email storage

Question

I have upgraded storage for my email account but it still says storage is full

Answer 1

Hi,

Thank you for your question, I’ll be happy to help you with this.

If you recently purchased additional storage, please note that it can take up to 24 to 48 hours for the update to reflect across all services. If it’s still not showing after that time, try signing out of your account and then signing back in.

After the waiting period, you can check if your storage has been updated by going to https://outlook.live.com/

Navigating to Settings > Accounts > Storage, and expanding both the Microsoft Storage and Cloud Storage sections.

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If your storage still hasn’t updated, I recommend contacting Microsoft Support so they can check this further:

You can do this by visiting https://support.microsoft.com/contactus/

Signing in to your Microsoft account

Select Microsoft 365 > Get home support.

Type “Chat with an agent” in the text field, press Enter

Click Contact support at the bottom

Choose the product you need help with

Follow the prompts to connect with a live agent.

Answer 2

Upgrading email storage increases the Outlook.com mailbox quota, but the “storage is full” message can still appear if the Microsoft cloud storage (unified storage) is over its limit or if the mailbox has not actually been reduced below quota.

Key points and checks:

1. Check whether unified Microsoft storage is full
   • Outlook.com email storage and Microsoft cloud storage are related but separate.
   • If Microsoft unified storage is full, Outlook.com cannot send or receive email even if the mailbox itself shows free space.
   • When Microsoft storage is exceeded:
     • Cannot upload, edit, or sync new files to OneDrive (existing files become read-only).
     • Cannot send or receive email in Outlook.com.
     • Cannot send or receive Microsoft Teams messages with attachments.
   • To get back under the unified storage quota:
     • If using a free account, either buy a subscription to increase storage or free up space in OneDrive/attachments.
     • If already a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriber, additional file storage can be added beyond the included 1 TB.
2. Confirm mailbox vs. cloud storage usage
   • Outlook.com gives 15 GB of free email storage and 5 GB of free Microsoft cloud storage shared across OneDrive files, Outlook.com attachments, and Microsoft 365 apps.
   • Even after upgrading the mailbox (for example via Microsoft 365), if the cloud storage portion is still over quota, the account will still be blocked.
3. Verify mailbox storage and clean up if needed
   • In Outlook.com, open Settings and search for Storage to see how much mailbox storage is used.
   • From Settings > Storage, review the folder breakdown and use the options to permanently delete items (or items older than 3, 6, or 12 months) from large folders.
   • Remember that deleted items must also be removed from Deleted Items/Trash to actually free space.
4. Ways to resolve the “full” status
   • If unified storage is full:
     • Free up space in OneDrive and large email attachments, or
     • Purchase or upgrade a Microsoft 365 subscription and, if applicable, add more file storage.
   • If email storage is full:
     • Use the Storage page in Outlook.com to delete or age out items until usage drops below the quota.
   • Consumer Outlook.com mailboxes are capped at 100 GB even with subscription; beyond that, space must be freed or an enterprise plan considered.

If the upgraded subscription is active but the account still shows full, verify that:

• The upgrade is a paid (not trial) Microsoft 365 subscription, since the 100 GB mailbox is not available to trial subscribers.
• The same Microsoft account that was upgraded is the one signed in to Outlook.com and OneDrive.

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References:

• Storage limits in Outlook.com
• Microsoft storage FAQs
• Mailbox storage limits in Outlook