Mailbox Full? Here is How to Fix It
When your email storage is full, you stop receiving new messages and cannot send replies. This guide explains why it happens, what you can do right now, and how to prevent it from happening again.
Why your mailbox fills up
Most email providers impose storage limits on free accounts. GMX gives you 1 GB, Web.de offers 1 GB, T-Online provides around 1 GB, and even Gmail caps free accounts at 15 GB (shared with Google Drive and Google Photos). Over the years, emails accumulate — especially those with large attachments like photos, documents, and PDFs. A single email with a 10 MB attachment does not seem like much, but multiply that by hundreds or thousands and your mailbox fills up faster than you might expect.
The problem is especially acute with German providers like GMX and Web.de, where free tier storage is very limited. Many users hit their storage ceiling within a year or two of regular use.
What happens when your mailbox is full
- New incoming emails are bounced back to senders with an error
- You cannot send new emails from your account
- Important messages from banks, employers, or services are lost
- Automated notifications and password resets fail silently
Three ways to fix a full mailbox
Option 1: Delete old emails manually
The quickest fix is to delete emails you no longer need. Start with the Sent folder (often overlooked), then check for newsletters and promotional emails. Sort by size to find the biggest space hogs — emails with large attachments. Do not forget to empty the Trash folder afterwards, as deleted emails still count towards your quota until they are permanently removed.
Best for: small cleanup, buying time
Option 2: Archive emails locally with mailriva
If you want to free up space without losing any emails, use mailriva to download your entire mailbox to your local computer first. Once you have a complete local backup, you can confidently delete old emails from the server to reclaim storage. This is the safest approach — you keep every message, but your online mailbox gets the space it needs.
Best for: keeping all emails safe while freeing up server space
Option 3: Migrate to a provider with more storage
If you are constantly fighting storage limits, it may be time to switch providers. Gmail offers 15 GB for free — fifteen times more than GMX or Web.de. Use mailriva to migrate your entire mailbox to a new provider with more space, and leave the storage limit problem behind for good.
Best for: long-term solution, heavy email users
How mailriva helps with full mailboxes
- Download your entire mailbox as a local backup before deleting
- Migrate to a provider with more storage in one step
- Archive old emails locally to free up server space
- Folder structure and attachments are fully preserved
- Your credentials stay on your device — no cloud intermediary
- Works with GMX, Web.de, T-Online, Yahoo, iCloud, Gmail, and more
How to prevent your mailbox from filling up again
Set up a regular archiving routine: once every few months, use mailriva to back up your mailbox locally, then remove the oldest emails from the server. Unsubscribe from newsletters you no longer read. If your provider offers a storage upgrade at a reasonable price, consider it. And if you are on a provider with very limited free storage, migrating to Gmail or another provider with more generous limits is the most sustainable fix.