I can't stop OneDrive from syncing my email attachments, I have 11GB of 15GB for emails but 5/5GB for my free one drive space

Angus 0 Reputation points
2026-10-26T09:35:33.71+00:00

Troubleshooting so far:

Basically as the title says, the only additional information I can give is that I am signed out of onedrive on my desktop, and that I have spoken to three different agents, the first used quick assist and subsequently closed my chat, the second referred me to outlook support, outlook support directed me to One Drive support and One Drive support directs me to community support.

I could pay for further storage but the freeedom to choose has been taken away from me, my outlook has stopped receiving emails because of this issue. I dont have an ability to stop my email attachments from syncing, I can't disconnect my One Drive account from my outlook account, I can't find the email attahcments in OneDrive to subsequently save them locally or otherwise delete them. so I'm very much in a stalemante where it seems my only option is to pay for a service I dont want and shouldn't need.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows
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  1. AI answer

    2026-10-26T09:37:22+00:00

    Outlook.com attachments are not being synchronized by the OneDrive desktop app; they automatically count toward the same 5 GB Microsoft cloud-storage quota, and there is no documented setting to exclude or disconnect them.

    The 15 GB mailbox quota is separate, but attachments and inline images count toward both the mailbox quota and the 5 GB cloud-storage quota. Signing out of the OneDrive desktop app therefore does not change this accounting. ^1^

    Free space without purchasing storage

    Attachments counted from Outlook generally do not appear as ordinary files in OneDrive. They must be removed by deleting the email containing them.

    1. Sign in to Outlook.com in a web browser.
    2. Open Settings → Account → Storage.
      • If that layout is unavailable, check Settings → Subscription → Email storage.
    3. Review the folder breakdown and identify folders using the most space.
    4. Open those folders and select Filter → Sort by → Size. Select it again if the smallest messages appear first.
    5. Open the largest messages containing attachments.
    6. If an attachment must be retained, download it to a local folder on the computer before deleting the message. Do not select Save to OneDrive, because that would continue using cloud storage.
    7. Delete the email containing the attachment. Microsoft documents that deleting the attachment requires deleting its corresponding email message. Check Sent Items as well, because sent attachments also count. ^2^
    8. Empty Deleted Items. Messages there continue counting until permanently removed. Also empty Junk Email if it contains large messages. ^3^

    Warning: Shift+Delete permanently deletes selected messages. Download anything needed before using it.

    Also check actual OneDrive usage

    Open OneDrive on the web and select Storage used/Manage storage:

    • Remove unnecessary large files.
    • Empty the OneDrive Recycle Bin—emptying the Windows Recycle Bin is not the same operation.
    • Check for photos, videos, ZIP archives, or shared folders consuming space.

    Items in the OneDrive Recycle Bin count toward the quota. While the account is over quota, existing files remain read-only but can still be downloaded or deleted. ^4^

    Storage reporting can take up to 24 hours to update after files are deleted. ^2^

    Restoring email delivery

    Once usage drops below 5 GB, Outlook.com should resume sending and receiving. Messages sent while the account was over quota were returned to their senders and are not recoverable in the mailbox; ask those senders to resend them after the quota clears. ^5^

    If the Microsoft storage dashboard still shows 5 GB used more than 24 hours after both recycle bins have been emptied, use Help in Outlook.com, describe it as a cloud-storage quota not updating after cleanup, and request account-level support.

    References

    1. Microsoft storage FAQs
    2. What is Microsoft cloud storage?
    3. Storage limits in Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
    4. My OneDrive says it's full
    5. Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
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