IS YOUR COLTONTEL EMAIL INBOX FULL?

 

When your mailbox is full, your mail has no where to be stored and you will not receieve any new mail. You also will not be able to send any email because of the storage space limitation. 

Why is my mailbox continuously exceeding its quota?

  1. If you only use smart devices (Smart phones, IPads, Tablets etc.) to check your email.  These devices retrieve copies of email to your device.  The email is stored on the Email Server.  Too many messages stored on your smart device will overuse your mailbox quota. Please delete mailbox messages you have read and no longer need.
  2. Keeping a copy of your incoming mail on the server when using a PC or Mac will eventually cause your mailbox size to exceed the quota. This is normally a setting in your email program that is active by default. Help for this problem can be found below:

Each mailbox has a generous 5GB of storage capacity. Mail can also be stored on your local PC or mobile device. 

Determine which email client you are using. IE: what program you use to get your email.

WebMail

Managing a full inbox in Webmail is a two-step process: you first need to move the messages to the Trash, and then you must permanently “empty” that Trash folder to reclaim your storage space.

1. Moving Emails to the Trash

Before you can free up space, you need to select the items you no longer need.

  • Select Individual Emails: Click on the email(s) you wish to delete.

  • Select Multiple Emails: Hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) or Command key (Mac) while clicking different emails.

  • Select All: Click the Select button (usually a checkbox icon) at the bottom or top of the message list and choose All.

  • Delete: Once selected, click the Delete icon (the trash can) in the top toolbar.

Note: These emails are now in your “Trash” folder but still count against your storage limit until the Trash is emptied.

2. Emptying the Trash Can

To officially reclaim your storage space, you must purge the Trash folder.

Method A: Using Folder Options (Fastest)

  1. Locate the Trash folder in the left-hand sidebar.

  2. Click the Folder Actions icon (the three dots or gear icon) next to the Trash folder.

  3. Select Empty from the menu.

  4. Confirm the action when prompted.

Method B: Deleting from Within the Folder

  1. Click on the Trash folder to open it.

  2. Click the Select icon at the bottom of the list and choose All.

  3. Click the Delete icon in the top toolbar.

  4. Depending on your settings, you may need to click Compact under the folder actions to fully refresh the storage count.

⚠️ Pro-Tip: Check Your “Sent” Folder Often, large attachments hiding in your Sent folder take up more space than your incoming mail. Be sure to repeat the steps above for old sent messages with large files!

Apple Mail App

If you have added your ColtonTel account to the iPhone’s own Mail app, follow these steps:

1. Moving Emails to Trash

  • Open your Inbox.

  • Tap Edit in the top right corner.

  • Select the emails you want to delete (or tap Select All at the top left).

  • Tap Trash (or Move > Trash) at the bottom.

2. Permanently Emptying the Trash

Even after deleting them, the emails still take up space in the “Trash” folder on the server.

  • Go back to the Mailboxes list (tap the back arrow until you see all your folders).

  • Scroll down to the ColtonTel section and tap the Trash folder.

  • Tap Edit in the top right.

  • Tap Select All.

  • Tap Delete at the bottom right.

  • Confirm by tapping Delete All.

⚠️ Pro-Tip for iPhone Users

If you see “Archive” instead of “Trash” when you try to delete:

  1. Go to iPhone Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts.

  2. Tap your ColtonTel account.

  3. Tap Account Settings > Advanced.

  4. Under “Move Discarded Messages Into,” select Deleted Mailbox instead of Archive Mailbox.

This ensures that when you swipe or tap “Delete,” the mail actually goes to the trash so it can be cleared out to save space!

Android

The process depends on whether you are using the Gmail app (which most people use to manage external accounts) or a Web Browser like Chrome.

Using the Gmail App (Most Common)

If you’ve added your ColtonTel account to the Gmail app, deleting emails is a two-step “purge.”

1. Moving Emails to Trash

  • Open the Gmail app and ensure your ColtonTel account is selected (tap your profile icon in the top right to switch).

  • Long-press on one email to enter selection mode.

  • Tap the circles next to other emails you want to remove, or tap the “Select all” box if available.

  • Tap the Trash Can icon at the top.

2. Emptying the Trash

  • Tap the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left.

  • Scroll down and tap Trash (or Bin).

  • Tap the text at the top that says “Empty Trash now”.

  • Confirm by tapping Empty.

Outlook Express / 2000

  1. Go to the Tools menu and choose Accounts,
  2. double-click on your email account’s name,
  3. go to the Advanced tab,
  4. Untick the box at the bottom that says “Leave a copy of messages on the server”, or check the box that says “remove from server after … days” and specify a short enough amount of days, for example 3, and also check the last box “remove from server when deleted“.
  5. Click OK,
  6. Click Close

Outlook XP, 2002 / 3

  1. Click Tools.
  2. Click Email Accounts.
  3. Select View or Change an existing email address, or click the Email tab.
  4. Select the email account.
  5. Click Change.
  6. Click More Settings.
  7. Click the Advanced tab.
  8. Untick the “Leave a copy of the message on the server” checkbox and then click Next.
  9. Click Finish.

Note: When the check box is cleared, deleted email messages will be permanently removed from the messaging server.

Outlook 2007

  1. Click Tools.
  2. Click Account Settings.
  3. Click Change.
  4. Click More Settings.
  5. Click the Advanced tab.
  6. Untick the Leave a copy of the message on the server check box.
  7. Click OK.
  8. Click Next.
  9. Click Finish.

Note: When this check box is cleared, deleted email messages will be permanently removed from the messaging server.

Outlook 2010/ 2013

  1. Click File.
  2. Click Account Settings.
  3. Select the appropriate email account
  4. Click Change.
  5. Click More Settings.
  6. Click the Advanced tab.
  7. Untick the “Leave a copy of the message on the server” checkbox.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Click Next.
  10. Click Finish.
  11. Click Close.

Note: When this check box is cleared, deleted email messages will be permanently removed from the messaging server.

Windows Live Mail

  1. Right-click the email account in the left pane and click Properties.
  2. Click the Advanced tab.
  3. Untick the check box beside “Leave a copy of messages on server”.
  4. Click OK.

IncrediMail

  1. Click Tools.
  2. Click Accounts.
  3. Select the email account, and then click Properties.
  4. Click the Advanced tab.
  5. Untick the  “Leave a copy of messages on server” check box.

Note: When the check box is cleared, deleted email messages will be permanently removed from the messaging server.

Mozilla Thunderbird

  1. Click on the Tools menu, choose Account Settings,
  2. Go to the Server Settings category on the left side, under your email account,
  3. Untick the box that says “Leave messages on server”, or check the box that says “for at most … days ” and specify a short enough amount of days, for example 3, and check the other box (“until I delete or move them from inbox”)
  4. Click OK to confirm

Apple mail for Mac OS X

  1. Click on the Mail menu and choose Preferences,
  2. Click on the Accounts icon, and select your email account on the left side,
  3. Go to the tab called Advanced, and CHECK THE CHECKBOX CALLED Remove copy from server after retrieving a message:
    • if that checkbox is Unticked, then all your messages will always stay on the server (and you will fill up your quota quickly)
    • if that checkbox is checked, then the messages will only stay on the server as long as specified in the drop-down box underneath (recommended: less than 5 days)
    • if that checkbox is checked and the drop-down box is set to Right Away, then your account will behave as a regular POP3 account (the messages will be downloaded to your computer and then removed from the server right away – highly recommended)
    • Note: This is only for POP not IMAP
  • Click OK to confirm

Windows mail (Vista)

  1. Click Tools.
  2. Click Accounts.
  3. In the Email subsection, click the email account.
  4. Click Properties.
  5. Click the Advanced tab.
  6. Untick the “Leave a copy of the message on the server” check box.