OpenAI temporarily lifts GPT-5.6 Sol usage limits for Plus, Pro, and Business plans

OpenAI has temporarily removed the five-hour usage limit for its flagship model, GPT-5.6 Sol, on Plus, Pro, and Business plans after a surge in demand over the past 48 hours. The company also issued a one-time usage reset for all users, giving teams more headroom for coding and agentic work. OpenAI product lead Tibo confirmed the changes in a post on X, stating that the company is also rolling out efficiency improvements to make GPT-5.6 Sol consume less usage per task BleepingComputer.

What happened

On Sunday, OpenAI confirmed it is temporarily removing the five-hour usage restriction for Plus, Pro, and Business plans. The change applies to both Codex and ChatGPT Work, which count local messages and cloud-based tasks against a shared usage limit. Normally, ChatGPT uses a rolling five-hour window, with weekly limits depending on the plan and model. With the restriction removed, users are no longer forced to stop working after exhausting that five-hour window.

In addition to lifting the cap, OpenAI reset current usage for everyone. Tibo noted that the company is "rolling out changes that will make GPT-5.6 Sol more efficient across the board," which should be reflected in less usage being consumed per task BleepingComputer. The exact mechanism behind the efficiency gains has not been disclosed, but it likely comes from lower token consumption.

Why AI builders should care

For developers and operators building on GPT-5.6 Sol, this change translates to more uninterrupted compute time for coding, automation, and complex workflows. The temporary removal of the five-hour cap means longer-running experiments and development sprints without hitting a hard stop. The efficiency improvements also mean that each task consumes less of your available usage, potentially stretching your quota further Neowin.

This move also highlights the ongoing governance considerations around model usage visibility and access controls during demand shifts. Teams managing AI deployments should monitor their dashboards to reflect new quotas and potential cost changes.

Practical implications

Teams can now push longer sessions on GPT-5.6 Sol without hitting the five-hour cap, enabling longer-running experiments and development sprints. The usage reset gives you significantly more room to use the flagship model for coding and agentic work, although it does not make GPT-5.6 Sol completely unlimited BleepingComputer.

For teams managing budgets, the efficiency improvements may reduce overall token consumption, which could affect cost planning. However, the change is temporary, and long-term pricing, quotas, and governance policies remain under OpenAI's control and may evolve.

Caveats

OpenAI has not disclosed the exact technical details of how the efficiency gains were achieved. The relaxation is described as temporary and bound to specific plans; broader availability and duration are not guaranteed. The reporting notes that other sources discuss policy and rollout nuances, so readers should follow official updates for any policy changes Dataconomy.