Storage Issues

Question

Storage Issues

Hi,

I know this is a common issue/question, but I’ve tried all the suggestions I find from googling, so hoping for some new insight.

My iPhone storage is nearly full. Yes, I’ve deleted and offloaded apps, yes, I’ve permanently deleted photos, yes, I’ve cleared my cache, yes, I’ve cleared safari, yes, I’ve restarted my phone. It makes barely any difference. The mysterious “system” takes up 5gb of space and “other” takes up 52gb. I’ve tried every suggestion I can find. I really don’t want to do a hard reset. What is it that’s taking up so much space in those categories?? TIA.

iPhone SE, iOS 11

Posted on Jul 26, 2020 7:52 AM

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Answer 1

Axel Foley

Level 10

150,966 points

Jul 26, 2020 6:59 PM in response to PrettyFly2580

The "Other" category is supposed to house data that does not belong in all of the created categories. That is how things are supposed to be categorized.

It appears that most of your data is stuck in the other category. I only know of one way to clean up the storage and minimize the "other" category and here is how- (This involves erasing your iPhone and restoring it to factory settings and then restoring from a back up file).

Back up your iPhone to a computer as shown here ➔ Back up your iPhone to your computer.
Erase your iPhone and restore to factory settings by opening Settings ➔ General ➔ Reset ➔ Erase all content and Settings
Restore your iPhone from that back up file on your computer (Step 1) as shown here ➔ Restore your iPhone from a computer back up.

I know that this may turn into a time consuming event and other members of this forum may have other ideas however this is the method that has worked for me.

Axel F.

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Answer 2

Chris0107

Level 9

52,001 points

Jul 26, 2020 9:42 AM in response to PrettyFly2580

Backup/Reset/Restore your device, review these links:

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Jul 26, 2020 9:40 AM in response to KiltedTim

Thank you both. I started to try that - connected my phone to my computer and opened iTunes as instructed, but couldn’t see what I was supposed to do next. What’s the process for backing up and restoring using iTunes?

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Answer 4

Chris0107

Level 9

52,001 points

Jul 26, 2020 7:00 PM in response to PrettyFly2580

here is a post that explains what 'other' storage is

What is "Other" and What Can I Do… - Apple Community

We have been seeing issues lately where 'other' storage is expanding. I'm not sure what causes it. It would be great if there was a way to just click a delete button, but it's not that simple.. that button does not exist.

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