i keep getting told the my outlook email storage is full and will lose access in 16 days. i have microsoft 365 with 1TB storage 2% used

Question

On both my desktop and laptop i am continually being messaged that I have used 5.3 of my 5GB storage.

I recommends getting more storage , but I already have Microsoft 365 with 1TB and am only using 26.4 or 2%.

I can't seem to figure out how to correct this. I've been on auto pay monthly of 14.99 for quite a few years.

Please help

Answer 1

It sounds like you're experiencing issues with your Outlook email storage despite having a Microsoft 365 subscription that provides 1TB of storage. The warning you're receiving about your email storage being full likely refers to the mailbox quota, which is separate from your overall OneDrive storage.

In Microsoft 365, the default mailbox storage limit is often 5GB for standard mailboxes. If you're receiving messages about exceeding this limit, it means that your mailbox has reached its quota, not your overall OneDrive storage. Here are some steps you can take to resolve this issue:

1. Check Mailbox Size: Use PowerShell to check the size of your mailbox and see if it indeed exceeds the quota. You can run the following command:

      Get-MailboxStatistics -Identity <YourEmailAddress> | FL DisplayName, TotalItemSize
   

2. Clean Up Mailbox: If your mailbox is full, consider deleting unnecessary emails or archiving older messages. You can also check the Recoverable Items folder, which can contribute to the total size but isn't visible to users.
3. Enable Archive: If you haven't already, consider enabling an archive for your mailbox. This can help manage your mailbox size by moving older emails to the archive automatically.
4. Retention Policies: Check if any retention policies are applied to your mailbox that might be affecting your email storage. You can verify this by running:

      Get-Mailbox <YourEmailAddress> | fl RetentionPolicy
   

5. Contact Support: If these steps do not resolve your issue, it may be beneficial to contact Microsoft Support for further assistance.

By following these steps, you should be able to address the storage warning and manage your mailbox more effectively.

Answer 2

I keep my mailbox quite empty and regularly clean out spam and trash folders as well.

It keeps telling me the problem is my one Drive and wants me to purchase Microsoft 365 which I already have had for years.

I moved many GB's from One Drive to a remote Drive, but still no change. My Android phones do not have this issue.

Answer 3

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

If you’d like, please let me know whether you can sign in to OneDrive normally and what the sender’s email domain is (you can mask part of it).

Reference: "Can I trust email from the Microsoft account team?" https://support.microsoft.com/account-billing/can-i-trust-email-from-the-microsoft-account-team-685fd302-f52f-1a9f-cc13-065dec46fe25

Microsoft does send legitimate OneDrive storage warning emails, but there are also phishing emails that look very convincing.

To stay safe, here’s how to tell the difference:

• Don’t click any links in the email for now.
• Check the sender’s email address carefully. Official Microsoft emails usually end with @microsoft.com (not random domains or misspellings).
• Sign in to OneDrive directly to https://onedrive.live.com in your browser (not link through the email). If there’s a real issue, you’ll see the warning after you sign in.
• In Outlook, look under Settings > Storage or OneDrive storage info to confirm if your account is over quota or inactive.

IMPORTANT: If the email is asking for urgent action, threatening immediate deletion, or asking you to “verify” your account, that’s a red flag and likely a scam.

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I really hope this information is helpful! Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Regards,

John J.D.