# Mailbox full

> People get their mail to you returned, or your mail app says the mailbox is full. Make room or give the mailbox more storage.

Source: https://veldhost.eu/docs/mailbox-full

Last verified: 2026-11-13

Someone tells you their message to you bounced, or your mail app warns that the mailbox is full. Mail you already have is safe; only new mail is affected.

## Why it happens

Every mailbox has a size. Once it holds that much mail, new mail for it is refused until there is room again. Generic, not specific to veldhost: the sender's mail server then usually returns the message to them with a "mailbox full" or "over quota" notice. Other mailboxes on the domain are not affected: each has its own size.

## We warn you first

When a mailbox reaches 90 % of its size, we email the account's owners and administrators: **ADDRESS is nearly full**, with how much it holds and a link to its storage. You get one email each time it crosses that line. Once it is back under 80 %, the next crossing sends another. The warning is under **Email** in [Choose which emails you get](https://veldhost.eu/docs/notification-settings), and each person can switch it off there.

We go by the sizes the mail server reports, about once an hour. A mailbox with no size reported yet (a dash in the **Storage** column) gets no warning.

## Fix it

### 1. Check how full it is

Open [Email](https://manage.veldhost.eu/portal/mail) and choose the domain (for a site's domain, the row that says **Site:** and the site's name). The **Storage** column shows each mailbox as *used / size*, as the mail server last reported it. A dash instead of the used figure means the mail server had no figure just then; hover over it for the reason.

### 2. Make room

Delete what you no longer need, in your mail app or webmail. Generic advice for any IMAP mailbox: deleted mail usually sits in **Trash** (or **Deleted Items**) and still counts until that folder is emptied, and **Junk** fills up quietly too. Large attachments in **Sent** are often the biggest win.

New mail arrives again as soon as there is room. If a sender got their message returned while the mailbox was full, ask them to send it again.

### 3. Or give the mailbox more storage

1. Open [Email](https://manage.veldhost.eu/portal/mail) and choose the domain.
2. Open the mailbox's **⋯** menu and choose **Change storage**.
3. Choose a size, check the price and your new total in the **Change storage** confirmation, and choose **Make it SIZE**.

The page confirms how much mail the mailbox can now hold, and it takes new mail straight away. The sizes, prices and who may change them are in [Mailbox storage and quotas](https://veldhost.eu/docs/mailbox-storage).

> **Note:** If you may not change the bill, the menu offers no larger size and says "More space changes the bill: ask whoever handles billing." Ask that person to change it.

## Still stuck?

If the **Storage** column shows plenty of room but mail is still refused, or **Change storage** says nothing changed, [contact us](https://veldhost.eu/contact) with the mailbox address and, if you have it, the bounce message the sender received.

## Related

- [Mailbox storage and quotas](https://veldhost.eu/docs/mailbox-storage)
- [Email on your phone and computer](https://veldhost.eu/docs/email-on-your-phone)
- [Create an email address on your domain](https://veldhost.eu/docs/create-a-mailbox)