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My IPad has no storage space left. ‘Other’ uses 7 GB of space. How do I delete some items from there to free up space?

See above

iPad Air 2, iPadOS 14

Posted on Apr 13, 2021 5:03 PM

Reply
4 replies

Apr 14, 2021 7:57 PM in response to StateofConfusion2021

Yeah, I suspected that you have a very low data storage device.

Your iPad is beyond full!


There is NOT much that can be done with that low storage iPad.

A 16 GBs storage iPad starts out, after initial drive formatting, at approx. 14.5 GBs of free, internal storage.

After the installation of iPadOS, at approx. 6 GBs, leaves 8.5 GBs of of free, internal data storage space.

iOS/iPadOS needs a minimum of 2-4 GBs of constant remaining storage, that MUST BE MAINTAINED AT ALL TIMES, to insure/ensure nominal, acceptable operation of all iOS/iPadOS functionalities.

This leaves a 16 GBs iPad with ONLY a practical, usable storage space of between 5 and 7 GBs AND THAT IS IT!


This is virtually NO internal data storage to do much of anything with that iPad!

This is why Apple quietly, silently did away with all 16 GBs iOS device back sometime in 2016.

Apr 14, 2021 8:05 PM in response to StateofConfusion2021

You need to free up free data storage space on that iPad.

You need to start by backing up your iPad to either Apple's iCloud ( you may need to pay for additional, monthly storage space ) or by connecting your iDevice to a computer running the latest iTunes or, if a newer Mac with a much newer macOS, use the macOS Finder to do the device backup and/or some other offsite, “cloud” data storage/backup services, like Google Drive/Photos, BOX, DropBox, 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).

In addition, uninstall any games that appear to be using a sizable chunk of your iPad's internal storage, as well!


( A disclaimer to the immediate advice above. )

If you own an nearly 8-9-year old to nearly 10-year old iPad, you SHOULD ONLY delete apps that you have ever seldom used or no longer use as there is NO WAY now, in 2020, to retrieve these old apps from the iOS App Store, any longer.


( Third party iOS app developers have permanently removed all of their older, legacy apps from Apple's iOS App Store servers forever!

There are, VIRTUALLY, NO more older, useful, popular, third party apps for over 8-10-year old iOS devices, any longer! )



Then, thin out/delete any music/videos/movies/TV shows/podcasts/screen recordings/photos-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 other 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 and later, it’s now called 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, for older iPad models with a Home button, 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.


iOS devices and iOS/iPadOS need to maintain, at the very least, a minimum of between 2-4 GBs of free data storage space, AT ALL TIMES, to insure normal/nominal functionalities/operation and general overall performance of any iOS device running iOS/iPadOS.


In reality, it is really maybe time to look at new and larger internal data storage iPads.

Low storage iOS devixes are nearly next to useless at this late date.


It's 2021 now!

You really need to seriously consider a purchase of a new iPad model OR a much, MUCH “newer” and less expensive, refurbished or used iPad models, from better known, trusted Apple product/device retailers/resellers, locally or online, on the Web/Internet, capable of running the latest iPadOS versions.


There are PLENTY of newer, older iPad models that can run the latest, current versions of iPadOS.


I am sorry that you had to learn all of this, but this does not change any of the facts regarding these very old iOS devices.



Sorry & Best of Luck to You!

My IPad has no storage space left. ‘Other’ uses 7 GB of space. How do I delete some items from there to free up space?

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