify is not a valid data location for your tenant. Run Get-OrganizationConfig | FL AllowedDataLocations to see the list of valid locations. Use one of these values.

Renewal Still Fails for a Specific Team

Check if the team has a sensitivity label that blocks group updates. Go to Teams admin center > Teams > Manage teams, select the team, and view the Sensitivity label. If a label is applied, change it to one that allows group management, or remove it temporarily.

New Teams Desktop vs Teams on the Web: Key Differences

Item	New Teams Desktop	Teams on the Web
Renewal policy visibility	No direct view of expiration status	No direct view either
Admin controls	Access to Teams admin center through browser	Full admin center in browser
PowerShell integration	Requires separate PowerShell window	Requires separate PowerShell window

The renewal issue is not affected by the client you use. The problem is on the backend. Both clients show the same team data and the same admin options.

Now you can identify teams that will not renew and apply the correct fix. Start by exporting your team list and checking the Data location column. Use the Set-UnifiedGroup cmdlet to align locations, or exclude teams from the policy. For advanced control, consider scripting the location check with PowerShell and a scheduled task.