paid extra for one drive storage but my outlook is still restricted

Hello ricky brain

I'm happy to help you today. Based on your description, there are a few common reasons for this synchronization delay. Microsoft storage is now divided into two categories: Microsoft Storage (OneDrive data, Outlook attachments, and gallery) and Email Storage (the actual text of your emails and folders). If you recently purchased an upgrade, it could take 24 to 48 hours for the payment to fully process across all Microsoft 365 services and for the 'restricted' flag to be lifted from your mailbox.

Please log in to Outlook.com via https://outlook.com, click on Settings > Account > Storage, and click the arrow next to Email Storage to see which specific folders (Sent, Inbox, or Archive) are taking up the most space.

Check your 'Deleted Items' and 'Junk Email' folders specifically, as these often contribute heavily to the email-specific quota. Ensure these are fully purged to see an immediate drop in that 187% figure.

Lastly, please double-check that the 'extra storage' you purchased includes an increase to the Mailbox limit (usually 50 GB for Microsoft 365 plans) and isn't just an increase for OneDrive.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

Hi ricky brain

To better understand your situation, could you please share some information:

• What is your email type? (ex: your email end with @outlook.com, or end with @yourcompany.com) and could you please let me know which extra license you have paid for? Please do not share your full email address for privacy.
• Where did you find the 8% usage? Was it in the Outlook Web settings or the OneDrive app?
• If you made the purchase less than 24 hours ago, it could sometimes take time for the servers to sync the new quota to your Outlook account.

I look forward to your response.

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