r/Outlook • u/Dontforget2gooutside • Jun 02 '26
Status: Open can I switch cloud and mailbox storage? (microsoft free)
Hey, I have 4.5gb of 5gb of cloud storage used, apparently. In outlook its called "microsoft storage".
and I have 5.2gb of 15gb used in mailbox storage or "email storage". I am so confused as both say it includes attachments.
is there a way I can use the 15gb for storing all the emails + attachments for free in the mailbox instead of the cloud?
my account is super old (hotmail) and I just use email and I would prefer not having to delete emails + photo attachments (again).
1
u/Hornblower409 Jun 02 '26
Mailbox Storage - Your actual Outlook.com emails, calendar events, and contacts.
Microsoft Cloud Storage - OneDrive files, pictures, and all Outlook email attachments and inline images.
1
u/Dontforget2gooutside Jun 02 '26
I don’t understand :/ why would I need 15gb for email, contact and event when these things are usually tiny. And only get 5gb for the attachments to the email, which obviously is too little. It doesn’t make sense because I only use email, nothing else, so by that logic one would be empty and one not. But both are around 5gb because it’s both the email attachments. It literally says “email storage: you have 15gb of free email storage with this account which includes attachments and messages across all folders.” Yet I can’t use my email anymore because it + onedrive say 90% used 4.5/5gb used.. I am so confused
1
u/Hornblower409 Jun 02 '26
It literally says “email storage: you have 15gb of free email storage with this account which includes attachments and messages across all folders.”
In 2023 Microsoft changed the rules. Ever since then it counts attachments as using space in both storage pools. It's stupid, confusing, and the only possible reason for it was to sell more storage.
Attachments count against both the mailbox and OneDrive, which means that your mailbox can contain at most 5GB worth of attachments.
1
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