# What happened to 100mb Hotmail?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 13, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048 "2004-10-13T18:36:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/1 "2004-10-13T18:36:00Z")
I started hearing about a Hotmail storage increase back in June. Not only were reputable news sites reporting it, Hotmail/MSN themselves were reporting it. And it was supposed to be coming “very soon.”
Did they change their minds because Gmail hasn’t been as successful as they thought it would be?
---
### Author:  [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/2 "2004-10-13T18:43:13Z")
> [@Cisco](#):
>
> I started hearing about a Hotmail storage increase back in June. Not only were reputable news sites reporting it, Hotmail/MSN themselves were reporting it. And it was supposed to be coming “very soon.”
>
> Did they change their minds because Gmail hasn’t been as successful as they thought it would be?
I don’t use Hotmail.
Gmail is still in BETA (I’ll take an invite if anyone has one available btw)
free Yahoo email is still at 100 mb
---
### Author:  [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/3 "2004-10-13T18:44:47Z")
As of right now, my free hotmail account had 25 MB of storage.
based on [this link:](http://www.imagine-msn.com/hotmail/en-us/)
“sometime this fall” free email will be 250MB with 10MB attachments per email possible plus other improvements.
Paid users will be up to 2 GB of space.
No specific dates are mentioned.
---
### Author:  [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/4 "2004-10-13T18:53:47Z")
> [@Keweenaw](#):
>
> (I’ll take an invite if anyone has one available btw)
Check yer mail.
---
### Author:  [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/5 "2004-10-13T18:54:05Z")
Free [Excite.com](http://Excite.com) email is 125mb.
---
### Author:  [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/6 "2004-10-13T19:06:39Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#):
>
> As of right now, my free hotmail account had 25 MB of storage.
😕 Both of my free hotmails are 2mb. My “paid” (friend gave me a digital coupon for 4 months free) Hotmail is 25mb.
---
### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/7 "2004-10-13T19:12:36Z")
I pay (it’s the easiest way for me to pick up my real e-mail when I’m travelling) and I get 2Gb.
Of course, if you use your “free” hotmail account with Outlook, it’s [not going to be free](http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,101981,00.asp) much longer
---
### Author:  [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/8 "2004-10-13T22:47:36Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#):
>
> Of course, if you use your “free” hotmail account with Outlook, it’s [not going to be free](http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,101981,00.asp) much longer
That link is over 2 years old, and details changes which have already come into effect:
> [@](#):
>
> Users of Microsoft’s MSN Hotmail service will no longer be able to aggregate e-mail from other accounts into their Hotmail account without paying $19.95 a year for the MSN Extra Storage subscription program, the company says.
---
### Author:  [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/9 "2004-10-13T22:50:52Z")
> [@Cisco](#):
>
> 😕 Both of my free hotmails are 2mb. My “paid” (friend gave me a digital coupon for 4 months free) Hotmail is 25mb.
Oops my mistake i was looking at my MSN account. heh.
---
### Author:  [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/10 "2004-10-14T00:24:41Z")
Uh, as of today when I checked my free hotmail account, it says I have 250mb of space.
Whoa, nice thread timing.
---
### Author:  [@Oat1957](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oat1957)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/11 "2004-10-14T01:24:53Z")
Mine still say’s 2 MB. Which is better than the 200k I had when I first signed up back in '97 before MS bought Hotmail.
---
### Author:  [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/12 "2004-10-14T01:28:18Z")
Mine too still says 2MB, and in fact has a “warning” about being too close to capacity.
---
### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/13 "2004-10-14T01:47:53Z")
My free Yahoo! mailbox was boosted to 100MB 6 months ago at no cost.
Since I rarely use it, I’ll never run out of space! 😃
---
### Author:  [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2004, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/14 "2004-10-14T02:17:42Z")
I’ve been using Hotmail for years and years and mine account still has only 2Mb of capacity. I, too, have been wondering when my 250Megs is coming. I have a Gmail account but everyone I’ve ever given an email address to knows my Hotmail. Gimme my promised 250Megs!
---
### Author:  [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2004, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/15 "2004-10-14T04:24:48Z")
I just re-checked and it is indeed at 250mb. It was 2mb yesterday, I know because I was at 57% capacity and was going to start deleting things today.
Of course that isn’t a problem anymore since I’m now at less than 1% capacity. Not to rub it in or anything.
Hopefully they’ll adjust all the accounts in the next few days.
---
### Author:  [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2004, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/16 "2004-10-14T05:09:35Z")
Yup. Its here.
I now have 250MB.
🙂
---
### Author:  [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/17 "2004-10-14T14:35:16Z")
I’ve been a Hotmail user since 1997. My account was upgraded last month.
My guess is that Hotmail is going through groups of e-mail accounts and upgrading them to 250 MB. Hotmail has been around since 1996. [As of 1999 they claimed over 30 million active users](http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/1999/02-08hotmail.asp) , so there are even more today. That’s a whole lot of accounts to upgrade. I think it’s going to take awhile for some people to see the change, especially if they signed up recently.
---
### Author:  [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/18 "2004-10-14T18:13:00Z")
Mine’s still at 2 MB which is completely fine since I rarely use it and don’t want to see 250 MB of spam in there.
---
### Author:  [@WIGGUM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WIGGUM)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-100mb-hotmail/269048/19 "2004-10-14T20:12:31Z")
Coincidentally, or maybe not, my Hotmail was upgraded to 250mb right around the time I switched to Gmail. I still check my Hotmail on the off chance that someone may email me there, and to empty out the gazillion spam emails in my junk box, but I’ve found Gmail much more to my liking.