Outlook Mailbox Full? Here’s How to Free up Space Quickly
If your Outlook mailbox full, then it needs proper inbox management to fix the warning issues. In this article, we will explain how to resolve mailbox is full in Outlook error using effective methods.
Whether you are an occasional or regular MS Outlook user, the issue of an inbox full is quite common. Unfortunately, it halts the services, especially sending or receiving messages. Also, it interrupts the overall Outlook performance. To manage your Outlook inbox like a Pro, follow this guide for tips and strategies.
Why Does the Outlook Mailbox Get Full?
Your Outlook mailbox might get full due to large emails and attachments taking up more storage space, or you have not deleted unwanted emails and data files from your Outlook account. Here are some reasons given below:
- The system does not automatically empty the Deleted Items and Junk Email folders.
- Improper management of mailboxes also causes this error as PST/OST files increase over time.
- Large attachments, calendars, tasks, and notes can also take up space.
- No archiving policy has been implemented for old emails.
- In some cases, wrong settings and configurations of Outlook also cause this problem.
- Sometimes the server hosting the mailbox also gets full due to its maximum storage limit.
Outlook mailbox capacity differs by account type if you’re using:
- Com: 15 GB (free) / 50 GB+ (premium)
- Exchange/Office 365: Typically 50 GB-100 GB or more, based on plan choice.
How to Check Mailbox Sizein Outlook?
Before starting any process, cross-verify that your mailbox is full or not by following the steps:
- Open Outlook.
- Navigate to “File”, go to “Tools”, then click on “Mailbox Cleanup”.
- View the size of your Outlook Mailbox
- Also, check how much space is occupied by how many items.
You’ll have to know about your mailbox size in Outlook, and now it’s your turn to apply these best ways to resolve the issue of Outlook mailbox full after deleting everything.
Watch a Video to Fix “Outlook Storage Full” Error
Top 7 Ways to Fix “Mailbox is Full in Outlook”
You can fix the “Outlook mailbox full after deleting everything” error by deleting the removed emails from the Hidden/Spam folders and also by cleaning your trash folder, which contains unnecessary spam emails. Some of the other ways are explained below:
- Use the Mailbox Cleanup Tool
- Archive Old Emails Automatically
- Delete or Compress Email Attachments
- Increase Outlook Mailbox Size (for Exchange/Office 365 Users)
- Compact Outlook Data File (.pst/.ost)
- Use a Professional Tool
Let’s discuss them one by one quickly.
How to Solve “Your Mailbox is Full in Outlook” Error?
Here, we have explained all the possible ways to resolve this problem one by one. Understand the way that suits your needs best and use it. But follow each step carefully, one wrong step may lead data loss situation.
#1 Empty Trash and Junk Folder
Sometimes happens when your Outlook mailbox full after deleting everything, like emails and data files, because all your emails are moved into the Trash/Bin folder after deleting them for 14 to 30 days to be deleted permanently. And the Junk folder contains spam emails, which are not so important for users. So, we can empty the Trash and Junk folders to fix “Outlook mailbox is full” situations:
- Right-click on Deleted Items >> Empty Folder.
- You can do the same for Junk Email.
You can Auto-Delete:
- File > Options > Advanced > Outlook Start and Exit > Empty Deleted Items.
Cons:
- Permanent Deletion: Items cannot be easily recovered simply after being removed from their folders unless a backup is available.
- Accidental Deletion: Important emails that have been mistakenly deleted and placed in these folders may be lost forever.
#2 Use the Mailbox Cleanup Tool
Outlook includes a native tool for managing the size of the mailbox.
- File > Tools > Mailbox Cleanup.
- Options to choose from include:
- It helps to view Mailbox Size of large items.
- Auto-deletes anything older than 100 days.
Note:- For comprehensive data organisation while cleaning up, you may also need to create separate contact lists with Outlook email extraction guide and prepare for migration.
Cons:
- Not Immediate: considerable manual picking and deciding is required.
- Attachment-free: no deep clean for attachment-heavy accounts.
Tip: If you’re an OWA (Outlook on the Web) user, then you can use its built-in function, which is “Sweep“. It helps you to “delete all upcoming emails from a particular sender”, “stores only latest conversations”, and “eliminates emails older than a set time” automatically.
#3 Archive Old Emails Automatically
- AutoArchive will automatically relocate older items into a local archive file, thus reducing the size of your mailbox.
- File > Options > Advanced > AutoArchive Settings
- Decide how often you want to auto-archive and where you want that automatically archived data stored.
Cons:
- Accessibility: Because an archive is saved locally, it won’t sync across devices.
- Risk of Missing Email: If the archived file is corrupted or lost, you’ll lose that history completely.
Note: Don’t disable AutoArchive – it is a very useful space-saving feature.
Quick Suggestion to Fix Outlook Storage Full Error
Your Outlook mailbox is full because of large data files, and if you don’t want to delete any items from your file, then download the SysTools PST Splitter Tool. This is the right and accurate method to fix the “Outlook Mailbox Full” error.
It can split PST file into smaller parts using specific filters and settings. Like you can divide by size, date, year, subject, folder, email ID, category, and sender. Also, it comes with a free demo version to understand how the tool works.
#4 Delete or Compress Email Attachments
Email attachments take up the most space.
- Use Search > Has Attachments to find and get rid of the attached emails.
- You can save the attachments to your PC (Local Storage) or OneDrive (Cloud Storage) and delete them from your email.
Note: Use a third-party tool like SysTools Outlook Attachment Extractor to extract the attachments from mailbox (keep them as a backup) as attachment takes up maximum space in emails. So, you can also delete from the original Outlook PST file, which makes your Outlook inbox size less and accessible.
Cons:
- Loss of Valuable Data: Deleting an attachment without backing it up could result in data loss.
- User Effort: Searching, saving, and then deleting attachments is a time-consuming manual task.
#5 Increase Mailbox Size (for Exchange/Office 365 users)
If you use Outlook as part of your business plan, you are likely receiving Outlook mailbox full issue, which is increasing the size of your mailbox quota.
- Speak to your IT admin or upsize your subscription plan.
- Some Office 365 enterprise plans show mailbox sizes up to 100 GB or auto-increasing archives.
Cons:
- Not Free: Requires paid plan upgrade or additional payment.
- No change in behaviour: It only increases the space in your mailbox; it does not improve email management or behaviour.
Recommended: How to Reduce PST File Size in Outlook.
#6 Compact Outlook Data File (.pst/.ost)
After removing the items:
- Navigate to File, then Account Settings, and click on Data Files
- Choose the File, click on Settings, then Compact Now
Cons:
- No Storage Gain: Compaction only occurs after the email is deleted or discarded.
- Risk of Damage: Compacting a PST/OST file with a large size can cause file integrity issues if the compaction is interrupted.
This method regains the space that is not used up and boosts Outlook’s performance.
Note: The above manual methods can be challenging for normal Outlook users. Professionals recommend using modern and automated tools, rather than implementing a large-scale method for resolving Outlook Mailbox full issues.
Automate Solution to Fix “Outlook Inbox Full After Deleting Everything” Issue
To resolve the issue of Outlook mailbox is full, you just need an advanced utility like SysTools PST Compress Tool, which allows you to compress your PST file reliably. This can help you to do it automatically and without any risk of data loss.
This advanced utility will ensure the file is intact while compressing, allowing you to save your PST file size in good conscience by safely deleting, extracting, or saving your file attachments to a distinct folder and leaving the email content unaffected.
This professional tool is designed to make the PST file smaller in size as it offers many compression modes, like removing, extracting, and saving the attached files to reduce Outlook mailbox size. It also supports batch removal, where the user can process many files according to his or her choice while preserving the data or structure of the file intact. It doesn’t need any third-party installation or any software, as it is a standalone utility.
Steps to Use an Advanced Tool to Fix “Outlook Mailbox Full” Issue
To resolve the problem, follow the steps given below:
- Firstly, launch and run the aforementioned tool.
- Click on Add Files or Folder button to choose Compression options provided by tool.
- Click on Browse button and select file to fix Outlook mailbox full error.
- Choose the options from Select Item Types.
- Finally, press OK button to resolve the full Outlook mailbox error.
This is how you can easily and quickly reduce the size of your mailbox by compressing the files.
Pro Tip: You can also choose SysTools Outlook Duplicate Remover Software, which can help a user reduce the size of the Outlook inbox by identifying and removing duplicates, which are causing chaos and cluttering the mailbox. For further information, visit the official webpage.
Conclusion
In this explained article, we have discussed how users can resolve the problem of a full Outlook mailbox even after deleting everything by using both manual and automated methods. Whether you’re working on a large data file, you can easily make it small by using the advanced solutions mentioned above. Also, while using the software, always take a backup of your data to prevent the accidental loss of data.
FAQs on Mailbox is Full in Outlook
Q.1 How Can I Fix Outlook Mailbox Full but No Messages Issue?
A. The possible reason for displaying this error is that your Outlook data file is data file corruption. You must have to repair a corrupted Outlook PST file, and for that, you can use SysTools PST Repair Tool.
Q.2 Why Does My Outlook Storage Get Full All of a Sudden?
A. Your Outlook space suddenly gets full when your local drive runs out of space due to unwanted system updates and cached data.
Q.3 Why is my Outlook Mailbox Full After Deleting Everything?
A. It happens because your deleted items are not removed from the deleted items, junk folder, or any hidden folder. To make mailbox clear, you must need to manually remove items from these folders.
Q.4 How to Resolve Outlook Storage Full?
A. To fix the Outlook mailbox error, delete unwanted items and huge attachment files, make your old data archived, or make a new Outlook profile. Else use advanced tools designed by SysTools to resolve the issue.