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Google dedicates a 15GB cloud storage to free users. This 15GB cloud storage is shared Google Drive, Google Photos, and GMail. Once you hit the storage limit, Google Photos syncing will pause, Gmail will stop sending and receiving emails, and Google Drive won’t upload new files.
Certainly, the seen solution for many free users is to delete some file to free space or upgrade to Google One account to get more or unlimited cloud storage. But do you know that you can switch your default Gmail account and continue using Google services seamlessly without deleting any file or paying for storage?
That's exactly what I'm going to be teaching you in this article. So, if you don’t want to delete anything, and you’re not ready to pay for more space, then you'll need to stick to this article to the very end because I'll leave no stone unturned. I'll guide you through what to do next and how to switch your default account without losing your emails.
Switching Default Gmail Account
The switching can be done on both desktop and on mobile. Follow these steps to successfully switch/change your default Gmail account without losing your emails:
On Desktop (Web)
- If you're using Google accounts via web, that means you'll need to first sign-out all the accounts on web. To do that:
- Sign-in to your Gmail on via web on your computer, and at the top-right of the dashboard, tap your profile picture.
- Under your profile, logout all your Google accounts and re-login the first account you want to use as default. The first account you sign-in becomes your default Gmail for that browser session.
- After signing in your default account first, you can then login all your full account back. This will give you access to all emails, and income emails will now go to your fresh inbox. But one configuration is still needed to connect your old email to the new one; read to the end.
On Mobile (iOS/Android)
The processes are the same for mobile. It's also important to note that the Gmail app doesn’t have a permanent “default account” setting for mobile. So, the first email added is automatically used as the default.
You can also manually switch between accounts in the Gmail app to carry out specific tasks. However, actions that rely on your default account happen automatically, with Gmail using the first account you signed in with.
To make your new Gmail your default, follow these steps:
- Open your GMail app and navigate to "Manage account on this device" under "Profile."
- Under the page, select and remove your Google accounts one after the other.
- Once all account are removed, add the first Google account first so that it can become the default account.
- After adding the first Gmail account, add the remaining ones. The first account becomes the default for Google Play Store, GMail, Chrome Browser, Payment, and other Google Services.
Link Both Accounts Together
The core focus of this article is to maximize storage on Google accounts. So, if you just make your first Gmail account default, if will minimize loads on the old account but new incoming emails will still not be delivered. To make the new incoming emails delivered to the new account set as default, you'll need to configure both accounts together to synchronize.
To link both old and new emails together, you'll need to set up email forwarding from the old GMail account to the new GMail account. Follow these steps to enable forwarding from your old Gmail using the Gmail mobile app:
- Open the Gmail app on your phone.
- Tap the menu icon (☰) and go to Settings.
- Select the account you want to forward from (your old Gmail).
- Scroll and tap Manage your Google Account.
- Swipe to the Security and Privacy tab, then open Gmail settings (this opens in a browser view).
- In the browser settings go to Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
- Tap Add a forwarding address, enter your new Gmail address, and confirm.
- Open your new Gmail, find the verification email, and click the confirmation link.
- Once verified, enable forwarding in the same Forwarding and POP/IMAP section.
After completing these steps, new messages sent to your old account will be forwarded automatically to your new one.
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Final Notes
Did you know you don’t always need to switch accounts when your storage is full? Sometimes, the issue is simply what’s taking up space. By checking what’s using your storage and clearing it up, you can fix the problem. Let me walk you through it so it’s easier to understand.
On your web browser, visit Google One’s Storage Manager via https://one.google.com/storage to see how much space your Google Photos, Google Drive, and Gmail have consumed respectively. In the Google One's Storage Manager, you'll files that are larger in size so you can decide where to delete.
Most importantly, the cloud storage may be full of old documents, videos, or backups. Most time, your Google Photos consume significant storage especially when you’ve been uploading in original quality. And if it's your Gmail that has large attachments, you can manually delete them or switch accounts as explained in this article.
