Issue:

If you’re seeing a “Gmail Full Storage” error message, it means you’ve reached your Google account’s storage limit and can no longer send or receive emails. This can be a critical problem, but it is solvable. To resolve this, you can either delete old emails and large files to free up space or purchase additional storage from Google.

This guide will walk you through why this error occurs and exactly how to fix it.

If you want to know how to avoid this error, read the blog till the end.

How Much Free Storage Does Gmail Offer?

Every standard Google Account comes with 15 GB of free storage. It’s important to remember this storage is shared across three main services:

• Gmail: All your emails and attachments.
• Google Drive: Files, documents, and backups.
• Google Photos: Photos and videos.

When this 15 GB threshold is reached, you will receive the “storage full” error and your ability to send and receive emails will be blocked. Therefore, managing your Google storage is essential for an uninterrupted email experience.

Environment:

Possible Causes for Gmail Full Storage Limit Exceeded Issue

You may be prompted for this error even if you have enough storage space. As a result, receiving the message “storage limit exceeded” does not always imply that the storage limit has been reached. Users should first check their storage capacity before deciding what to do next.
The following are some of the possible reasons for this message and what it means:

1. The message pops up while forwarding an email to or from another Gmail account with a storage limit that has expired.
2. If one of the filters causes the email to be routed through the entire Gmail account.
3. If you have a G Suite account and your domain’s Gmail storage is full
4. Your email account can also be full if you also use a Google Apps account for your domain.

In practice, recovering some storage space is as simple as deleting trash items, spam, old newsletters, and useless emails, which sounds easier in theory than in practice. However, because Gmail can only hold thousands of emails, it will be difficult to distinguish important letters from useless junk, small items from large attachments, and so on.

Solution:

Manual Solutions to Free Up Space

The solution to Fix Gmail Mailbox Quota Limit is Exceeded Issue:

1. Check Your Forwarding Settings: In Gmail, go to “Settings” > “See all settings” > “Forwarding and POP/IMAP.” Check if your emails are being forwarded to a different account. If so, ensure that the destination account has not reached its own storage limit.

 

2. Review Email Filters: Under “Settings” > “Filters and Blocked Addresses,” review your filters to ensure they aren’t causing emails to be duplicated or forwarded incorrectly.

3. Empty Your Spam and Trash Folders: This is the quickest way to free up space. Emails in these folders still count towards your 15 GB limit until they are permanently deleted.

4. Delete Unnecessary Files:
   • In Gmail: Search for large attachments by typing has:attachment larger:10M in the search bar. This will find all emails with attachments larger than 10MB. Download any important files, then delete the emails.
   • In Google Drive: Visit your Google Drive and sort files by size to find and delete large, unnecessary items.
   • In Google Photos: Review and delete unneeded photos and videos, especially those in their original quality.

5. Use a Desktop Email Client: Setting up your Gmail account with a desktop email client (like Outlook or Thunderbird) allows you to download emails to your computer’s local storage. Once backed up, you can delete them from the Gmail server to free up cloud space..

[ Also Read: Reducing IT Support Incidents and Manual Asset Verification Efforts for a Leading Global IT Service Provider ]

Third-party application

You can also use a tried and tested efficient tool on your system to download all of your important emails to your system’s storage. You can then delete all of the downloaded emails from the Gmail Server and access them directly on your system. Another advantage of downloading emails is that you can access them without the need for internet connectivity, which is required when using Gmail.

If you are short on time, a third-party application can help manage your storage more efficiently. Cloud management or backup tools can download important emails and files to your local system for offline access. After confirming the backup, you can safely delete those items from the Gmail server. This is often faster than the manual procedures.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• How do I check my current Gmail storage?
  You can see your current storage usage by visiting one.google.com/storage. It provides a breakdown of how much space is being used by Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.
• Will I lose my emails if my storage is full?
  You will not lose existing emails, but you will be unable to send or receive new ones until you free up space or upgrade your storage plan.
• How much does extra Google storage cost?
  Google One offers various paid plans to increase your storage. Plans typically start from 100 GB and go up to several terabytes, with monthly or annual subscription options.

Conclusion

When you receive the “Gmail Full Storage” error, it’s a clear signal that your 15 GB shared limit has been reached. You need to act by either deleting old emails and files across Gmail, Google Drive, and Photos, or by purchasing additional storage through Google One.

Proactive management is the key to preventing this issue. Tools like Anakage can help by providing notifications before an employee’s Gmail account is full. Anakage monitors storage limits and sends alerts when space is running low. This proactive approach helps users take necessary action early, ensuring they can continue to send and receive emails without interruption.

For IT Managers and CIOs looking to proactively manage and automate the resolution of common IT challenges, book a free demo to see Anakage’s capabilities in action.