My storage says its full but its empty

Question

My storage says its full but its empty

brandy miller 0

As the title says, the storage says its full but its empty. I cant use my email or anything. Help.

Khairy Zhafran H. Kastella 80 Reputation points

2026-07-29T23:51:39.2166667+00:00
This issue is often caused by storage usage not updating correctly or by hidden items that still count against your Microsoft storage quota.

First, check your storage usage by visiting: https://account.microsoft.com/storage

Review the breakdown to see whether the storage is being used by OneDrive, Outlook attachments, or another Microsoft service.

If OneDrive appears empty but storage is still full:

Check the OneDrive Recycle Bin and the Second-stage Recycle Bin, as files there still count toward your storage until permanently deleted.

If your Outlook mailbox is over quota, delete unnecessary emails and empty the Deleted Items and Junk Email folders, as these also count toward your storage limit.

After deleting files or emails, allow up to 24–48 hours for the storage usage to refresh.

If the storage page shows little or no usage but your account is still reported as full, this may indicate a synchronization or account issue. In that case, please let us know:

How much storage does the Microsoft storage page show is being used?

Is the space being reported under OneDrive, Outlook, or another category?

Are you using a free Microsoft account or a Microsoft 365 subscription?

With that information, we can help identify the cause more precisely.
John Jefferson Doyon 82,225 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-07-30T00:41:07.0733333+00:00
Hi, @brandy miller

To help narrow down the issue:

What exact storage warning do you see?

Does it show that Outlook email storage or OneDrive storage is full?

Can you check the storage page here https://onedrive.live.com/managestorage and tell me what is using the space?

Your answer

Khairy Zhafran H. Kastella 80 Reputation points

2026-07-29T23:51:39.2166667+00:00

This issue is often caused by storage usage not updating correctly or by hidden items that still count against your Microsoft storage quota.

First, check your storage usage by visiting: https://account.microsoft.com/storage

Review the breakdown to see whether the storage is being used by OneDrive, Outlook attachments, or another Microsoft service.

If OneDrive appears empty but storage is still full:

Check the OneDrive Recycle Bin and the Second-stage Recycle Bin, as files there still count toward your storage until permanently deleted.

If your Outlook mailbox is over quota, delete unnecessary emails and empty the Deleted Items and Junk Email folders, as these also count toward your storage limit.

After deleting files or emails, allow up to 24–48 hours for the storage usage to refresh.

If the storage page shows little or no usage but your account is still reported as full, this may indicate a synchronization or account issue. In that case, please let us know:

How much storage does the Microsoft storage page show is being used?

Is the space being reported under OneDrive, Outlook, or another category?

Are you using a free Microsoft account or a Microsoft 365 subscription?

With that information, we can help identify the cause more precisely.
John Jefferson Doyon 82,225 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-07-30T00:41:07.0733333+00:00

Hi, @brandy miller

To help narrow down the issue:

What exact storage warning do you see?

Does it show that Outlook email storage or OneDrive storage is full?

Can you check the storage page here https://onedrive.live.com/managestorage and tell me what is using the space?