Acceptable Use Policy violation notice on Microsoft 365 Developer E5 sandbox - SharePoint read-only at farm level

Gergely Gyetvai 95 Reputation points
2026-03-25T12:27:51.85+00:00

Hi,

Yesterday a banner appeared across my Microsoft 365 Developer E5 sandbox tenant with the following message:

"Your organization's use of Microsoft 365 has been identified as a violation of the Acceptable Use Policy in the Product Terms. The Microsoft 365 subscription will be deactivated on Tue Apr 14 2026 UTC and all SharePoint and OneDrive content will be blocked."

As a result, all SharePoint sites and OneDrive are in read-only mode — I can view and download content but cannot upload, modify, or delete anything. Checking the site settings on one of the affected SharePoint sites shows:

"This site is read only at the farm administrator's request."

I believe this confirms the restriction is applied at the service level by Microsoft, not due to any local configuration, storage quota, checkout settings, or app permissions on my end.

Some context about my setup:

  • This is a personal Microsoft 365 Developer E5 sandbox — no production use, no real users, no business data
  • Used exclusively for Power Platform development and testing (Power Apps canvas apps, Power Automate flows, SharePoint REST API)
  • No bulk email activity, no external scripts, no automation running at scale
  • My Microsoft 365 Developer Program dashboard shows 79 days remaining with no warnings or flags — contradicting the AUP notice

I have already raised a support ticket (ref: [Moderator note: personal info removed]). The initial AI-generated response suggested checking library settings, OneDrive quota, and app permissions — none of which apply here given the farm-level block. I have replied with the above details and am waiting for a human agent to follow up.

My questions:

  • Has anyone experienced this on a developer tenant and managed to get it resolved?
  • Is there any way to identify what specifically triggered the AUP flag?

Any help or shared experience is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Microsoft 365 and Office | Development | Microsoft 365 Developer Program
Answer recommended by moderator
Gergely Gyetvai 95 Reputation points
2026-03-29T09:25:24.0266667+00:00

Hi @Anonymous ,

Thank you for your response and for the helpful resources.

I wanted to share an update: I can confirm that raising a support ticket is definitely the right step — as you suggested. I was contacted by Microsoft Support and had an online session with a Support Ambassador. She was extremely nice and supportive throughout the entire process. During the session, we collected screenshots of the error message and relevant pages from the admin center, and I exported and sent the requested logs.

Unfortunately, the specific reason behind the AUP flag could not be identified during the session. My case has now been escalated to an internal backend team, and I'm currently waiting for their response.

A few practical tips for anyone going through this process: once your ticket is assigned to a human agent, you'll receive an email that you will be contacted. Before the online session, it's worth preparing in advance — log into your tenant, open a SharePoint site that is affected by the restriction, and also have the Microsoft 365 admin center open and ready. The session was conducted via phone using Quick Assist for screen sharing, so connecting a headset to your phone will make it much easier to follow instructions while navigating on your screen.

I'll post an update here once I hear back.

Thank you again for your help.

Gergely

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  1. Kifle, Mignote 0 Reputation points
    2026-04-17T17:13:04.9266667+00:00

    I’m experiencing the exact same issue and wanted to add my case here.

    My Microsoft 365 developer tenant has been flagged for an alleged Terms of Service violation, but I have not received any specific details about what was violated. This issue has been ongoing since April 3, and it has significantly impacted my ability to work. I am unable to fully access my SharePoint lists and document libraries.

    I am using this tenant strictly for development purposes, mainly working with SharePoint, Power Apps, and Power Automate. There is no production or commercial use involved.

    I did manage to partially unlock my OneDrive and SharePoint site using PowerShell, but I am still experiencing issues with list and document libraries (opening the sites is a little bit tricky too).

    I reached out to Microsoft support and received the following response after escalation:

    “Following a comprehensive investigation by our internal escalation and compliance teams, the tenant has been determined to be in violation of Microsoft’s Terms of Service. As a result, the restriction will remain in place. This decision is final, and we are unable to override or remove the block.”

    At this point, I am not getting any actionable information or support from Microsoft to understand or resolve the issue.

    Has anyone found a real solution or a way to get more transparency from Microsoft on this?

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  2. Yimam Yimer 5 Reputation points
    2026-04-20T23:13:03.71+00:00

    Hi there, I’m in a very similar situation with the Microsoft 365 developer tenant flagged for an AUP violation without clear details.

    In my case, I was able to restore SharePoint and OneDrive functionality by unlocking sites via PowerShell (removing the ReadOnly lock), but the AUP warning and deactivation notice still remain, and the tenant is still under backend review.

    From what I’ve learned through support, this is typically an automated enforcement, and only the backend/compliance team can confirm the trigger or reverse it. I’d recommend:

    1. Opening a support ticket and requesting escalation
    2. Continuing to follow up for clarification on the trigger
    3. Backing up all critical data as a precaution

    Unfortunately, transparency is limited, but persistence with support seems to be the only path forward right now. Good luck!

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