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Getting “Your mailbox is full” error in Mac Outlook?
Outlook for Mac accounts may sometimes get error messages stating that their mailbox is full. This happens because of duplicate, junk, or spam email messages. An IT support team may have to ask the email client users to delete unnecessary emails and attachments or archive their mailbox data.
The necessity for Outlook mailbox cleanup on Mac arises and users start to look for the methods to deal with this situation. Here, in this article, we will go through the causes of this issue and the ways to mailbox cleanup outlook mac.
What Causes the Outlook Storage on Mac to be Full?
There are a range of factors that fill up Mac Outlook storage given below:
- Large Outlook mailboxes with years of data.
- Oversized attachments in Outlook.
- Existence of multiple Outlook accounts.
- Deleted items that haven’t been permanently removed.
- Duplicate emails and calendar entries.
- Archived messages stored locally.
What Error Messages Can You Receive When Outlook Mac Mailbox is Full?
You can receive a lot of different error messages that signifies that you Outlook on Mac is full or running out of storage:
- “Your mailbox is full, you can’t send new messages.”
- “Your storage is full. You cannot send or receive email or upload files to OneDrive.”
- “Your hard disk is almost full. Outlook is now working offline.”
- “Message store has reached its maximum size.”
How To Analyze Outlook For Mac Mailbox Folders Size?
In Outlook for Mac, users don’t have the facility to check the size of the entire mailbox. Users have to perform it separately for each folder manually.
You can check the size of the mailbox by following the steps-
- Right-click the folder
- Select Folder Properties
- Move to the Storage tab on the Folder Properties dialogue box.
- Here you can view the size of the folder as well as the sizes of its subfolders.
Note: Once you have checked the size of the mailbox, now you need to create a secure backup of all the data on your device before moving to the solutions. This is necessary to safeguard the mailbox data from data loss.
Solutions for Outlook Mac Mailbox Cleanup
There are a few effective solutions that you can try for mailbox cleanup in outlook Mac. Go through the below mentioned solutions and free up some space.
Method 1. Archive Outlook for Mac Mailbox Data
To clean up Outlook mailbox on Mac, you need to archive folders in Outlook for Mac:
Step 1. Select the desired email and click Archive from the top ribbon.
Step 2. Click on Continue on the prompt (this will let you create a new archive folder).
Step 3. Now, to set archiving rules, go to Tools and select Rules, further select Edit Rules.
Step 4. Then select Exchange from the left menu pane, then click on ‘+’ to add a new rule.
Step 5. Assign a Rule name and specify the required conditions. Then click on OK to save the rule.
Step 6. To apply the rule to a folder, select all its emails and click Message > Rules > Apply > Select Rule.
Method 2. Store Attachments Outside The Mailbox
Always try to save attachments outside the Outlook in a personal folder, hard drive, or disk where it belongs instead of saving them in the Outlook mailbox.
Step 1- Firstly, open Outlook and click on the attachment you want to save outside your mailbox.
Step 2- Select the “Save As” option and choose the specific path and location on the hard disk where you want to save the attachment.
Step 3- Now, delete the attachment in Outlook that you save outside your mailbox.
Method 3. Empty The Deleted Items Folder And Junk Email Folder
Another way for Outlook mailbox cleanup on Mac is to empty the deleted items folder and junk email folder. To do so, follow the below steps:
- Firstly, open Outlook.
- Go to the “Files” > “Options” > “Advanced” tab.
- Choose the “Empty Deleted Items folder when exiting Outlook” option from the “Outlook start and exit” option.
- Now, click the “OK” button to apply.
Method 4. Using Outlook Cleanup Tools Feature
You can also use Outlook Cleanup tools features to reduce mailbox size by following steps:
- In Outlook Go to the File > Info > Cleanup Tools > Mailbox Cleanup.
- To execute desired operation, choose “View Mailbox Size“, “Find items older than“, “Find items large than“, “View Deleted items size“, “Empty Deleted Items folder“, “Empty Conflicts“, or “View Conflicts Size“.
By applying this, you can reduce the mailbox size and utilize the free space to save new emails.
Take an Emergency Backup to Cleanup Outlook Mac Storage But How?
Manual methods are efficient enough if you have the right level of tech-expertise. But if your expertise doesn’t feel strong enough to tackle this storage full situation, create a backup of Outlook for Mac data files but how?
To create a backup of your Outlook for Mac data items, attachments and more, look to employ an OLM to PST converter that helps to convert OLM to PST format. Thus, you get a safe backup of all your data in PST format accessible anytime at your desired location.
Final Say to Clean Up Outlook Mailbox on Mac
For Outlook mailbox cleanup on Mac, follow the solutions as per your convenience. You can:
- Archive Outlook for Mac mailbox data
- Store attachments outside the mailbox
- Empty the Deleted Items folder
- Use Outlook Cleanup tools feature
In case you want to free up space in Outlook Mac mailbox, you can also look to create a backup of Outlook for Mac data files. You can also opt for Kernel OLM to PST Converter utility for making OLM file backup copies in your system.
Frequently Asked Questions
A. The max email size for Mac mail is 20MB. But, with Mail Drop turned on, this limit can be increased up to 5GB for both incoming & outgoing messages.
A. Your Mac may have stopped receiving emails if your account is offline or disabled. Check to make sure your account is active and connected to the internet. Another possibility is that your mailbox is full, which can prevent new emails from coming in.
