email limit

Question

why will my email account not work? says I'm at my 5gb limit though I paid for 100gb

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

The account is blocked because the Microsoft cloud storage quota, not just the mailbox, is over the free 5 GB limit. The 100 GB purchased is for Outlook.com email storage only and does not increase the separate Microsoft cloud storage pool unless it is a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription with larger OneDrive included.

Key points from the storage model:

• Outlook.com email storage (mailbox):
  • Free accounts get 15 GB of email storage.
  • Microsoft 365 subscribers get 100 GB of mailbox space.
• Microsoft cloud storage ("Microsoft storage" / unified storage):
  • Free accounts get 5 GB shared across:
    • OneDrive files and photos
    • Outlook.com attachments stored in the cloud
    • Some Microsoft 365 app data

If the unified Microsoft storage is exceeded (for example, OneDrive + cloud attachments are over 5 GB):

• Cannot send or receive email in Outlook.com, even if the mailbox itself shows plenty of free email space.
• OneDrive becomes read‑only (no new uploads/edits/syncs).
• After 6 months over quota, OneDrive and its files may be deleted.

To restore email functionality:

1. Get back under the Microsoft storage quota:
   • Sign in to the Microsoft account and delete files from OneDrive (large files, old backups, photos, or email attachments stored in OneDrive) until total cloud storage is below the limit.
   • Use the storage cleanup tools linked from the storage page to remove large or old items.
2. Or increase Microsoft storage:
   • If using a free account, purchase a Microsoft 365 subscription that includes larger OneDrive/cloud storage, or buy additional storage as offered on the account’s storage page.
3. After storage is below the quota, sending and receiving email in Outlook.com will resume.

If the account shows 100 GB mailbox but still reports “Microsoft Unified Storage is full,” the issue is with the unified cloud storage, not the mailbox size. Check the Microsoft storage breakdown and clean up OneDrive or attachments rather than the inbox alone.

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References:

• My OneDrive says it's full
• Storage limits in Outlook.com
• Mailbox storage limits in Outlook