My Outlook.com mailbox has been locked for months due to storage. I have cleared all storage including OneDrive and recycle bins. My usage is not updating and I am stuck over limit. This is a quota sync issue. Please escalate to engineering.

Question

My Outlook.com mailbox has been locked for months due to storage. I have cleared all storage including OneDrive and recycle bins. My usage is not updating and I am stuck over limit. This is a quota sync issue. Please escalate to engineering.

Jann-Rick Louw 5

John Jefferson Doyon 65,405 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-04-06T20:52:36.9866667+00:00

Hi, I'm John!

Have you already attempted to unlink and relink OneDrive?

If storage update is still pending for days now, you can try unlinking and relinking your OneDrive account, or resetting it. "Unlink and re-link OneDrive" https://support.microsoft.com/office/unlink-and-re-link-onedrive-3c4680bf-cc36-4204-9ca5-e7b24cdd23ea

If you're using Outlook Web, you can try resetting your browser cache and cookies. You can also try another browser, or test in incognito or InPrivate mode.

If the issue still persists, please wait another 24 hours for everything to fully update across your account.
Hornblower409 7,125 Reputation points

2026-04-07T05:57:47.4733333+00:00
@Jann-Rick Louw said

My Outlook.com mailbox has been locked for months due to storage. This is a quota sync issue.

There are numerous recent reports of incorrect storage quota issues, where changes in your storage usage are not reflected in Outlook. No fix that I have seen. All I can help you with is trying to get Microsoft Support to look at your tenant and kick it loose.

First try in-app Chat Support

Logon to https://outlook.live.com/

From the main menu: Help -> ? Help

{This should open the Help side panel}

Search Help = "current storage usage not reflected in Outlook" and press Enter

Still need help? [Yes]

If you get "We're here to help": Tell us your problem = {Your problem, again} [Get Help]

[Sign In] {Use any Outlook/Microsoft account}

Choose a support option -> Chat with a support agent in your web browser

If that doesn't work, try browser Chat Support

Open a browser to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/home/contact

Tell us your problem: "current storage usage not reflected in Outlook"

[Get Help] {Scroll down to the bottom of the page} [Sign in to Contact Support]

Sign in with any Microsoft account

Products and services: "Microsoft 365 and Office"

Category: "Outlook"

[Confirm]

Choose a support option -> "Chat with a support agent in your web browser"

If that doesn't work, come back and we'll look for something else.

2 answers

Your answer

John Jefferson Doyon 65,405 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-04-06T20:52:36.9866667+00:00

Hi, I'm John!

Have you already attempted to unlink and relink OneDrive?

If storage update is still pending for days now, you can try unlinking and relinking your OneDrive account, or resetting it. "Unlink and re-link OneDrive" https://support.microsoft.com/office/unlink-and-re-link-onedrive-3c4680bf-cc36-4204-9ca5-e7b24cdd23ea

If you're using Outlook Web, you can try resetting your browser cache and cookies. You can also try another browser, or test in incognito or InPrivate mode.

If the issue still persists, please wait another 24 hours for everything to fully update across your account.
Hornblower409 7,125 Reputation points

2026-04-07T05:57:47.4733333+00:00

@Jann-Rick Louw said

My Outlook.com mailbox has been locked for months due to storage. This is a quota sync issue.

There are numerous recent reports of incorrect storage quota issues, where changes in your storage usage are not reflected in Outlook. No fix that I have seen. All I can help you with is trying to get Microsoft Support to look at your tenant and kick it loose.

First try in-app Chat Support

Logon to https://outlook.live.com/

From the main menu: Help -> ? Help

{This should open the Help side panel}

Search Help = "current storage usage not reflected in Outlook" and press Enter

Still need help? [Yes]

If you get "We're here to help": Tell us your problem = {Your problem, again} [Get Help]

[Sign In] {Use any Outlook/Microsoft account}

Choose a support option -> Chat with a support agent in your web browser

If that doesn't work, try browser Chat Support

Open a browser to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/home/contact

Tell us your problem: "current storage usage not reflected in Outlook"

[Get Help] {Scroll down to the bottom of the page} [Sign in to Contact Support]

Sign in with any Microsoft account

Products and services: "Microsoft 365 and Office"

Category: "Outlook"

[Confirm]

Choose a support option -> "Chat with a support agent in your web browser"

If that doesn't work, come back and we'll look for something else.

Answer 1

Outlook not updating to the current storage usage/quota

Microsoft has acknowledged that there is a problem and is working on a fix.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5837950/outlook-storage-limit-not-updating-after-upgrade

Click the [Follow Question] button on that thread to receive a notification for any new updates on this issue.

Gabe Bratton Apr 8, 2026, 10:54 AM
The Outlook Team says that the fix is rolling out and is expected to be complete in the next 24 hours.

Gabe Bratton Apr 8, 2026, 4:40 PM
There is no external guidance about this issue. The latest update is that the fix is rolling out and is expected to be complete in the next 24 hours. The product team has telemetry to see the progression, and they see the queue coming down at a steady rate.

Answer 2

Outlook.com storage status is controlled by Microsoft Unified Storage. When that unified quota is over limit, Outlook.com remains locked even if the mailbox itself shows low usage.

If the unified storage is exceeded:

Outlook.com cannot send or receive email, even if email storage is not full.
OneDrive becomes read-only and cannot sync or upload new files.
Teams messages with attachments cannot be sent or received.

To restore service, storage must be brought under the unified quota:

Verify unified storage status
- Sign in to the Microsoft account and check overall Microsoft storage (not just Outlook.com email usage). The unified storage includes OneDrive, Outlook.com, and other Microsoft storage.
Free up Microsoft storage
- Permanently delete unnecessary files from OneDrive (including the OneDrive Recycle Bin).
- Reduce Outlook.com mailbox size by deleting large or old messages and then emptying Deleted Items and Junk Email.
- After deletion, allow time for the quota to recalculate.
If using the free tier
- Either free up enough space to get under the free quota, or purchase a Microsoft 365 subscription to increase the mailbox quota or use the “free up storage space” options described in the storage article.
If already a Microsoft 365 subscriber
- Consumer mailbox limits are capped at 100 GB. If the mailbox or unified storage is still over quota, more space must be freed; if more than 100 GB of mailbox storage is required, only an Enterprise plan can increase that limit.

If all storage locations (Outlook.com, OneDrive including Recycle Bin) are clearly under quota and the account still shows over limit after waiting for recalculation, this indicates a backend account issue that cannot be fixed from the client side. In that case, contact Microsoft Support for Outlook.com/Microsoft account so the support team can review the unified storage state and, if necessary, escalate internally.

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My Outlook.com mailbox has been locked for months due to storage. I have cleared all storage including OneDrive and recycle bins. My usage is not updating and I am stuck over limit. This is a quota sync issue. Please escalate to engineering.

2 answers

Your answer