How to Increase Microsoft 365 Mailbox Size -Unlocking More Space!

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, it’s crucial to manage emails well for businesses to run smoothly. For people using Office 365, the amount of space in their email inbox might not be enough. When you run out of space for emails, it can slow down how well you work and make things less efficient. Fortunately, there are ways to increase Microsoft 365 mailbox size. You can use simple manual tricks or special software tools that help with this.

Understanding Office 365 Mailbox Size Limitations

Understanding the limitations of Office 365 mailbox sizes is crucial for effectively managing email storage within your organization. Office 365 offers varying mailbox size limits depending on the subscription plan, typically ranging from 50 GB to 100 GB per user. While these sizes are generous compared to traditional email services, they can still pose challenges as businesses grow and email usage increases.

The primary limitations users may encounter include:

Storage Quotas: Each Office 365 plan comes with a set storage quota for mailboxes. If users exceed this quota, they may experience restrictions on sending, receiving, or accessing emails until space is freed up.

Performance Impact: Larger mailboxes can impact performance, such as slower loading times when accessing emails or searching through mailbox contents. This can affect productivity if not managed efficiently.

Compliance and Legal Requirements: Certain industries have regulations requiring email retention for compliance purposes. Meeting these requirements within the confines of mailbox size limits can be challenging without proper management strategies.

Learn the Mailbox Storage Limits in Microsoft 365

Before, starting with solutions to increase Microsoft 365 mailbox size, first we have to learn about the mailbox limit. So, in Exchange Online, Microsoft offers various types of mailboxes, each with specific storage limits and functionalities tailored to different organizational needs:

Individual User Mailboxes:

• Exchange Online Plan 1 and Exchange Online Kiosk: These plans typically provide a mailbox storage limit of 50 GB per user. This includes emails, attachments, calendar items, and contacts.
• Exchange Online Plan 2, Office 365 Enterprise E3/E5, Microsoft 365 Business Standard/Premium: Users with these plans usually have a mailbox storage limit of 100 GB per user. This higher limit allows for more extensive email storage and attachments.
• Exchange Online Archiving: In addition to the primary mailbox, Exchange Online Archiving provides an additional 100 GB of storage space per user for archived emails. This is particularly useful for users who need to retain large volumes of historical emails.

Shared Mailboxes:

• Exchange Online Plan 1 and Exchange Online Kiosk: Shared mailboxes associated with these plans have a default storage quota of 50 GB, but you can increase Microsoft 365 mailbox size by upgrading the plan. This space is shared among all users who have access to the shared mailbox.
• Exchange Online Plan 2, Office 365 Enterprise E3/E5, Microsoft 365 Business Standard/Premium: Shared mailboxes associated with these plans can have a larger storage limit of up to 100 GB, similar to individual user mailboxes.

Resource Mailboxes:

• Room Mailboxes: These are used for scheduling meeting rooms and other resources. They typically have a default storage limit of 100 GB.
• Equipment Mailboxes: Used for scheduling resources like projectors or company vehicles, they also have a default storage limit of 100 GB.

Archive Options:

1. Personal Archive:

Auto-expanding Archives: Allows users to have a larger archive mailbox, automatically expanding beyond the primary mailbox size up to 1.5 TB with additional licensing.

2. In-Place Archive:

Storage: Provides an additional 100 GB of storage per user in Exchange Online Archiving, primarily used for long-term email retention and compliance purposes.

Public Folders:

1. Public Folder:

• Storage: Each public folder mailbox can store up to 100 TB of data.
• Usage: Public folder mailboxes organize and manage public folder contents, ensuring efficient data access and collaboration.

2. Public Folder Mailboxes:

• Storage: Each public folder mailbox can store up to 100 TB of data.
• Usage: Public folder mailboxes organize and manage public folder contents, ensuring efficient data access and collaboration.

Retention Policies:

Exchange Online allows administrators to apply retention policies and litigation holds to manage mailbox content effectively. These features help comply with regulatory requirements while retaining important emails and attachments. & with this one can increase Microsoft 365 mailbox size for a specific time.

Licensing Considerations:

• Exchange Online Plan 1: Basic email functionality with a 50 GB mailbox limit.
• Exchange Online Plan 2: Enhanced features including larger mailbox limits and additional capabilities like legal hold and unlimited storage for archives.

Shared Mailbox Accounts:

• Usage: Used by multiple users for accessing a shared mailbox without requiring individual licenses.
• Storage: Storage limits depend on the associated plan, typically ranging from 50 GB to 100 GB based on the plan subscribed to.

Other Considerations:

Administrators can enable auto-expanding archives for users or mailboxes requiring more storage space than the default limits. This feature automatically increases the mailbox size beyond the standard limit, up to 1.5 TB per user, though additional licensing and costs may apply.

Know the Mailbox Limits of Standalone Exchange Online Plans

Now, here we learn the limits of the mailbox in Standalone Exchange Online plans, then only we can efficiently understand how to increase Microsoft 365 mailbox size:

1. Exchange Online Plan 1:

• Mailbox Storage Limit: Each user mailbox has a storage limit of 50 GB.
• Archive Storage: Not included by default; additional features like auto-expanding archives can be added for increased storage capacity.

2. Exchange Online Plan 2:

• Mailbox Storage Limit: Each user mailbox has a storage limit of 100 GB.
• Archive Storage: Includes an archive mailbox with a default storage capacity of 100 GB per user.

3. Exchange Online Kiosk:

• Mailbox Storage Limit: Each user mailbox has a storage limit of 50 GB.
• Archive Storage: Not included by default; similar to Exchange Online Plan 1, additional archive features can be added if needed.

Steps to Check Exchange Online Mailbox Size Limits

Before getting into the solution to increase Microsoft 365 mailbox size, we need to check the mailbox size limits for Office 365 users, by following these steps:

For Office 365 Admins:

• Go to admin.microsoft.com and sign in with your admin account.
• In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to the Admin Centers section.
• Select Exchange to open the Exchange admin center.
• Click Recipients in the left-hand navigation menu in the Exchange admin center.
• Click on Mailboxes to see a list of all mailboxes in your organization.

Stage 2. Check Mailbox Size:

• Find the mailbox you want to check and click on it to open its properties.
• In the mailbox properties window, you can see the Total mailbox size and Archive size, if applicable.
• The total mailbox size includes both the primary mailbox and any archive mailbox if it has been enabled.

For Users (Individual Mailbox):

If you are a user and want to check your mailbox size limit, then given steps help you out:

• Go to outlook.office.com and sign in with your Office 365 credentials.
• Once signed in, click on your profile picture or initials at the top right corner.
• Select View Account or My Account to go to your account settings.
• In the account settings page, you can see details about your mailbox, including the total mailbox size and available storage.

Note:

What Happens After Mailboxes Reached Their Limits?

If mailbox size limits in Office 365 exceed their allocated quotas, several consequences can occur, impacting both the user and organizational operations:

1. When a user’s mailbox reaches its storage limit, it may no longer be able to receive new emails. Senders might receive bounce-back messages indicating that the recipient’s mailbox is full.
2. Users may not be able to send new emails if their mailbox is full. This can disrupt communication and delay important correspondence, to avoid that so, we have to increase the Microsoft 365 mailbox size.
3. Automatic email forwarding rules may stop working if the mailbox is full, preventing users from redirecting emails to other accounts or distribution lists.
4. Users may be unable to receive or send emails with attachments if the mailbox has reached its size limit, affecting file-sharing capabilities.
5. Users might experience delays or errors when accessing their emails or performing searches within their mailbox due to performance degradation.
6. Organizations subject to legal or regulatory compliance requirements may face risks if emails are not properly stored or archived due to full mailbox issues.

How to Increase Microsoft 365 Mailbox Size- Let’s Solve

Increasing the mailbox size in Office 365 involves several steps and considerations, depending on the type of mailbox and your organizational requirements. Here’s how you can expand mailbox size effectively:

#Approach 1. Backup all the Data:

Increasing the Office 365 mailbox size can be done effortlessly by backing the Exchange Online data. But how? Let’s understand! You need to make a copy of your entire Office 365 data & delete it from the cloud. That’s all! Now, the question arises in every user’s mind how can we do that? The answer is quite simple, one needs to opt for this solution i.e. Office Backup Tool. If you wonder why only this solution?

So, the answer is you can’t back up all the cloud data manually, because it is not practical due to its complexity & repetitive steps. Despite that, this reliable utility can back up all the M365 simultaneously in PST format, which you can import in Outlook using the Import/Export Wizard option if you need that content in the future.

Instructions to Backup the Exchange Online Data

Now, without wasting time, let’s understand how to increase Microsoft 365 mailbox size using this solution:

Step 1. After downloading the specified utility on your system, select the source(Office 365) & target(Outlook) platforms.

Step 2. Afterward, choose the category of data, that you need to store & and apply date range filter options to save the desired cloud content.

Step 3. Now, you have to insert Admin Credentials and validate them.

Step 4. Choose the platform to store the backup files. Click on the Validate button.

Step 6. Lastly, hit the Start Backup button to increase the mailbox size of Office 365.

#Approach 2. Exchange Admin Center:

This is another trick to increase Microsoft 365 mailbox size effortlessly but remember, for this, you need proper Admin credentials to execute:

• Access https://admin.microsoft.com, and log in with admin credentials.
• Go to Recipients > Mailboxes in the Exchange Admin Center.
• Click on the mailbox you want to adjust.
• Choose Edit under Mailbox features in the details pane.
• Navigate to Mailbox Settings > Storage Quotas.
• Increase values for Prohibit send and send/receive limits.
• Click Save to apply new mailbox size limits.
• Confirm changes and allow time for updates to take effect.

#Approach 3. PowerShell

Step 1. Sync with Exchange Online PowerShell:

$UserCredential = Get-Credential $Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://outlook.office365.com/powershell-liveid/ -Credential $UserCredential -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection Import-PSSession $Session -DisableNameChecking

Step 2. Follow the codes to increase the Microsoft 365 Mailbox size:

Set-Mailbox -Identity <YourEmailAddress> -ProhibitSendQuota <Enter the Size of your mailbox in bytes> -ProhibitSendReceiveQuota <Size> -IssueWarningQuota <Size>

That’s it! Now, your Office 365 mailbox size has expanded.

General Steps to Increase Microsoft 365 Mailbox Size:

1. For Individual User Mailboxes:

• Before proceeding, verify the current mailbox size to determine if it’s nearing or has reached its limit.
• Consider upgrading to a higher Office 365 subscription plan that offers larger mailbox sizes. For example:

1. Upgrade from Exchange Online Plan 1 (50 GB mailbox) to Exchange Online Plan 2 (100 GB mailbox).
2. Upgrade to Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3/E5 or Business Premium for 100 GB mailbox limits.

• If available, enable auto-expanding archives for users. This feature allows the mailbox to automatically increase Microsoft 365 mailbox size beyond the default limit, up to 1.5 TB per user.

Note: Auto-expanding archives may require additional licensing and are typically available with Exchange Online Plan 2 and certain Microsoft 365 plans.

2. For Shared Mailboxes:

• Consider an Office 365 to Office 365 migration plan that offers higher storage limits if they are approaching their current size limits.
• If applicable: If a shared mailbox requires more storage and functionality, consider converting it to a user mailbox with a larger storage quota.

3. For Resource Mailboxes (Rooms and Equipment):

Resource mailboxes typically have a 100 GB storage limit. Ensure this is adequate for scheduling and managing resources. Consider upgrading plans if necessary.

4. Monitor and Manage Usage:

• Regularly monitor mailbox sizes and usage patterns using Exchange Admin Center or PowerShell commands.
• Implement policies for mailbox cleanup, archiving, and retention to optimize storage usage.

5. Communication and Training:

Educate users on efficient email management practices to reduce unnecessary storage consumption and ensure compliance with organizational policies.

6. Increase Microsoft 365 Mailbox Size by Consulting with Microsoft Support or Partner:

For complex Office 365 Tenant to Tenant migration or specific needs, consider consulting Microsoft Support or a certified partner for guidance on optimizing mailbox sizes and configurations.

Bring it All Together!

Managing your Office 365 mailbox size well is crucial for keeping communication smooth and efficient in any organization. As your business grows and you receive more emails, you might face limits on how much you can store. However, there are practical ways to deal with this. You can upgrade your plan to get more space, take a backup of the cloud data using specified solutions, and enable features like auto-expanding archives. By taking these actions, you can enhance your email system’s performance & efficiently increase Microsoft 365 mailbox size in a few minutes.