Reminder: Microsoft storage limit exceeded

Question

Reminder: Microsoft storage limit exceeded

Robin Barron 0

I keep getting these emails from Microsoft. Reminder:Microsoft storage limit exceeded. Says I am 102 MB over 5 GB level. The most I've ever been is around 65% of the 5 GB. After the first email, I went and deleted a bunch of things from there. It is currently sitting at 1.4 GB/5 GB, 28% used. Yet I still get these emails. What exactly is the deal? P.S. The email they are sending this to is a secondary email account associated with my primary account and not to the primary account email address. No, I don't have two OneDrive accounts.

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Answer 1

Have an old computer with Microsoft/One Drive along with an email address associated with that. Again, never had an Outlook account. When I got a new computer a couple or more years ago, I had different email addresses associated with it. Again, never had an Outlook account. So, when I started getting emails saying I was over my storage limit, I would go into my Microsoft account on the new computer and saw that I was nowhere near my storage limit. Started deleting whatever in there and continued getting the messages. Finally struck me as I kept looking at the emails I was getting the address to which it was being sent was the old email address and not the addresses associated with my account on the newer computer. Ended up downloading everything on that Microsoft profile, deleting everything in there and emptied the storage. So, email messages I was receiving should now stop. Note. The email address being used on my old account is still a good email address. It's just not the one I used for my current account.

Answer 2

Craig Long 17,705

All personal accounts come with 5GB of free OneDrive cloud storage. If you have two Microsoft email accounts, you have two OneDrive accounts.

Robin Barron 0 Reputation points

2026-03-01T21:44:59.6066667+00:00

I do NOT have two Microsoft email accounts. I don't even have one Microsoft email account. My OneDrive account is tied into a non-Microsoft email address. It is not an Outlook email address as I never set up Outlook. Under my Microsoft account (established for everyone who buys a new computer. You have no choice since it is a Microsoft operating system). Under "Your info" when looking at your Microsoft account, it has an address one uses to sign into their Microsoft account and a secondary communication address. It is the secondary address to which they are sending the Reminder:Microsoft storage limit exceeded. I can't even log into Microsoft using that secondary address because it's just a communication address and not a login address.
Craig Long 17,705 Reputation points

2026-03-02T00:08:55.3233333+00:00

You cannot use Microsoft services, including OneDrive, without a Microsoft account. You may have an alias, such as another email address or phone number, linked to your Microsoft account, allowing you to use that instead to log in to Microsoft services, but you do have a Microsoft account.

See this: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/change-the-email-address-or-phone-number-for-your-microsoft-account-761a662d-8032-88f4-03f3-c9ba8ba0e00b

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-add-an-email-address-or-phone-number-to-your-microsoft-account-1898efcd-3f0a-6646-46d8-5b681999e047
Robin Barron 0 Reputation points

2026-03-02T01:26:51.3566667+00:00

My gosh. I've stated repeatedly that I have a Microsoft account and OneDrive. I've also stated repeatedly that I do not have an Outlook email account as I never created one. It is not required to create an Outlook account in order to create a Microsoft account.
Craig Long 17,705 Reputation points

2026-03-02T03:46:55.4366667+00:00

Hotmail accounts are also Microsoft accounts. So perhaps you have the older Hotmail account?
Robin Barron 0 Reputation points

2026-03-02T04:27:36.95+00:00

Figured it out. From an old computer but still have access to the email address on my new computer.
Robin Barron 0 Reputation points

2026-03-02T04:43:47.34+00:00

Sorry for running everyone and everything through the wringer.
Craig Long 17,705 Reputation points

2026-03-02T07:55:15.5233333+00:00

No problem. I'm glad to be of assistance if I was.

Answer 3

nobuko c 120.8K Independent Advisor

Hello,

Please open the OneDrive website and check your storage usage directly there.

For Outlook, also open the web version, go to Settings (top right) > Accounts > Storage > Email storage, and verify the usage.

If the service is working normally and there is no impact on your usage, you can ignore the email or mark it as spam.

If you mark it as spam, monitor it for a few days to a few weeks. If the emails stop coming, you can remove it from the spam list afterward.

Possible causes include:

Actions you performed may not have been properly reflected on Microsoft’s side, causing repeated emails.
The email may be a phishing attempt.

In that case, please change your Microsoft account password, ensure that two‑step verification is enabled, and avoid clicking any links or entering information if the email contains prompts to make purchases or provide personal data.

Please do not click any links inside the email. Always check your storage directly from the official Microsoft websites.

nobuko c 120.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-01T16:12:02.8566667+00:00

Please monitor the situation for a few days.
nobuko c 120.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-02T09:39:02.0866667+00:00

I'm glad to hear the issue has been resolved. What turned out to be the cause?
nobuko c 120.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-03T05:21:46.23+00:00

Thank you for explaining the cause. I’ll keep this in mind for the future.

Answer 4

Robin Barron 0

I don't have anything in the Recycled Bin. Just checked. I don't have an Outlook.com account. I don't use Teams or whatever that is.

Answer 5

The emails are triggered by the overall Microsoft cloud storage ("Microsoft Unified Storage"), not just the visible OneDrive usage shown as 1.4 GB/5 GB. Several other items also count toward the same 5 GB quota, and these can keep the account over quota even if OneDrive itself looks low.

Microsoft storage includes, under the same 5 GB pool:

OneDrive files and photos (including items in the OneDrive Recycle Bin)
Outlook.com attachments and inline images
Microsoft Teams message attachments and recordings
Loop meeting notes and ideas files
Images in Designer projects

If any combination of these pushes the total above 5 GB, Microsoft sends “storage limit exceeded” or “Microsoft Unified Storage is full” notices, and email delivery and OneDrive uploads can be affected.

In this situation:

Check total Microsoft storage, not just OneDrive, and reduce usage where needed:
- Empty the OneDrive Recycle Bin.
- Delete large attachments and emails in Outlook.com (including from Deleted Items).
- Remove unneeded Teams attachments/recordings or other content listed above.
If using a free account and staying under 5 GB is difficult, consider buying a subscription to increase the storage quota.

Note that emails sent while over quota can be bounced back to senders until the account is back under the limit.

References:

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Reminder: Microsoft storage limit exceeded

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