diff --git a/packages/jaeger-ui/index.html b/packages/jaeger-ui/index.html
index c54d657cb7..d5e30a6e26 100644
--- a/packages/jaeger-ui/index.html
+++ b/packages/jaeger-ui/index.html
@@ -33,6 +33,12 @@
         const JAEGER_CONFIG = DEFAULT_CONFIG;
         return JAEGER_CONFIG;
       }
+      // Jaeger storage compabilities data is embedded by the query-service via search-replace.
+      function getJaegerStorageCapabilities() {
+        const DEFAULT_STORAGE_CAPABILITIES = { "archiveStorage": false };
+        const JAEGER_STORAGE_CAPABILITIES = DEFAULT_STORAGE_CAPABILITIES;
+        return JAEGER_STORAGE_CAPABILITIES;
+      }
       // Jaeger version data is embedded by the query-service via search/replace.
       function getJaegerVersion() {
         const DEFAULT_VERSION = {'gitCommit':'', 'gitVersion':'', 'buildDate':''};
diff --git a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/components/TracePage/index.test.js b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/components/TracePage/index.test.js
index bed1d620b7..de4c1a3da4 100644
--- a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/components/TracePage/index.test.js
+++ b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/components/TracePage/index.test.js
@@ -400,8 +400,12 @@ describe('<TracePage>', () => {
       it('is true when not embedded and archive is enabled', () => {
         [{ timeline: {} }, undefined].forEach(embedded => {
           [true, false].forEach(archiveEnabled => {
-            wrapper.setProps({ embedded, archiveEnabled });
-            expect(wrapper.find(TracePageHeader).prop('showArchiveButton')).toBe(!embedded && archiveEnabled);
+            [{ archiveStorage: false }, { archiveStorage: true }].forEach(storageCapabilities => {
+              wrapper.setProps({ embedded, archiveEnabled, storageCapabilities });
+              expect(wrapper.find(TracePageHeader).prop('showArchiveButton')).toBe(
+                !embedded && archiveEnabled && storageCapabilities.archiveStorage
+              );
+            });
           });
         });
       });
diff --git a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/components/TracePage/index.tsx b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/components/TracePage/index.tsx
index eb15b2882b..1a887e713d 100644
--- a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/components/TracePage/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/components/TracePage/index.tsx
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ import updateUiFind from '../../utils/update-ui-find';
 import TraceStatistics from './TraceStatistics/index';
 import TraceSpanView from './TraceSpanView/index';
 import TraceFlamegraph from './TraceFlamegraph/index';
-import { TraceGraphConfig } from '../../types/config';
+import { StorageCapabilities, TraceGraphConfig } from '../../types/config';
 
 import './index.css';
 import memoizedTraceCriticalPath from './CriticalPath/index';
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ type TOwnProps = {
 
 type TReduxProps = {
   archiveEnabled: boolean;
+  storageCapabilities: StorageCapabilities | TNil;
   archiveTraceState: TraceArchive | TNil;
   criticalPathEnabled: boolean;
   embedded: null | EmbeddedState;
@@ -326,6 +327,7 @@ export class TracePageImpl extends React.PureComponent<TProps, TState> {
   render() {
     const {
       archiveEnabled,
+      storageCapabilities,
       archiveTraceState,
       criticalPathEnabled,
       embedded,
@@ -359,6 +361,7 @@ export class TracePageImpl extends React.PureComponent<TProps, TState> {
     }
 
     const isEmbedded = Boolean(embedded);
+    const hasArchiveStorage = Boolean(storageCapabilities?.archiveStorage);
     const headerProps = {
       focusUiFindMatches: this.focusUiFindMatches,
       slimView,
@@ -380,7 +383,7 @@ export class TracePageImpl extends React.PureComponent<TProps, TState> {
       ref: this._searchBar,
       resultCount: findCount,
       disableJsonView,
-      showArchiveButton: !isEmbedded && archiveEnabled,
+      showArchiveButton: !isEmbedded && archiveEnabled && hasArchiveStorage,
       showShortcutsHelp: !isEmbedded,
       showStandaloneLink: isEmbedded,
       showViewOptions: !isEmbedded,
@@ -445,6 +448,7 @@ export function mapStateToProps(state: ReduxState, ownProps: TOwnProps): TReduxP
   const trace = id ? traces[id] : null;
   const archiveTraceState = id ? archive[id] : null;
   const archiveEnabled = Boolean(config.archiveEnabled);
+  const storageCapabilities = config.storageCapabilities;
   const { disableJsonView, criticalPathEnabled } = config;
   const { state: locationState } = router.location;
   const searchUrl = (locationState && locationState.fromSearch) || null;
@@ -453,6 +457,7 @@ export function mapStateToProps(state: ReduxState, ownProps: TOwnProps): TReduxP
   return {
     ...extractUiFindFromState(state),
     archiveEnabled,
+    storageCapabilities,
     archiveTraceState,
     criticalPathEnabled,
     embedded,
diff --git a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/constants/default-config.tsx b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/constants/default-config.tsx
index 9f1bc4bff7..9bf2ce2155 100644
--- a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/constants/default-config.tsx
+++ b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/constants/default-config.tsx
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import { version } from '../../package.json';
 import { Config } from '../types/config';
 
 const defaultConfig: Config = {
-  archiveEnabled: false,
+  archiveEnabled: true,
   criticalPathEnabled: true,
   dependencies: {
     dagMaxNumServices: FALLBACK_DAG_MAX_NUM_SERVICES,
@@ -77,6 +77,9 @@ const defaultConfig: Config = {
     },
     maxLimit: 1500,
   },
+  storageCapabilities: {
+    archiveStorage: false,
+  },
   tracking: {
     gaID: null,
     trackErrors: true,
diff --git a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/types/config.tsx b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/types/config.tsx
index e6938f2a00..e27b43b35e 100644
--- a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/types/config.tsx
+++ b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/types/config.tsx
@@ -82,6 +82,11 @@ export type TraceGraphConfig = {
   layoutManagerMemory?: number;
 };
 
+export type StorageCapabilities = {
+  // archiveStorage indicates whether the query service supports archive storage.
+  archiveStorage?: boolean;
+};
+
 // Default values are provided in packages/jaeger-ui/src/constants/default-config.tsx
 export type Config = {
   //
@@ -130,6 +135,9 @@ export type Config = {
   // TODO when is it useful?
   scripts?: readonly TScript[];
 
+  // storage capabilities given by the query service.
+  storageCapabilities?: StorageCapabilities;
+
   // topTagPrefixes defines a set of prefixes for span tag names that are considered
   // "important" and cause the matching tags to appear higher in the list of tags.
   // For example, topTagPrefixes=['http.'] would cause all span tags that begin with
diff --git a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/utils/config/get-config.test.js b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/utils/config/get-config.test.js
index d2456036df..52ab1d867a 100644
--- a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/utils/config/get-config.test.js
+++ b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/utils/config/get-config.test.js
@@ -37,9 +37,10 @@ describe('getConfig()', () => {
     console.warn = oldWarn;
   });
 
-  describe('`window.getJaegerUiConfig` is not a function', () => {
+  describe('index functions are not yet injected by backend', () => {
     beforeAll(() => {
       window.getJaegerUiConfig = undefined;
+      window.getJaegerStorageCapabilities = undefined;
     });
 
     it('warns once', () => {
@@ -54,15 +55,16 @@ describe('getConfig()', () => {
     });
   });
 
-  describe('`window.getJaegerUiConfig` is a function', () => {
+  describe('index functions are injected by backend', () => {
     let embedded;
-    let getJaegerUiConfig;
+    let capabilities;
 
     beforeEach(() => {
       getConfig.apply({}, []);
       embedded = {};
-      getJaegerUiConfig = jest.fn(() => embedded);
-      window.getJaegerUiConfig = getJaegerUiConfig;
+      window.getJaegerUiConfig = jest.fn(() => embedded);
+      capabilities = defaultConfig.storageCapabilities;
+      window.getJaegerStorageCapabilities = jest.fn(() => capabilities);
     });
 
     it('returns the default config when the embedded config is `null`', () => {
@@ -70,9 +72,10 @@ describe('getConfig()', () => {
       expect(getConfig()).toEqual(defaultConfig);
     });
 
-    it('merges the defaultConfig with the embedded config ', () => {
+    it('merges the defaultConfig with the embedded config and storage capabilities', () => {
       embedded = { novel: 'prop' };
-      expect(getConfig()).toEqual({ ...defaultConfig, ...embedded });
+      capabilities = { archiveStorage: true };
+      expect(getConfig()).toEqual({ ...defaultConfig, ...embedded, storageCapabilities: capabilities });
     });
 
     describe('overwriting precedence and merging', () => {
@@ -84,7 +87,7 @@ describe('getConfig()', () => {
           keys.forEach(key => {
             embedded[key] = key;
           });
-          expect(getConfig()).toEqual({ ...defaultConfig, ...embedded });
+          expect(getConfig()).toEqual({ ...defaultConfig, ...embedded, storageCapabilities: capabilities });
         });
       });
 
@@ -94,7 +97,7 @@ describe('getConfig()', () => {
           mergeFields.forEach((k, i) => {
             embedded[k] = i ? true : null;
           });
-          expect(getConfig()).toEqual({ ...defaultConfig, ...embedded });
+          expect(getConfig()).toEqual({ ...defaultConfig, ...embedded, storageCapabilities: capabilities });
         });
 
         it('merges object values', () => {
@@ -106,7 +109,7 @@ describe('getConfig()', () => {
           embedded[key] = { a: true, b: false };
           const expected = { ...defaultConfig, ...embedded };
           expected[key] = { ...defaultConfig[key], ...embedded[key] };
-          expect(getConfig()).toEqual(expected);
+          expect(getConfig()).toEqual({ ...expected, storageCapabilities: capabilities });
         });
       });
     });
diff --git a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/utils/config/get-config.tsx b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/utils/config/get-config.tsx
index 7d39ac7b93..9c19117c19 100644
--- a/packages/jaeger-ui/src/utils/config/get-config.tsx
+++ b/packages/jaeger-ui/src/utils/config/get-config.tsx
@@ -18,44 +18,47 @@ import memoizeOne from 'memoize-one';
 import processDeprecation from './process-deprecation';
 import defaultConfig, { deprecations, mergeFields } from '../../constants/default-config';
 
-let haveWarnedFactoryFn = false;
-let haveWarnedDeprecations = false;
-
 /**
  * Merge the embedded config from the query service (if present) with the
  * default config from `../../constants/default-config`.
  */
 const getConfig = memoizeOne(function getConfig() {
-  const getJaegerUiConfig = window.getJaegerUiConfig;
-  if (typeof getJaegerUiConfig !== 'function') {
-    if (!haveWarnedFactoryFn) {
-      // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
-      console.warn('Embedded config not available');
-      haveWarnedFactoryFn = true;
-    }
-    return { ...defaultConfig };
-  }
-  const embedded = getJaegerUiConfig();
+  const capabilities = getCapabilities();
+
+  const embedded = getUiConfig();
   if (!embedded) {
-    return { ...defaultConfig };
+    return { ...defaultConfig, storageCapabilities: capabilities };
   }
   // check for deprecated config values
   if (Array.isArray(deprecations)) {
-    deprecations.forEach(deprecation => processDeprecation(embedded, deprecation, !haveWarnedDeprecations));
-    haveWarnedDeprecations = true;
+    deprecations.forEach(deprecation => processDeprecation(embedded, deprecation, true));
   }
   const rv = { ...defaultConfig, ...embedded };
   // mergeFields config values should be merged instead of fully replaced
-  const keys = mergeFields;
-  for (let i = 0; i < keys.length; i++) {
-    const key = keys[i];
-    if (typeof embedded[key] === 'object' && embedded[key] !== null) {
+  mergeFields.forEach(key => {
+    if (embedded && typeof embedded[key] === 'object' && embedded[key] !== null) {
       rv[key] = { ...defaultConfig[key], ...embedded[key] };
     }
-  }
-  return rv;
+  });
+  return { ...rv, storageCapabilities: capabilities };
 });
 
+function getUiConfig() {
+  const getter = window.getJaegerUiConfig;
+  if (typeof getter !== 'function') {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+    console.warn('Embedded config not available');
+    return { ...defaultConfig };
+  }
+  return getter();
+}
+
+function getCapabilities() {
+  const getter = window.getJaegerStorageCapabilities;
+  const capabilities = typeof getter === 'function' ? getter() : null;
+  return capabilities ?? defaultConfig.storageCapabilities;
+}
+
 export default getConfig;
 
 export function getConfigValue(path: string) {
diff --git a/packages/jaeger-ui/test/jest-per-test-setup.js b/packages/jaeger-ui/test/jest-per-test-setup.js
index 2a411af60b..30793654eb 100644
--- a/packages/jaeger-ui/test/jest-per-test-setup.js
+++ b/packages/jaeger-ui/test/jest-per-test-setup.js
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ expect.addSnapshotSerializer(createSerializer({ mode: 'deep' }));
 // Calls to get-config.tsx and get-version.tsx warn if these globals are not functions.
 // This file is executed before each test file, so they may be overridden safely.
 window.getJaegerUiConfig = () => ({});
+window.getJaegerStorageCapabilities = () => ({});
 window.getJaegerVersion = () => ({
   gitCommit: '',
   gitVersion: '',
diff --git a/packages/jaeger-ui/typings/custom.d.ts b/packages/jaeger-ui/typings/custom.d.ts
index cc78cbc49e..b12c879ab4 100644
--- a/packages/jaeger-ui/typings/custom.d.ts
+++ b/packages/jaeger-ui/typings/custom.d.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ declare interface Window {
   __webpack_public_path__: string; // eslint-disable-line camelcase
   // For getting ui config
   getJaegerUiConfig?: () => Record<string, any>;
+  getJaegerStorageCapabilities?: () => Record<string, any>;
   getJaegerVersion?: () => Record<string, any>;
 }