FIle is bigger than the server allows??

Question

FIle is bigger than the server allows??

Augusta Nelson 0

I have never received this message before and have uploaded the exact same documents

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Randy Popkave 0 Reputation points

2026-08-11T18:20:20.46+00:00

I'm using my Microsoft email address for many years and until now I've never had a problem with uploading files up to 20mb with no problem with sending them. Now outlook is giving me a message that 7mb files are too large and keeps bouncing my emails with uploaded files! Why is this?
Hornblower409 14,425 Reputation points

2026-08-13T05:35:15.96+00:00

@Randy Popkave said

until now I've never had a problem with uploading files up to 20mb ... Now outlook is giving me a message that 7mb files are too large

There have been some changes in the max email size.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/reduce-attachment-size-to-send-large-files-with-outlook

If you're using an Exchange account you might be hitting the 10MB total size limit

For Exchange accounts (business email), the default email size limit is 10 MB. This limit includes both the size of the attachment(s) and the size of the email.

But other than that, you should be able to send an email with a total size of 7MB. All I can suggest is that you start a new thread using the "Ask a question" button at the top of this page to create a new Question and include the details for your specific problem.

This provides much higher visibility to your issue than adding on to an existing post, which is only seen by people who are already following this question.

2 answers

Randy Popkave 0 Reputation points

2026-08-11T18:20:20.46+00:00

I'm using my Microsoft email address for many years and until now I've never had a problem with uploading files up to 20mb with no problem with sending them. Now outlook is giving me a message that 7mb files are too large and keeps bouncing my emails with uploaded files! Why is this?
Hornblower409 14,425 Reputation points

2026-08-13T05:35:15.96+00:00

@Randy Popkave said

until now I've never had a problem with uploading files up to 20mb ... Now outlook is giving me a message that 7mb files are too large

There have been some changes in the max email size.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/reduce-attachment-size-to-send-large-files-with-outlook

If you're using an Exchange account you might be hitting the 10MB total size limit

For Exchange accounts (business email), the default email size limit is 10 MB. This limit includes both the size of the attachment(s) and the size of the email.

But other than that, you should be able to send an email with a total size of 7MB. All I can suggest is that you start a new thread using the "Ask a question" button at the top of this page to create a new Question and include the details for your specific problem.

This provides much higher visibility to your issue than adding on to an existing post, which is only seen by people who are already following this question.

Answer 1

The message means the total size of the attachment(s) in the email exceeds the limit enforced by Outlook or the mail server.

For Outlook with internet email accounts (for example, Outlook.com, Gmail, or other POP/IMAP accounts), Outlook 2013 and later enforce a default attachment size limit of 20 MB. For Exchange (school or work) accounts, the default maximum message size is typically 10 MB, set by the Exchange administrator. If the file(s) you attach are larger than these limits, Outlook shows the warning “The file you’re attaching is bigger than the server allows. Try putting the file in a shared location and sending a link instead.”

Even if the same documents worked before, the combined size may now be larger (for example, updated versions, more files in the same message, or a change in server limits by the admin).

To work around this:

Use a shared location and send a link
- Save the file to OneDrive, SharePoint, or another shared location.
- Insert or paste a sharing link into the email instead of attaching the file directly.
Reduce the attachment size
- Compress the file(s) into a .zip archive.
- If sending images, reduce their resolution or size before attaching.
If using a school or work account and larger attachments are required
- An Exchange or Microsoft 365 admin can increase the maximum send/receive size for the mailbox in Exchange (message size restrictions). This is done on the server side; Outlook alone cannot override the server’s limit.

After any server-side change, it can take some time before Outlook recognizes the new limit.

References:

Answer 2

Hi @Augusta Nelson,

I hope you are doing well.

Thank you for reach out and sharing your concern regarding sending large attachments. According your concern, Outlook limits the size for both email and attachments to 10 MB (megabytes).

In order to send large attachments using Outlook, I would recommend trying these steps:

Save your file to a cloud service and share a link in your email

Sign in to onedrive.com
Open File Explorer and drag then drop the videos into your OneDrive.
Once the upload finished, click the Share button next to the file name.
Enter the emails of people you are sharing the videos with then select Copy link.

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Zip the files and attach

Locate the file to zip.
Right-click the file or folder, select (or point to) Send to, and then select Compressed (zipped) folder.
Attach the zipped video file in your email.

For more information, please refer to these articles:

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow the steps above and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can continue working together to resolve the issue.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out so I can continue to support you. If you found the response useful, please consider marking it as accepted, as this may help other community members who are looking for similar guidance.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.

If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Anonymous

2026-05-01T22:06:37.5666667+00:00

Hi @Augusta Nelson,

I hope everything is going well on your end.

I’m following up on the support thread we've been working through together. I wanted to check in and see if the information I shared in my previous answer helped resolve the issue you were experiencing.

If you're still experiencing any issues or have further questions, please feel free to reach out at any time. I’m always happy to help if you need anything else.

I want to ensure everything is functioning smoothly and that your experience remains seamless.

Thank you again for your collaboration throughout the troubleshooting process.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warm regards,