Sync issue with OneNote

Question

My onedrive account with Microsoft 365 has 1 TB of storage. I am using 23 GB but OneNote keeps telling me it cannot sync because I am out of storage space. I get this message on OneNote on my iPhone, iPad and Windows.

Answer 1

Hello. OneNote may show a storage error when it thinks the notebook is not syncing correctly with OneDrive, even if your OneDrive has space. Confirm you are signed into OneNote with the same Microsoft account that has the OneDrive storage.

Open your notebooks in OneNote for the web at onenote.com to check if they sync online. If a notebook is stored locally instead of in OneDrive, it will not sync and may show a storage error. Also check if any individual notebook file is too large (OneNote notebook files have limits when syncing).

Answer 2

OneNote sync “out of storage” errors can occur even when plenty of OneDrive space is available, because OneNote also enforces per‑file and local‑device limits.

Check and fix the following:

1. Verify the notebook file size

• OneNote notebooks stored in OneDrive/SharePoint have a 2 GB per‑file limit.
• Browse to the notebook in OneDrive/SharePoint, right‑click it, and check Properties to confirm it is under 2 GB.
• If it exceeds 2 GB, reduce its size (see steps 3–4) until it is below the limit.

2. Confirm OneDrive account storage

• Go to the OneDrive website and check the storage indicator (lower‑left corner) to confirm that the account really has free space and is not at quota.
• If the account quota is exceeded, free up space or purchase more storage.

3. Reduce notebook size (large/old content) If the notebook is large, OneNote may show errors like 0xE0000025 or 0xE0000796 that appear as “not enough space” or “quota exceeded.” To reduce size:

• Optimize the notebook (Windows desktop OneNote):
  1. In OneNote, select File > Options.
  2. Select Save & Backup.
  3. Select Optimize All Files Now.
  4. Optionally lower Number of backup copies to keep to reduce future growth.
• Delete existing local backups (Windows):
  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. In the address bar, type %localappdata% and press Enter.
  3. Open Microsoft > OneNote > 16.0 > Backup.
  4. Delete backup files/folders that are no longer needed.

4. Clear large history/recycle content (if hitting file‑too‑large limits) If the notebook has had large files added/removed over time, history and the notebook recycle bin can keep old copies and push the effective size over limits:

• Empty the Notebook Recycle Bin:
  • In OneNote, select History > Notebook Recycle Bin > Empty Recycle Bin.
• Delete old page versions:
  • Select History > Page Versions > Delete All Versions.

Restart OneNote and try syncing again.

5. Check local disk space and cache (Windows) Even when OneDrive has space, low local disk space can cause “quota” or “not enough space” sync errors because OneNote caches notebooks locally.

• Ensure the system drive has free space.
• Clear OneNote cache files if needed:
  1. Go to C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneNote\16.0\cache.
  2. Remove old cache files that are no longer needed.
• If problems persist, reset OneNote:
  1. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
  2. Find OneNote, choose Advanced options.
  3. Select Repair, and if needed, Reset.

6. Re‑test sync on all devices

• After cleaning/optimizing, open the notebook on Windows and force a sync (for Microsoft 365 desktop: File > Info > View Sync Status > Sync Now).
• Then open the same notebook on iPhone and iPad and allow time for a full sync.

If the notebook file is under 2 GB, OneDrive shows plenty of free space, local disk has space, and the above cleanup steps are completed, but the error persists, report the issue via the OneNote support channels (for example, through the OneNote forums on Microsoft Answers) so the product team can investigate.

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References:

• Resolve the 0xE0000796 (Quota Exceeded) error in OneNote
• Fix issues when you can't sync OneNote
• Resolve the 0xE0000025 (File Too Large) error in OneNote

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