How to Deal With “Outlook Mailbox Is Full” Issue – 8 Simple Steps

An executive assistant managing a department faces a critical interruption in workflow. The shared “Outlook Mailbox is Full”, preventing the assistant from sending or receiving emails, scheduling meetings, etc. This affects both efficiency and effective communication in a shared business setting. Therefore, to address this issue, the user should take immediate steps to maintain the workflow continuity and productivity. But, how does he fix it? There are manual fixes that can be tried to solve this. In contrast, with an automated PST Compress Tool, your mailbox storage will be managed efficiently, maintaining uninterrupted communication. 

A full Outlook mailbox occurs when a user’s mailbox has used all the storage space set by the Exchange Server. With a shared mailbox, the storage limit impacts all the users who have access to it. This will block the messages and disrupt both internal and external communications. 

Common Reasons Behind Microsoft Outlook Your Mailbox is Almost Full Alerts

• When the mailbox approaches its storage limit, the system issues a warning saying that the Outlook mailbox is full.
• Emails with large attachments occupy a significant amount of mailbox storage. Attachments are the main cause of a mailbox reaching to its storage limit.
• When the emails are deleted, the folders like “Deleted Items” still remain in the mailbox and use up storage space. They should be manually deleted.
• The shared mailboxes have a lower storage quota. When the mailbox becomes almost full, it affects all users who have access.
• Outlook’s local data file can become too large, resulting in a full mailbox issue even if it’s under the storage limit.

Quick Ways to Fix Outlook Mailbox Is Full Issue

Now that we know the root cause, let’s move ahead and implement the solutions to fix the error.

Clean your Mailbox

Delete the emails having large attachments that you no longer need. Make sure to delete the “Deleted Items” folder to empty and remove the deleted emails permanently. 

Regularly clean your mailbox using Outlook’s Mailbox Cleanup tool. 

• Go to File > Tools > Mailbox Cleanup.

Archive the Old Emails

1. Go to File > Info > Tools > Clean up Old Items > Archive this folder and all subfolders.
2. Then, select the folders that you want to archive.
3. Now, in the Archive items older than, choose a date and tap Ok.
4. MS Outlook will free up the storage space by moving older emails to a PST File.

The user can also opt for auto-archiving. To do that,

• Navigate to File > Options > Advanced > AutoArchive Settings.

Save the Attachments Outside Your Mailbox

Follow the steps to fix Microsoft Outlook your Mailbox is Almost Full:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Browse and select the emails with large attachments.
3. Save the attachments in the local drive or the cloud.
4. Then, right-click on the attachment and select Remove Attachment. 

This will permanently remove the attachment from your emails and free up the storage space.

Delete the Large E-mail and Attachments 

1. Open the Outlook application.
2. In a Folder List, go to Search Folders > New Search Folder.
3. Under the Organizing Mail section, select Large Mail and tap on the Choose button.
4. A Show mail greater than box will appear, set the desired size, and click on Ok.

Outlook Mailbox Full After Deleting Everything: Compact the File Size 

The local Outlook data file can become very large and may cause this issue even if the storage limit is not used. This occurs when these files create a copy of your emails, contacts, and calendars. To resolve this issue:

1. Open MS Outlook.
2. Navigate to File > Account Settings.
3. Under the Data File tab, choose the Outlook data file that you want to compress. 
4. After that, go to Settings and tap Compact Now > Ok.

Drawbacks of the Manual Methods

• The user needs to have technical knowledge to execute these methods.
• Manual steps can lead to accidental deletion or loss of data.
• In case of a corrupted Outlook data file, these methods are ineffective.
• The manual fixes consume a lot of time and are tedious.

Automated Tool to Fix Outlook Mailbox Is Full Issue

The PST Compress Tool is a fast and effective way to manage Outlook mailbox sizes. It allows users to shrink their oversized PST files, ensuring better storage management. Supports batch compression to handle multiple PST files at once, and a preview feature to view the mailbox before compression. Users can also opt to compress attachments or exclude them. Additionally, it ensures that no information is lost throughout the process.

These are the simple steps to follow to fix a full Outlook mailbox issue:

1. Download and launch the tool.
2. First, choose the File Type as Microsoft Outlook (.pst).
3. Pick either Single File or Multiple Files/Folders.
4. Go to Select File(s), locate the desired file, and click on Open to add it.
5. Tick the needed folders from the tree structure, preview them, and click Next.
6. Select the additional features if required.
7. Choose the destination path to save your resultant file.
8. Finally, click on the Start Compression button.

Conclusion

Fixing the issue that the Outlook Mailbox is full is crucial for ensuring internal and external communications. Manual methods like cleaning up the mailbox, deleting the delete items folder, etc, work well, but they require complicated manual technical steps. In contrast, the PST Compress Tool offers an automated, reliable, and error-free method. This tool is often recommended by experts and business professionals to fix this error. Choose the most suitable method that best fits your needs.

Related Post : Migrate Shared Mailbox to Office 365.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q- How to solve the mailbox full problem in Outlook?

Ans- To fix the Outlook full mailbox issue, try deleting the unwanted emails, emptying the junk folder, etc. Also, make sure to archive the old emails and save the large attachments locally. The user can also enable auto-archive to maintain it regularly.

Q- How do I clean up my full Outlook mailbox?

Ans- In the Outlook application, navigate to File > Tools > Mailbox Cleanup. Then, follow the instructions on the screen and clean the mailbox easily.

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