Onedrive and outlook issues

Question

I recently deleted a lot of photos from my OneDrive to clear up space, and my Microsoft Account is showing that I'm at 1.6/5.0 GB, but my Outlook account still says I'm at 5.1/5.0, and it won't let me send or receive emails. It's especially weird because if I click manage storage and I look at the storage bar it's clearly not full, but it still says it's full.

Answer 1

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

With a Microsoft account (without any Office 365 Subscription), you get 5GB of OneDrive and 15GB of Outlook email storage.

If you've exceeded your available cloud storage limit for a few days, your storage will be frozen. So, after you upgrade or free up space in your storage account, it may take 2–4 hours, or up to 24 hours, for your account to be unfrozen. If you are still having issues after 24 hours, I recommend emailing your problem to the Microsoft OneDrive support team using the link below.

https://onedrive.live.com/?action=feedback

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Answer 2

Outlook.com email stops working when the overall Microsoft cloud storage is over quota, even if OneDrive itself now looks under 5 GB. The over‑quota state can lag behind what the storage bar shows.

Key points from Microsoft storage behavior:

1. When Microsoft cloud storage is exceeded:
   • Cannot send or receive email in Outlook.com, even if the email storage bar looks fine.
   • Any emails sent to the account are bounced back to the sender.
   • OneDrive files become read‑only and new files cannot be uploaded or synced.
2. If the over‑quota state persists for months, OneDrive can be frozen and eventually deleted.

To resolve the issue:

1. Confirm actual Microsoft storage status
   • Go to the Microsoft account storage page (via the “manage storage” or “storage” link shown in Outlook.com/OneDrive).
   • Check the total Microsoft storage used vs. quota, not just the OneDrive bar.
2. Free up more Microsoft cloud storage
   • In OneDrive on the web, use Storage used / Manage your OneDrive storage to:
     • View and delete the largest files.
     • Empty the OneDrive Recycle Bin, which still counts against quota.
   • Reduce other Microsoft cloud content that counts toward the same quota (for example, large items in services that store into OneDrive or shared folders that push the account over quota).
3. Wait for the quota state to refresh
   • After deleting enough content so that total usage is clearly below 5 GB, allow some time for Microsoft’s systems to update the quota status.
   • Once the account is no longer over the Microsoft storage limit, Outlook.com sending/receiving should resume automatically.
4. If still blocked after cleanup
   • If the storage bar and numbers clearly show usage well below the 5 GB limit but Outlook.com still reports 5.1/5.0 GB and blocks mail after a reasonable delay, use the support/contact option shown on the storage or account pages so Microsoft can correct the account state.

If more space is needed long‑term, consider using the buy more storage or Microsoft 365 subscription options shown on the storage page.

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References:

• My OneDrive says it's full
• Microsoft storage quotas