iPhone ran out of storage during a video

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Level 1

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iPhone ran out of storage during a video

Resurecting this thread, as I want to share my experience.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5906520

The OP of that thread asked if there was any way to recover the video that he was shooting when the phone ran out of storage. He was effectively told to plan his life better, which I didn't feel would help him retrospectively.

The same situation happened to me today. The video appeared "gone". However, on digging into this further, I discovered about 25GB of "Other" storage used on the iPhone. I guessed that this may include the 45-minute video I'd been shooting.

I freed up a bit of space on the phone (some good tips for that are here -> https://www.macworld.com/article/232651/iphone-other-storage-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-delete-it.html) and restarted the phone. The "lost" video then appeared in the photos app.

YMMV, but I hope this hleps someone.

Posted on Aug 10, 2021 8:20 AM

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Answer 1

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SravanKrA

Community+ 2024

Level 10

411,356 points

Aug 10, 2021 9:19 AM in response to SnowyJoey

Great!, The restarting of the device did help you recover the lost video. Your technique may surely help a few others too.

Also, understand what the "Other" storage is.

Keep your iPhone updated to the latest iOS. As of now, it is iOS 14.7.1 for iPhone 6S and above.

Other: Non-removable mobile assets, like Siri voices, fonts, dictionaries, non-removable logs and caches, Spotlight index, and system data, such as Keychain and CloudKit Database. Cached files can't be deleted by the system.
System: Space taken by the operating system. This can vary based on your device and model.

About cached files in "Other"

Finder and iTunes categorize cached music, videos, and photos as Other instead of actual songs, videos, or photos. Cached files are created when you stream or view content like music, videos, and photos. When you stream music or video, that content is stored as cached files on your device so you can quickly access it again.

Your device automatically removes cached files and temporary files when your device needs more space.

If storage on your device differs from what you see in Finder or iTunes

Since Finder and iTunes categorize cached files as Other, reported usage for Music or Videos might differ. To view usage on your device, go to Settings > General > [Device] Storage.

If you want to delete the cached files from your device

Your device automatically deletes cached files and temporary files when it needs more space. You don't need to delete them yourself.

In short --> IGNORE, if you are not convinced, Restart the device. You will see that Others Storage will reduce but total storage will remain more or less the same.

Watch the demo in the GIF below made on my iPhone 6 iOS 12.4.7

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Answer 2

SnowyJoey Author

Level 1

13 points

Aug 10, 2021 9:49 AM in response to SravanKrA

Thank you for the background information @SravanKrA.

My point is not primarily about reducing the "Other" storage, but that the "lost" video might well exist as part of that storage. Make some room somewhere on the phone (that could be by deleting apps, photos, music, or indeed "other") so that the phone has space to operate correctly, then restarting the phone _may_ result in the "lost" video appearing in the Photos app - it did for me.

HTH

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iPhone ran out of storage during a video

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