Microsoft confuses some by making OneDrive deal with Outlook attachments

Some customers of Microsoft’s free Outlook hosted service are discovering they will not ship or obtain emails due to how the Home windows large now calculates the storage of attachments.

Microsoft account holders are allowed as much as 15GB of their cloud-hosted e-mail, which till lately included textual content and attachments, and 5GB of their OneDrive storage. That coverage modified February 1. Since then, attachments now rely as a part of the 5GB OneDrive allowance – and if that quantity is exceeded, it throws a wrench into the e-mail service.

It would not change the storage quantity obtainable in Outlook.com, however may in OneDrive.

“This replace could cut back how a lot cloud storage you might have obtainable to make use of along with your OneDrive,” Microsoft wrote in a assist observe posted earlier than the change. “When you attain your cloud storage quota, your capacity to ship and obtain emails in Outlook.com will probably be disrupted.”

Redmond added that the plan was to steadily roll out the cloud storage adjustments and new quota bar beginning February 1 throughout customers’ app and Home windows settings and Microsoft accounts. Two months later, that gradual rollout is starting to hit increasingly more customers.

One reader instructed The Register that his Outlook lately stopped working and indicated that he had surpassed the 5GB storage restrict, reaching 6.1GB. He was unaware of the coverage change, so he was confused when he noticed that in his e-mail account he had used solely 6.8GB of the 15GB allowed.

It was the change in how attachments are added that tripped him up. Microsoft instructed him concerning the new coverage.

Nobody deletes attachments each time an e-mail is acquired. That is like blackmail

“So immediately, I’ve misplaced 10GB of e-mail capability and since my attachments had been better than 5GB that immediately disabled my e-mail and triggered bounce-backs (even sending and receiving with no attachments),” the reader instructed us.

“Nobody deletes attachments each time an e-mail is acquired. That is like blackmail. MS is forcing us to purchase a subscription by the again door or to should delete emails with attachments regularly advert infinitum.”

He is not the one one perplexed by the problem. One person on a chat thread with the assist group known as the problem “very disappointing.” The netizen, who additionally makes use of Microsoft instruments at work, has had a private account for greater than 10 years and warned that the mega-corporation was risking turning away lots of people, notably those that have used Microsoft e-mail for a very long time.

In addition they had been confused by the 15GB restrict for e-mail nonetheless being in place, including that it’s “actually laughable for individuals utilizing your hosted e-mail answer from means again.

“Gmail has a 15GB restrict, so looks like a greater free choice than Microsoft.”

The Register contacted Microsoft with some questions. We’ll replace the story if a response is available in.

Quite a few individuals mentioned the state of affairs was complicated. One who apparently was unaware that it was the attachments shifting over to OneDrive inflicting the e-mail issues deleted plenty of emails, solely to search out it did not change the “storage used” quantity.

Others mentioned on Reddit they had been additionally caught unaware. One mentioned that as quickly because the coverage went by way of, their OneDrive storage restrict was exceeded by 36GB.

One other Redditor mentioned these which are working into an Outlook e-mail service that out of the blue would not work have to enter their OneDrive account and begin deleting the attachments.

“Hopefully you understand your OneDrive password, as a result of if you might want to reset it or entry recordsdata in a non-public OneDrive folder below this e-mail account you’ll be able to’t obtain the reset e-mail,” they wrote.

That mentioned, not everybody on Reddit was upset. One person mentioned 5GB without cost storage felt “fairly affordable” and added that “most individuals will not even come near that 5GB restrict.”

“Possibly delete some issues?” one other wrote. “Digital hoarding is so baffling to me.”

As a heads-up, Microsoft mentioned in the identical advisory concerning the February 1 change that beginning November 30, “Microsoft 365 Private or Microsoft 365 Household subscribers will not be capable to create a brand new e-mail deal with for any personalised area related to their Outlook.com mailbox.”

These with a customized e-mail deal with in Outlook.com will be capable to maintain it after that point and use it with out a disruption, but when they take away the deal with from the Outlook account after that date, they will not be capable to get it again.

They must change over to a Microsoft 365 subscription, the place they are going to get – amongst different advantages – 50GB of e-mail storage.

Forewarned is forearmed… or quite it must be. ®