Message Size Limit Exceeded – What Now?
- Stan Patey
- Apr 15
- 3 min read
It’s late on a sunny Friday afternoon before a long weekend, and the office has emptied out around you. You’ve worked frantically to complete a multimedia project that you promised to send to your client for review before the end of the day. The crafted email message is complete, then you attempt to attach the documents, only to be derailed by “The file you’re attaching is bigger than the server allows.”
Documents, spreadsheets and presentations that exceed the typical 25 MB size limits of major email hosts are growing more common. Despite increased limits, it’s easy to hit the max.
Even a 20 MB attachment can push your email beyond size restrictions due to the encoding overhead necessary to attach to an email message. Sometimes, an email with a 20 MB attachment can swell to 30 MBs.
Office 365 limits message sizes to 25 MB's but system administrators can modify it to allow up to a 150 MB limit. That's pretty much pointless when the vast majority of non-Microsoft email providers set their ceiling at 25 MBs or less. What good is it if you can send it, but no one can receive it?
Common error messages for emails that get blocked due to exceeding size limits include
550 5.2.3 message too large for this recipient'
The system is undeliverable, and the message size exceeds the outgoing message size limit.
Unable to send email: Message size exceeds server limit
Mail Delivery Failed: message size exceeds fixed maximum size
The size of the message you are trying to send exceeds the server's global size limit. The message was not sent; reduce the message size and try again.
Attachment size exceeds the allowable limit
Solutions
Reduce file size by compressing into a zip file. In File Explorer, select the file or files, then right-click>Send To>Compressed (zipped) Folder
Divide files into two or more smaller files, then send them in multiple emails
PDFs can be reduced in size within the Adobe Acrobat application - File>Save As Other>Reduced Size PDF
Use a file sharing service.
Several familiar file-sharing services offer excellent solutions, including Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft’s OneDrive and SharePoint. Dropbox fees can quickly climb for both the sender and recipient. Google Drive includes 15 GBs of storage on its free tier and is accessible for Gmail users. Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint are fabulous once configured, and you learn how to share links with recipients. Our clients already own M365 and SharePoint and just need to learn how to use it.
Check out these file transfer service solutions
1. Dropbox Transfer
Dropbox Transfer offers a secure way to send large files. You can transfer files up to 100 MB for free, and Dropbox's paid plans provide more capacity for larger transfers.
2. Google Drive
Google Drive allows you to share files up to 15 GB for free, leveraging your Google account's storage. You can share files directly or generate shareable links.
3. OneDrive
OneDrive provides free file sharing with a storage limit of 5 GB. You can upload files to your OneDrive account and share them via links, making it easy to transfer large files securely.
4. SharePoint
SharePoint allows you to share files and collaborate with others. With a few clicks, you can share files or folders with external users. All of our clients own M365 and SharePoint.
These services can help you manage and share large files efficiently. Do you need more details on these options or assistance with something else? Contact us to learn more. 😊
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