User profile for user: davjamair
davjamair Author
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Other storage space - backing up and updating software

I am having trouble with ‘Other’ storage on my iPhone. I currently have used 63GB of my phone’s 64GB storage and when trying to deleted photos to create more space, the photos will delete and the storage will come down but the ‘Other’ storage will go up by that amount, so no matter how much I delete it stays at 63GB.


I do not have enough free space to run a software update, as I’m running iOS 13.7 at the moment. I believe a software update my correct the issue. I tried updating the software via iTunes on my computer but it did not work and I was shown an error message (either 400 or 4000).


My new idea is to back up the phone to iTunes and then give my phone a total reset, deleting everything from it and starting fresh. I will then be able to run the software update from my iPhone. Once I have done that I will then restore all the data to my phone from iTunes.


My two questions are: will this likely work and solve my problem with the Other storage? Or when I restore my phone will the original problem carry back over to the phone?


When you back up your phone to iTunes what exactly is backed up and what is not?


Also, if I update the software and then restore the phone from iTunes will that downgrade my software back to what it was?


Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

iPhone 8, iOS 13

Posted on Feb 13, 2021 8:48 AM

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User profile for user: Lawrence Finch
Lawrence Finch
User level: Level 10
229,522 points

Posted on Feb 13, 2021 8:56 AM

That should work to reduce your Other storage. There’s data corruption in your storage, which all gets allocated to Other. But when you back up it is individual data files that are backed up, not an image of storage, so when you restore the backup the corruption is left behind.


Regarding Error 4000:


Error 4000 is an undocumented error code (at least publicly undocumented). It means that the connection between the phone and iTunes was interrupted in the middle of a sync or update activity. In the past this might have been caused by a flakey USB port, an antivirus or a firewall. However, there is a new cause of this error that is the result of a bug in iTunes for Windows that requires the phone not be locked during the update. So first check your antivirus and firewall (temporarily disable them), but if that doesn’t fix it there are three workarounds for the bug:


  • Update over the air, by going to Settings/General/Software Update
  • Downgrade iTunes to version 12.8 if you can find a copy - try https://apple.com/itunes
  • Temporarily disable the screen lock passcode on the phone before updating using iTunes on Windows


Note that this error should only be a problem for updates; if you are restoring iOS rather than updating it should not occur.


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User profile for user: Lawrence Finch
Lawrence Finch
User level: Level 10
229,522 points

Feb 13, 2021 8:56 AM in response to davjamair

That should work to reduce your Other storage. There’s data corruption in your storage, which all gets allocated to Other. But when you back up it is individual data files that are backed up, not an image of storage, so when you restore the backup the corruption is left behind.


Regarding Error 4000:


Error 4000 is an undocumented error code (at least publicly undocumented). It means that the connection between the phone and iTunes was interrupted in the middle of a sync or update activity. In the past this might have been caused by a flakey USB port, an antivirus or a firewall. However, there is a new cause of this error that is the result of a bug in iTunes for Windows that requires the phone not be locked during the update. So first check your antivirus and firewall (temporarily disable them), but if that doesn’t fix it there are three workarounds for the bug:


  • Update over the air, by going to Settings/General/Software Update
  • Downgrade iTunes to version 12.8 if you can find a copy - try https://apple.com/itunes
  • Temporarily disable the screen lock passcode on the phone before updating using iTunes on Windows


Note that this error should only be a problem for updates; if you are restoring iOS rather than updating it should not occur.


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User profile for user: Lawrence Finch
Lawrence Finch
User level: Level 10
229,522 points

Feb 13, 2021 9:13 AM in response to davjamair

Yes, with a couple of warnings:


  • If you back up to your computer you should make it an encrypted backup (and don’t forget the backup password as there is no way to recover it) - if it isn’t encrypted passwords, health data and wallet contents will not be included in the backup
  • It’s a good idea to back up to iCloud also, for “belt and suspenders” safety
  • Any data that you sync to iCloud (which is completely different than backing up to iCloud) will not be included in the backup; instead, it is restored by syncing the restored phone to iCloud - To see what you are syncing to iCloud go to Settings/[yourname]/iCloud; any switch that is turned on will sync the corresponding content to iCloud.
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Other storage space - backing up and updating software

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