Clients write to you, you do not reply — not because you ignore them, but because the messages never arrive. The sender gets a mailbox full bounce and you know nothing. Here is the 10-minute fix.
A 30-second check
cPanel → Email Accounts → next to each address you see used space and the quota. At 100% — that is the whole story.
What to clear first (by impact)
- 1. Trash — the biggest silent eater: deleted mail does NOT free space until the folder is emptied
- 2. Spam / Junk — can collect thousands of messages; enable auto-deletion after 30 days
- 3. Sent — all your attachments live here for years
- 4. Big attachments — in webmail sort by size; a few 20MB presentations are often half the problem
Why deleting on the phone sometimes does not help
With POP3, deleting on the phone does not delete on the server. With IMAP, many clients just move mail to Trash — which is still on the server. Empty it via webmail — there you see what really consumes space.
How to prevent a repeat
- Raise the quota — with us it takes a minute, just ask
- Rule: archive attachments over 10MB locally or in the cloud
- Auto-clean Spam and Trash after 30 days
- For teams: shared mailboxes instead of everything on one address
When it signals something else
If the quota keeps filling up, it is not a discipline problem — it is a sign you need a bigger plan or better mail organisation. Call us and we will work out what pays off.