evorg88

Q: Why aren't I getting the full 8GB of storage?

My iPhone 5C recently alerted me that my storage was full. I google'd ways of rectifying this problem i.e. backing up photos to my computer and deleting them from phone, deleting unwanted apps etc. Now when I look in the Usage - Storage menu I can see that I have 'used' 4.7GB and I have 601MB available. When I click 'Manage Storage' I can see all of the apps that are using up my storage space, but when I add all of these together I have found that they only amount to about 1.5GB.

I understand that the iOS probably takes up a certain amount of the storage space but I thought that would be the space that I was initially missing from the 8GB advertised storage: Used (4.7GB) + Available (601MB) = 5.3GB... 2.7GB for iOS?

 

Apologies if I am completely wrong in my assumptions, but as I see it there is a portion of the storage space being taken up by something I can't see. Is there another magic way of freeing up some space? Or is the 8GB internal storage simply not big enough?

 

Thanks in advance!

iPhone 5c, iOS 8.4.1, 8GB

Posted on Sep 10, 2015 1:43 PM

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Q: Why aren't I getting the full 8GB of storage?

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  • by Ralph9430,

    Ralph9430 Ralph9430 Sep 10, 2015 1:59 PM in response to evorg88
    Level 6 (18,190 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 10, 2015 1:59 PM in response to evorg88

    It is not uncommon for people to be fooled by the way hard disk capacity is measured. Listing the amount of storage be people is is different from the way computers measure the same thing. In fact, many people wonder why after installing the disk the total capacity shown by the operating system is lower than expected.

    HDD manufacturers define one gigabyte as one billion bytes, whereas the operating system (i.e. the computer) shows the real value. A gigabyte is technically defined as 1.074 billion bytes. The greater the capacity, the higher is the difference between advertised value and actual capacity. For 8 GB of storage identified in the specs of a device, the actual actual storage is 7.45 GB. The difference is around 10%.

  • by Phil0124,

    Phil0124 Phil0124 Sep 10, 2015 2:02 PM in response to evorg88
    Level 7 (27,626 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 10, 2015 2:02 PM in response to evorg88
  • by elcpu,Solvedanswer

    elcpu elcpu Sep 10, 2015 2:10 PM in response to evorg88
    Level 6 (16,232 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 10, 2015 2:10 PM in response to evorg88

    Apologies if I am completely wrong in my assumptions, but as I see it there is a portion of the storage space being taken up by something I can't see. Is there another magic way of freeing up some space?

     

    You are absolutely correct!!!  Connect your phone to iTunes, select the phone icon from the top left side, on the Summary page that appears there will be a usage bar at the bottom and one of the items will say "Other". This does NOT appear on your phone usage table but is very real indeed. I have seen Others as large as 18 GBs. Post back with what you see and I will help you from there. In the mean time take a look at this article also.

     

    http://osxdaily.com/2013/07/24/remove-other-data-storage-iphone-ipad/

  • by evorg88,

    evorg88 evorg88 Sep 10, 2015 10:09 PM in response to elcpu
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2015 10:09 PM in response to elcpu

    Thank you for your reply, this makes a lot more sense!

     

    I have just connected to iTunes and found that the 'Other' section is showing as 910.7MB... However; it is also showing that I have 2.57GB Free Space! Now I am completely confused, can you shed any light on this?

     

    Thanks!

  • by elcpu,

    elcpu elcpu Sep 11, 2015 11:11 AM in response to evorg88
    Level 6 (16,232 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 11, 2015 11:11 AM in response to evorg88

    Yes I can.  First an "Other" of 900 MBs is not bad and I would not do anything about it.  If it grows much more, let's say to 1.5 GBs, you would have to do a full Restore to clear most of it (it will start to grow again but should start with about 200-300 MBs).  A full Restore takes time, 30-50 minutes or so, and while appearing complicated, iTunes will walk you through it rather easily. Here are the instructions:

    Use iTunes to restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

     

    Again, I would not do it with 900 MBs although if you feel like it, there is nothing to lose as long as you backup every thing properly and follow the instructions precisely (restore from backup, not as new). I have done so countless of time on my own devices and never lost a thing other than time. I have also recommended this to some on the forum, some with Others as large as 18 GBs (on 64 GBs devices) and no one has reported an issue back to me in so doing.

     

    Regarding the differences in reported storage, the iTunes amount is an estimate whereas your phone is showing you the actual including the Other but you can not see it in the table, just the net effect under Available. If you do a new sync or a backup, the amounts reported by iTunes and the phone will get closer. I do not know why they never match, seems to me as an engineer that they should but even on our iPhones and iPads they do not.