Too much OTHER space= a Backup, Restore, and now "Not enough space to restore" message

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Level 1

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Too much OTHER space= a Backup, Restore, and now "Not enough space to restore" message

I am having a problem with my storage space on my iPhone.

I plugged into iTunes and found 23 GB of OTHER space, which is way too much. I tried deleting things here and there, but for this large amount of data, I needed to try something else.

I still had a few GBs to spare, but I thought I would first backup my iPhone (the backup worked fine.)

From there I did a full RESTORE to clean it out.

I then chose the option to Restore from a Backup, (my Backup that I did previous to the RESTORE is there, so that was good news.)

I selected the option and thought it would reload my phone with the GOOD data and delete the OTHER currupted data, but now I get the error message:

"iTunes could not restore the iPhone because not enough free space is available on the iPhone."

It seems that my iPhone is BRAND new back to factory settings, and I still had a few GB free prior to the restore, so why is there not enough space?

Is there any way to work around this?

I am avoiding syncing the "new" phone or creating a new backup point until I see if there's another way.

Meanwhile, I wait while my iPhone is in limbo mode... Thanks in advance.

-Jillett

iPhone 4S, iOS 6.1.3, Backing up iPhone not enough space

Posted on May 12, 2013 3:49 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

May 12, 2013 3:53 PM in response to jillett

See this User Tip: What is "Other" and What Can I Do About It?- Apple Support Communities.

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Answer 2

Courcoul

Level 6

18,558 points

May 12, 2013 4:35 PM in response to jillett

If you've gone hog-wild with humongously large games (some can span several hundred MB or more), you can also bite the bullet and manually delete those you don't play anymore to free up space. Hold finger to icon till it wiggles, then tap on the red (X).

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Answer 3

jillett Author

Level 1

0 points

May 12, 2013 5:14 PM in response to Courcoul

Thanks for the help. I think my problem was large videos and text messages that once deleted, went to OTHER. I don't have any large APPs or games or anything over 2GB. Right now I need help with how to backup from restore..

Any ideas?

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Answer 4

Courcoul

Level 6

18,558 points

May 13, 2013 12:09 AM in response to jillett

Act One. Try resetting the phone. Hold the Home and the Sleep/Wake buttons down together until the Apple logo pops up. Ignore the red shutdown slider. Will NOT damage the contents and config. If the stuff in OTHER is unneeded cruft, this may get it eliminated. Else...

Act Two. When wired and in iTunes, can you get the Back Up Now button to conclude its thing without errors AND have the device backup show up in Preferences / Device Preferences? Be sure to use local storage (This Computer) for a complete backup under your control. You can even download and try DigiDNA's DiskAid, that you can use to inspect the contents of the backup. Once satisfied that your stuff is safe, can proceed to wipe out the phone and then restore. OTHER being cached cruft, amongst other things, should not be restored and you should be in the clear.

Every time I see one of these threads I thank my lucky stars (and wallet) I managed to get the biggest iPhone possible (and still have 40GB free)...

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Answer 5

Aug 17, 2013 3:46 PM in response to jillett

Hi jillett

Just wondering, as I have the same issue, were you able to sort it out.

Thanks.

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Answer 6

Aug 20, 2013 8:27 PM in response to jillett

Try using PhoneClean. I've used it recently and it cleaned up more than 1gb on my disk space, specifically on the "other" space. It turned out that sync-failed media files ate up too much space on my device. You can download it here: http://www.imobie.com/phoneclean/

Hope this helps. 🙂

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Answer 7

Sep 25, 2013 1:05 PM in response to whenitsgrey

It looks to me that phoneclean just clears out junk from the "apps" section, not from "Other".

Still a useful tool as it increases the "free" space, but it doesn't appear to reduce content in the "Other" catagory.

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Answer 8

Dec 27, 2013 10:00 AM in response to jillett

I deleted a couple of my apps that were HUGE (1 and 2 GB) which freed up space in order to perform the backup restore. The apps I deleted I knew were backed up in the original backup so I knew they would then be restored with the backup restore.

My iPhone performed the backup restore and all of the apps I deleted were back as well as everything else I wanted.

Hope this helps!!

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Answer 9

ynoteh

Level 1

0 points

Dec 3, 2015 12:24 PM in response to jillett

I Have a similar problem, the difference is I have 5000+ pictures and videos in my photo album, but when I put my mouse over the photos section in iTunes it says the correct amount of photos, but the space it is taking up says 131Mb. The "other" folder says 33gb. Under setting and usage in my phone it's says photos is using up 32gb, but on iTunes it has allocated the space under "other"

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