while microsoft has increased the pst size in outlook 2016, many users still get the message that says “your mailbox is full, you can’t send messages”. well, this error message occurs when the outlook pst file reaches its maximum storage limit. To fix the error, you need to minimize the mailbox size in your outlook. In this post, we will guide you through four ways to reduce outlook mailbox size to solve outlook mailbox full error issue.
why does outlook say my mailbox is full?
Before we learn how to fix outlook mailbox is full and can’t send messages error, it is important to diagnose this problem. Ideally, there could be all sorts of application-related or logical issues that can trigger this issue in Outlook.
1. running out of storage
It is likely that your outlook account is running out of available space after heavy usage. You may already know that Microsoft only provides 15GB of free space for each Outlook account which can easily run out.
so you can start outlook on your computer and go to your account settings > generals > storage. this will allow you to check how much space is available in your outlook account and if it has been used up.
2. excess garbage and temporary data
Your outlook inbox may be clear, but you’ll likely still get the low storage error. This could happen due to excessive junk or temporary data in your outlook account. Just because your account junk isn’t in your main inbox doesn’t mean you’re not using up your Outlook space.
3. third-party plugins
Do you have any add-ons or third-party add-ons installed in your outlook account? well this could be another reason to cause some logical issues with your outlook account. The good news is that you can easily fix outlook mailbox is full and can’t send messages error by getting rid of these faulty plugins.
4. Outlook related issues
Apart from user-related issues or human errors, the problem can also arise due to a faulty application. For example, if outlook hasn’t been updated for a while or if you are running a corrupted version of the app, it can cause this error. In addition to that, running outlook in an unsupported environment can also trigger these issues.
5. other reasons
There could be other logical reasons to cause problems with outlook space allocation. your system might have crashed some vital components, the outlook server might be down, or you might not be connected to a stable network.
how to fix outlook mailbox full error by reducing outlook mailbox size?
As we mentioned before, the main culprit for encountering Outlook mailbox full error is Outlook pst file reaching its storage limit. therefore, minimizing the mailbox size might correct the error. so here are five ways to do it.
1 archive of old articles
The first thing you can do to reduce the size of your mailbox is to archive the oldest items in your outbox. then follow the steps below to learn how to do it:
step 1: in outlook 2013, go to “file”>”info”>”cleanup tools>” File, Archive. for outlook 2016, go to “file”>”information”>”tools”>”clean old items”.
Step 2: Tap the “archive this folder and all subfolders” option and select the folder you want to archive.
Step 3: In the “archive items older than” option, type a date.
step 4: check the box “include items with ‘do not automatically archive’ to archive individual folders.
step 5: press the “ok” button.
2 empty the deleted items folder and the spam folder
another way to reduce mailbox size in outlook is to empty deleted items folder and spam folder. You can quickly get rid of your deleted items by automatically emptying the deleted items folder when you exit Outlook. To do so, follow the steps below:
step 1: in outlook, go to the “files”>”options”>”advanced” tab.
step 2: from the “start and exit outlook” option, choose the option “empty the deleted items folder when exiting outlook”.
step 3: press the “ok” button to apply.
If you want to delete the deleted items manually, locate and right-click the “deleted items” folder and tap “empty folder” in the context menu (“empty “deleted items” folder in outlook 2010).
3 store attachments outside your mailbox
do not save attachments in outlook. instead, keep them outside of your mailbox in a personal folder on your hard drive or disk where it belongs. for example, save them in their respective places: the documents folder, the videos folder or the images folder, etc.
Step 1: In outlook, click the attachment you want to save out of your mailbox.
step 2: select the “save as” option and choose the location on your hard drive where you want to save the attachment.
don’t forget to delete an attachment in outlook that you have saved outside of your mailbox.
4 delete email and attachments
To fix outlook mailbox full error, you can get rid of large emails and attachments from outlook. follow the steps below to learn how to do it:
step 1: open perspective. go to the folder list, select “search folders” and then choose “new search folder”.
step 2: scroll down the list and choose “large mail” under “organize mail”. then click “choose” under “customize search folder”.
step 3: specify the size in the “show mail greater than” box and press “ok”.
step 4: click “ok” again and a folder named “larger than “size” will be created under “search folders”.
when you encounter mailbox full error problem, please open search folders and select the newly created folder and get rid of your unimportant mails.
5 use outlook cleanup tools feature
take advantage of the features of outlook cleanup tools to reduce the size of the mailbox. then follow the steps below:
step 1: go to “file”>”information”>”cleanup tools”>”mailbox cleanup” in outlook.
step 2: choose “view mailbox size”, find items older than”, “find items older than”, “view size of deleted items”, “empty folder of deleted items”, “empty conflicts” or “view the size of conflicts” to execute the desired operation.
part 3. what if the error “outlook mailbox is full” keeps happening?
When nothing works to fix outlook mailbox full error, there is a tool that will come to your rescue. it is wondershare email repair that will help you to solve the error in few clicks.
The DIY repair tool can easily repair any corrupt pst file in all kinds of scenarios. you can upload pst files and follow one click wizard to fix outlook mailbox full can’t send error messages. can recover all kinds of mailbox components (such as emails, contacts, attachments, etc.) and will let you preview the results beforehand.
wondershare repairit for email even supports encrypted pst file recovery and is fully compatible with all leading versions like outlook 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 etc. see more features of wondershare repairit for email below:
Download wondershare repairit for email on your pc/mac and follow the steps below to learn how to repair your damaged pst file:
step 1: add pst files.
launch and run wondershare repairit for email and click “select file” option to add the damaged pst files.
click the “repair” button after selecting the files from the desired location. you can add a single email or a batch of emails.
step 2: repair the uploaded pst files.
repairit for email will automatically restore your corrupt pst files in seconds.
Step 3: Preview and save the corrected files.
Once the repair process is successful, repairit allows you to preview the restored outlook mailbox data. select what you want to save, press “save” button to save the fixed pst file to your computer.
additional tips to get rid of clutter from your outlook account
If you’ve been using Outlook for a while, there may be a lot of clutter or unwanted data in your mailbox. To avoid that and keep your mailbox clean, I would consider following these steps:
1. customize automatic removal
ms outlook has a built-in feature that can automatically delete your old or unwanted emails (from unknown contacts). This smart feature can also be used to fix outlook mailbox that is full and cannot send messages error. you can just go to outlook menu > file > options > advanced to enable/disable the automatic removal function.
2. label your emails
This is another effective Outlook feature that will let you manage your data and get rid of unwanted clutter. If you want, you can set up multiple labels for your mailbox and assign them to different emails. just right click on any conversation and go to assign policy > tags to set a preferred tag (related to work/personal or importance) to keep things organized.
3. use other tools for everyday communications
Most of the time, our Outlook mailbox gets full due to the exchange of daily communications. you can just try any other app (such as skype or microsoft teams) for daily file sharing communications.
the end result:
Most likely, you can fix outlook mailbox full error simply by reducing the size of your mailbox. but, if that doesn’t help you, then don’t worry! try to repair it for email as there might be something wrong with your outlook pst file. this tool can help you to repair pst file effortlessly and thus also solve your problem.