My iPad says my storage is full when it’s not, and I can’t download apps. What do I do?

Hello,

Try resetting iPad's settings in Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings. Be certain you do not select Erase All Content and Settings as this will erase all of your information. It is a good idea to perform a backup of your iPad prior to resetting its settings.

Your iPad IS FULL!

It is actually beyond full!

A 16 GBs storage iPad starts out with approx 15 GBs after initial formatting.

Minus approx. between 3-4 GBs for iOS 12, leaves 11-12 GBs. Minus between 2-3 GBs for iOS/iPadOS system reserve leaves between 9-10 GBs of usable data storage space.

You have completely filled up your iPad with data!

You should never, EVER completely fill up any full computer OR mobile computing device with data!

iOS iDevices need to maintain, at the very least, a minimum of between 2-3 GBs of free data storage space, AT ALL TIMES, to insure normal/nominal functionalities/operation and general overall performance of any iDevice.

You need to free up free data storage space on an iPad/iDevice.

You need to start by backing up your iPad to either Apple's iCloud or by connecting your iDevice to a computer running the latest iTunes and/or some other offsite, “cloud” data storage/backup services, like Google Drive/Photos, DropBox, BOX, Amazon Cloud Drive, Flickr ( for photos/images ), etc.

Then, delete any installed apps that you no longer use or use infrequently enough that they aren't missed (you can always reinstalled any purchased or free apps at some time later, as you need them).

Then, thin out/delete any music/videos/movies/TV shows/screen recordings/images/eBooks/

eMagazine/iBooks/audio books/Documents/PDFs, etc.

If you use a POP email account on your iPad, delete/thin out any old saved emails that maybe saved to your iPad.

To permanently delete photos/images off of your iDevice go into the Photos app and find the Recently Deleted folder/album and permanently delete any photos/images stored in that folder/album.

Also, you can check to see what stuff is eating up all your valuable data storage space by going into the Settings App,,General Settings Panel, in the right hand column, tap Storage & iCloud usage panel ( in iOS 11, it’s iPad Storage ), in the top Storage Panel, tap the Manage Storage panel, wait for a list of apps to generate that will tell you how much space each app is taking up on your iDevice.

Then, do a hard reset of your iPad by holding down both the Home and sleep/wake buttons simultaneously until your iPad goes to black and restarts with Apple logo, then release the buttons.

Best of Luck to You!