I NEED MORE STORAGE

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

If Microsoft recognizes your account as a child account, it is possible that you might have entered your D.O.B incorrectly in your Microsoft account profile page.

Sign in with your Microsoft account on the link below and see if the D.O.B is correct:-

https://account.microsoft.com/profile

If D.O.B is incorrect, you will have to change it. However, only the family organizer has permission to change the D.O.B in your Microsoft account.

For reference, see the 'answered solution' on the thread below:-

I can't change my birth year in my account

Once you update your profile and your account is recognized as an adult, purchase the OneDrive Upgrade and check if it works.

The account is blocked because either Microsoft cloud storage (OneDrive + Outlook attachments + other apps) or Outlook email storage, or both, are over quota. When storage is exceeded, Outlook.com will not send or receive mail until the account is back under its limits.

There are two separate limits to check and fix:

1. Microsoft cloud storage (OneDrive + attachments)
2. Outlook.com email storage

Because the account is being treated as a child account for purchases, buying storage is currently blocked, so the practical path is to free up space until the account is back under quota.

Steps to resolve:

1. Check which storage is full
   • Sign in to Outlook.com in a browser and go to the storage settings page (Email storage and Microsoft storage).
   • If you see a message like “Microsoft Unified Storage is full,” that means the overall Microsoft cloud storage quota is exceeded, not just email.
2. If Microsoft cloud storage is exceeded When Microsoft storage is over quota:
   • OneDrive becomes read‑only and cannot sync new files.
   • Outlook.com cannot send or receive email, even if email storage itself is not full.
   • Teams messages with attachments are blocked.
   To get back under the quota without purchasing storage:
   • Delete large or unneeded files from OneDrive (especially photos, videos, and large documents).
   • Empty the OneDrive recycle bin after deleting files so the space is actually freed.
   • Remove large email attachments stored in Outlook.com (especially in Sent Items, Deleted Items, and Junk Email), then empty Deleted Items.
   If the account is a free Microsoft account:
   • Free accounts include 5 GB of Microsoft cloud storage shared across OneDrive files, Outlook.com attachments, and Microsoft 365 apps.
   • If purchase is blocked due to age settings, the only immediate option is to free up storage until the account is under the 5 GB quota.
3. If Outlook email storage is exceeded When email storage is over quota:
   • Outlook.com will not send or receive email.
   • Messages sent to the account are returned to the sender until storage is reduced; they must be resent after the quota issue is fixed.
   To free email storage:
   • Delete old or large emails (focus on folders with many messages: Inbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, Junk Email).
   • Empty Deleted Items after deleting messages.
4. If already a Microsoft 365 subscriber
   • Consumer Outlook.com mailboxes are capped at 100 GB even with a subscription.
   • If the mailbox is at or near 100 GB, the only option is to delete mail to get back under the limit.
   • If Microsoft cloud storage (OneDrive) is full even with a subscription, additional OneDrive file storage can be added, but in this case the purchase flow is blocked by age settings, so freeing space is required first.
5. About the “need an adult to buy storage” message
   • The Microsoft account is configured as a child account in a family group or has age settings that require an organizer (adult) to approve purchases.
   • Until that setting is changed by the family organizer, or the account is removed from the family group/age restriction, storage purchases will continue to be blocked.
   • Because direct account‑management instructions are not in the provided context, the immediate, supported action is to reduce storage usage as described above so email starts working again.

Once Microsoft storage and email storage are both under their quotas, Outlook.com will resume sending and receiving mail. Any messages that bounced while the account was over quota will need to be resent by the senders.

References:

• Storage limits in Outlook.com
• Microsoft storage FAQs