I'm trying to update my iPhone 11Pro through my MacBook Pro (2018) which has macOS Big Sur. I don't have enough space to backup my iPhone onto my computer and was wondering if there is a bypass. I know there used to be when it was in iTunes but now that iPhone updates are in finder I'm not sure. Thanks for the help.
iPhone 11 Pro, iOS 14
There is another trick, but I would not recommend it on a laptop which is not always connected to an external drive:
You can create a UNIX link using terminal to "fool" MacOS to link the "MobileSync" folder to a folder on an other hard disk.
This way the content of "MobileSync" will be stored on that drive and not filling up you hard drive. The snag is that this may cause problems if the drive is not connected the next time you try to sync. But you could of course remove the link after your backup.
On a Mac, the backup-files will be stored in Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup in the home folder of the user. (To open this hidden folder use the Go to folder... in the Go menu in Finder.)
Much appreciated. I tried to clear some storage but I cant find enough to delete.
I would still recommend that you do a backup, even if your mac is full. Maybe use a different computer with enough space on the drive? If one of your family members has a Mac (or PC), you can create a user on that computer and use it for iPhone backups and updating.
How to update iPhone from Mac without needing to backup
