Purchased additional storage but still say's storage full

Question

“I recently purchased additional storage and was charged twice, but I’m still unable to send emails because my account continues to show that my storage is full.”

Answer 1

Hello, Has it been 48 hours yet since you purchased the subscription? If not, it can take up to 48 hours for the changes to be reflected in your account? If it has been more than 48 hours, you would need to contact Microsoft billing support. To get help, open the "Get Help" app on your computer (just search for it in the Start menu). or go to https://support.microsoft.com/contactus, Type "Billing" and press Enter. On the next screen, click "Contact support" at the bottom of the page, then choose "Microsoft 365" > "Manage my subscription". You’ll then see the option to chat with a Microsoft support agent who has access to your account to help review the issue.

Answer 2

Follow these steps to resolve the issue:

1. Confirm which storage is full
   In Outlook.com, open Settings → View all Outlook settings → General → Storage (or use the Email storage link if shown).
   • If Email storage is full, old mail (especially with large attachments, Junk, Deleted Items, and Sent Items) must be deleted.
   • If Microsoft/OneDrive storage is full, clean up OneDrive or ensure the new OneDrive quota is applied.
2. Check that the new storage quota has updated
   For OneDrive/Microsoft storage:
   • Go to Manage storage at OneDrive: Manage storage and refresh the page to see if the additional storage is visible.
   • It can take up to 24 hours for purchased storage to appear. If the quota still hasn’t updated after 24 hours, unlink and re-link OneDrive as described in unlink and re-link OneDrive, then check again.
3. Force a storage refresh if using Outlook mobile
   If Outlook is used on mobile:
   • Close the Outlook app completely.
   • Reopen it, tap the profile avatar → Settings → tap the account → under Storage, tap the subscription type (Free plan or Premium) to force a refresh.
4. If storage still shows full after refresh
   • For OneDrive/Microsoft storage not updating after purchase, follow the “If your storage hasn’t updated” guidance and, if still stuck after the documented time window, use the get in touch with us link in that article to contact support.
   • For Outlook.com email storage, reduce mailbox size using the “How to reduce your cloud storage” guidance (delete large emails and empty Deleted Items and Junk).
5. Charged twice for storage
   Billing issues (such as duplicate charges) cannot be fixed from the product side. Use the Microsoft billing support/contact options described in the billing support article to request a refund or correction for the duplicate charge.

Once the correct storage (email vs OneDrive) is under its quota and the new quota has propagated, sending and receiving email should resume.

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References:

• My OneDrive says it's full
• Microsoft storage FAQs
• What is Microsoft cloud storage?
• Microsoft storage limit exceeded - Microsoft Q&A
• storage exceeded in outlook after purchasing MS 365 subscription - Microsoft Q&A
• i have been charged twice - Microsoft Q&A