Storage issue

Question

I have had Microsoft for many years. It keeps renewing every year. I keep getting emails stating that my icloud and oneDrive do not have any storage. However I have only used 1 GB of 1 TB. I know I need to log into to my secondary email ******@gmail.com to log into my account. But my default email is ******@comcast.net. How can I get Microsoft to use my default account, ******@comcast.net for Microsoft's iCloud & oneDrive? Microsoft is using ******@comcast.net which does not have enough space. I am also paying $1.99 per month for extra onedrive storage.

Please help!

Carla Heitz

<PII removed>

Answer 1

The email you received might be fake as there's a version of phishing scam like that going around now. Who's the sender?

A legitimate email from Microsoft regarding your account always comes from domains ending in @accountprotection.microsoft.com

Also, iCloud is not even Microsoft product, it is an Apple product. So that's what also made me think you might be getting phishing scam emails. I've seen those emails, they do reference iCloud sometimes and sometimes they mentioned OneDrive.

As for primary vs. secondary username, Can you sign into your personal account via this link: https://account.live.com?

If so, go to Your Info > Sign in preference. From here you can make comast email primary.

Answer 2

The storage warning emails are based on the Microsoft account that owns the OneDrive/Microsoft cloud storage, not on the email address set as a default in other services.

From the description, there are likely two different things involved:

1. The Microsoft account used for OneDrive/Microsoft 365 (signed in with the Gmail address).
2. A separate email account (the Comcast address) that has its own mailbox and storage limits, unrelated to the 1 TB OneDrive storage.

Key points from Microsoft storage behavior:

• Microsoft cloud storage (OneDrive + Outlook.com attachments + other Microsoft services) is tied to a single personal Microsoft account identity.
• The storage quota applies to that account and includes OneDrive files, Outlook.com attachments and inline images, and other Microsoft app data.
• If the Microsoft storage quota is exceeded, email and OneDrive can be blocked until storage is freed or more storage is purchased.
• To see what is actually full and under which account, the correct Microsoft account must be used when signing in.

To resolve and align storage and notifications:

1. Sign in with the account that owns the OneDrive/1 TB subscription
   • Use the Gmail address that is known to be the sign-in for the Microsoft 365/OneDrive subscription.
   • Go to the Microsoft account dashboard and open the Microsoft storage section to see:
     • Total storage quota
     • How much is used
     • Breakdown of usage (OneDrive, Outlook.com, other services)
2. Verify which account is over quota
   • If the storage view for the Gmail-based Microsoft account shows only ~1 GB used of 1 TB, that account is not over quota.
   • If any other Microsoft account exists under the Comcast address, that account may have only the free 5 GB quota and could be over its limit.
3. Check for a second Microsoft account under the Comcast address
   • Sign out of all Microsoft services in the browser.
   • Sign back in using the Comcast address as the Microsoft account sign-in.
   • Open the Microsoft storage section again and check whether this account:
     • Has a much smaller quota (for example 5 GB), and
     • Is at or over its limit.
   • If so, that account is the source of the “storage full” messages.
4. Get back under quota on the over-limit account
   • If the over-limit account is a free account:
     • Either free up storage (delete OneDrive files, empty OneDrive Recycle Bin, remove large Outlook.com attachments) or
     • Buy a Microsoft 365 subscription or additional storage for that specific Microsoft account.
   • If the over-limit account already has a Microsoft 365 subscription:
     • Consumer mailbox limits are capped at 100 GB; if email storage is full, email must be deleted to get back under the quota.
5. Ensure the correct email is used for sign-in and notifications
   • The email address used to sign in to the Microsoft account determines where storage notifications are sent.
   • If the Gmail address is the actual Microsoft account, that is the identity that controls OneDrive and Microsoft 365 storage, regardless of which address is preferred for other purposes.

If the account that is over quota is no longer needed, another option is to sign in to that account, download any important files from OneDrive, then delete enough content (and empty the Recycle Bin) so it is no longer over quota. This will stop the storage warning emails for that account.

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References:

• What is Microsoft cloud storage?
• Changes to Microsoft 365 email features and storage
• Storage limits in Outlook.com
• What does it mean when your OneDrive account is frozen?
• Microsoft storage limit exceeded - Microsoft Q&A