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Once your OneDrive storage is full, your files will stop syncing, and Outlook might miss emails with attachments. To avoid that, you’ll need to quickly free up some OneDrive storage to make way for new files and emails. We’ll show you how.
1. Clear OneDrive’s Recycle Bin
When you delete a file from your OneDrive account, it sends it to the recycle bin. Since files in the recycle bin count toward your OneDrive storage, it’s essential to clean it up frequently. While OneDrive keeps the deleted files in the recycle bin for 30 days, you can manually delete them to free up some space immediately.
To empty the recycle bin, right-click the OneDrive icon in the Windows taskbar (bottom-right corner), then selectRecycle bin. If you don’t have a desktop app, log intoOneDrive web, then click theRecycle binicon in the left navigation pane.
Scroll through the items in your recycle bin once to verify you don’t delete anything important. To delete all the items, click theEmpty recycle binoption below the search bar at the top. If not, you’re able to select the individual items and then clickDeleteto remove them permanently.
You can also do this using the OneDrive app on your phone. In the Android version of the app, head to theMetab from the bottom and tapRecycle Bin. Then, chooseDelete ALLto empty the recycle bin. On iOS, tap the profile icon in the top-left corner, chooseRecycle Bin, select all the files you want to delete, and then tapDelete.
2. Delete Large and Unnecessary Files
With the recycle bin emptied, let’s find out what’s taking up most space using theManage storageoption in OneDrive. To identify the space hogs, right-click the OneDrive icon in the taskbar and chooseSettings. In the bottom-left corner, clickManage Storage. This will open your OneDrive account on the web.
If you don’t have the desktop app, log into OneDrive web, clickSettings(gear icon) in the top-right corner, and chooseOptionsunderOneDrive settings.
The Storage summary page shows how much of your OneDrive storage is used by files and Outlook attachments. Click theOneDrive linkand wait for it to populate your screen with your files and folders.
By default, OneDrive sorts the list by the largest files in your account. The idea is to find large but less important files you can delete or move elsewhere.
Back Up Files to Your Local Drive
Deleting a file from your OneDrive account on the web will also delete it from your OneDrive folder on your computer or smartphone, and vice versa. So, if you have a file or folder in OneDrive that you no longer want to store on the cloud but keep a copy on the computer, you’ll need to move it out of the OneDrive folder before deleting it.
To create a backup, double-click theOneDrive iconin the taskbar to open the OneDrive folder. Browse through the files and folders, select any file you want to back up, pressCtrl + Cto copy it, and then move it to a different folder on your drive.
Now, in OneDrive web, select all the files you want to remove and clickDeletein the top-left corner. ClickDeleteonce again to confirm the action. After deleting the files, empty your recycle bin again to permanently delete them and reclaim the storage space. If you can’t delete some files, refer to our guide tofix problems with deleting files in OneDrive.
Remember that photos can also hog your OneDrive storage space. To clean up your photo library, open thePhotosoption in the left pane, select all the images you don’t want to keep, and hitDelete.
3. Optimize Your OneDrive Sync Settings
By default, OneDrive backs up the standard folders on your computer, including Documents, Desktop, and Pictures. By optimizing your OneDrive sync settings, you can ensure that only the important items are stored on the cloud. To enable selective sync, follow these steps:
Avoid saving any non-critical and large files in the Documents folder for ease of access. OneDrive will sync all the files in these folders, eventually filling up your cloud storage space in no time. Disciplined file management is the key to efficiently managing limited cloud storage space.
4. Optimize Email Attachments
Outlook email attachments count toward OneDrive storage now instead of Outlook email storage. For a working professional, the email attachments can add up quickly, hogging the measly 5GB of free storage offered by OneDrive. Eventually, emails with attachments will stop coming as there’s no space to store them.
A solution to this is to delete large attachments from Outlook. Unfortunately, you can’t delete an attachment without deleting the email itself. So, save any critical information and attachments to your local drive or another cloud storage service before cleaning up your attachments.
To delete email attachments, open OneDrive on the web, clickSettingsin the upper-right corner, and chooseOptions. UnderManage storage, click theOutlook (Attachments)link.
This will open your Outlook account and show all the emails with attachments. Review and select the emails with attachments you deem safe to remove and clickDelete.
Now, open theDeleted Itemstab in the left pane, choose all the items, and clickDeleteto empty the recycle bin.
5. Move Files to External Storage or Another Cloud Service
If your OneDrive storage is about to run out, you should back up your data to an external storage drive. External hard drives or USB flash drives are reliable ways to back up large amounts of data locally.
6. Consider Upgrading Your Storage Plan
If you stick to OneDrive, consider upgrading your storage plan. Microsoft doesn’t offer any premium OneDrive plans but bundles extra storage with its Microsoft 365 plans.
For example,the basic Microsoft 365 planoffers 100GB of storage for $19.99 a year on top of other benefits like ad-free Outlook access, Office apps access on the web and mobile, OneDrive ransomware protection for files and photos, and access to Microsoft support.
If you need more storage, the Microsoft 365 Personal plan will set you back $6.99 per month for 1TB of storage and access to premium desktop apps, including Office, Clipchamp, Teams, Microsoft Defender, and more.
Hopefully, with the tips we recommended, you don’t have to upgrade your OneDrive storage. With the best storage management practices you’re able to prevent your OneDrive storage from filling up quickly.
