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"iPhone storage almost full“ error message

-No matter how minimum my phone data is, i keep getting this iphone storage full message. I tried to clean up, restore and delete apps but its very frustrating to have this pop up constantly on my phone and it dont let me use the phone and no app works at that moment. I have never been this disappointed of using an iphone. Out of 64 Gb, my phone data is only 15Gb, still iphone storage full message every few hours.




[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Aug 7, 2021 9:26 PM

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Posted on Sep 21, 2021 7:31 AM

I updated my iPad Air 2 to iPad OS 15 yesterday, and now I too see "iPad Storage Almost Full" but I have a TON of space left (26 GB to be clear). If I tap on the warning in Settings -> General it just blinks a few times and stays there. This is SUPER annoying. I hope Apple Support has a fix for this soon...

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28 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 21, 2021 7:31 AM in response to mrlogboy

I updated my iPad Air 2 to iPad OS 15 yesterday, and now I too see "iPad Storage Almost Full" but I have a TON of space left (26 GB to be clear). If I tap on the warning in Settings -> General it just blinks a few times and stays there. This is SUPER annoying. I hope Apple Support has a fix for this soon...

Aug 7, 2021 9:32 PM in response to siri289

siri289 Said:

"Iphone storage almost full message: -No matter how minimum my phone data is, i keep getting this iphone storage full message[...]"

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Clear Space:

See if clearing the space does away with this issue.

What Space to Clear:

A. Clear Temporary Internet Files:

Clear your Temporary Internet Files(Cookies & Cache) of Safari:

Also...



B. Clean TV and Music Libraries:

Remove all unneeded files from your TV and Music Libraries. Full-Movies take up 2-4GB typically, and a bunch of those would take up a load of storage, ideally. So, if you have any movies that are not needed, then delete them.

Also..


C. Clear "Other":

Clear the storages named "Other". It basically contains unnecessary files such as caches that are used for system ease of use - all of which gather over time: How to Clear "Other" in your iPhone's Storage - Use Backup - User Tips. Caches would be being used for remembrance of application use.

Aug 7, 2021 9:30 PM in response to siri289

Freeing up storage space on your iPhone.


Here are some helpful articles that can guide you on how to free up storage space on your phone.


How to check the storage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201656


Manage your photo and video storage

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205703


Clear Other storage on your iPhone or iPad

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211686


Sep 22, 2021 7:42 AM in response to siri289

This is definitely a bug in iOS 15. Still comes up even though I’m a long way off filling my iPhone 12’s storage and even after deleting a further ~10GB. The stated figure at the top of my storage usage chart is also wrong. I’ve been having the issue for a few weeks now through the last few versions of the iOS 15 beta and even reported it a few weeks ago via the Feedback app, but still no fix.

Sep 17, 2021 7:39 PM in response to David12345

David12345 Said:

"Agreed. But still, the issue at hand is that even after freeing up space and having 30GB+ of free space on the phone, you still get a message at the top of the settings page saying 'iPhone Storage Almost Full'."

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A Glitch:

If this is still the case, then, as mentioned above, indeed this seems to be a glitch. So, start with a restart. IF of no success, back up your data and reset this to factory settings.


Restarting the iPhone:

If any changes were made (i.e. Installed Apps), then Settings (i.e Wf-Fi), may have become manipulated technically. So, try restarting the iPhone:

  1. Go To: Settings
  2. Tap: General
  3. Tap: Shut Down
  4. Slide: Your Finger to the Right
  5. Wait: 30 Seconds
  6. Power On: the iPhone
  7. See if this still occurs


Also, Provide Feedback:

Do your Part: Report this to Apple.  Apple won't get back to you directly, but the more feedback they receive on this, the more they will know what is going on, and what needs to be fixed.

  1. Go Here: Feedback - AirPods - Apple - Apple
  2. Select: "Bug Report" for the "Feedback Type"
  3. Comment: on when you came across this issue, and how you have troubleshot it thus far. For reference purposes, include a link to this thread (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253028635)
  4. Proceed from there as necessary

Sep 22, 2021 3:06 PM in response to JackCollins

I have the EXACT OPPOSITE PROBLEM!! (Pictures below).


It says I’m using nothing when I’m using 256/512GB!! And now that I updated to iOS 15.1 it says my capacity is 512GB but I have 526GB available!!!


How do I fix this, and I’m no amateur beta tester either.? I spent 200 hrs. on the phone with over 20 idiot Apple engineers when I discovered the original iPad 3 power draining problem first on my own unit, then the same at 4 stores, and this is while the iPads were doing nothing and still plugged in. I told these morons (who didn’t even have the common courtesy to send me a gift card or even a Lightning cable) that to send out 12W adapters instead of the 10W ones would be futile unless they did a recall and fix the internal charging circuit with PCB adjustments and a revised rectifier. So what did they do? Started shipping them with 12W adapters which solved nothing at all. “Apple can do no wrong” is the approach the company has always taken. Why I’m a loyal Apple customer and spend $2K a year on the top iPhone (actually only half that much, as I keep upgrading) and have a 5K iMac, Mac Mini, iPad Pro (2017), 5 AppleTVs, and a new iPhone every year is beyond me. If I didn’t hate Windows and Android so much, I’d jump ship in a heartbeat if there was another company with a hardware to hardware ecosystem.


I built my own $85K headphone amplifier, have over $20K in soldering gear, and have been using Macs since before the first one I owned which was a Quadra 840AV from 1992-93 (Motorola 68040/40MHz CPU).




Sep 17, 2021 7:26 PM in response to David12345

David12345 Said:

"I don't understand why the solutions keep suggesting how to free up space. There's no issue with the space."

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For Note:

What clearing space does:

The whole point of clearing space is to clear space. Note that "Other" can take up lots of space. And when that is the case, GBs and GBs of data are being swollen up, all of which can presumably be cleared. This data is unnecessary items such as caches (which remember how applications were last used). When lots of space is used, system resources are swollen up. Therefore, making things slow, and quite possibly resulting in an overheating phone.

Sep 21, 2021 5:37 AM in response to 3_Blind_MoOse

Ok looked at the iPad forums and looks like iPads ,some, are having similar issues.


here is one post about this issue,


“For clarity, has the attempted software update completed successfully?


When installing a system update, the [compressed] update binaries must first be downloaded (consuming storage space), then decompressed and verified (consuming more storage space) - and finally installed. Once installed, the installation binaries are deleted.


If your device runs-out of available space during the initial download and verification phase, the installation process will stop - but the downloaded binaries will remain.”


since I preformed a flawless update to 15, did not run out of space or anything affecting the

Install(that I know ). I am guessing the downloaded binaries have remained and maybe that why thinks out of space, maybe.


do have over 20 GB free and sadly a factory reset/restore is really not an option as have many playlist and mp3 that not allowed to move from iPhone back to iMac (was able to do this under iTunes and gave over 10gb of music )

Sep 17, 2021 4:09 PM in response to siri289

Anyone else also getting this alert? I don't understand why the solutions keep suggesting how to free up space. There's no issue with the space. My phone is a 64Gb one and currently at less than 32Gb and I still have that notification. It's not a pop up. It's in settings. It has a 1 in a circle and clicking on it doesn't do anything at all. At it stays there after restarting the phone. Any suggestions?

Sep 20, 2021 5:49 PM in response to David12345

David12345 Said:

"Thanks! Bug submitted.: I had already tried resetting. Not just power off and on, but an actual reset (Volume Up, Down, and power button hold) and none of that has worked. I will have to try the factory reset, but will wait to see if the first update, which usually comes a week or two after the release, has a fix for it."

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You are welcome. Thanks for providing the feedback --it will help many, for certain.

Sep 20, 2021 7:02 PM in response to siri289

Having same issue here, have over 20 GB of free space but getting the alert that running out of space. Came up as soon as update it to 15. 25 years in your programmer tried all the steps before coming here and read suggestions and yes I did all those steps.

really do not want to do a factory reset. As have several dozen playlist and hundreds of music on my phone which I cannot transfer from my phone to my iMac.


(be like if my car lost its right turn signal and now all I can drive with my left turn signal, but that’s another post about the transfer from iPhone issue lol)


"iPhone storage almost full“ error message

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