“iPhone storage almost full” bug

I also had this problem is iPhone Xr when updating to iOS 15. I followed https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201263 to put my device in recovery mode and set it up again. This worked for me, I don't have these notifications anymore for the past 2 days and can finally use Mail and Whatsapp again. Be sure to backup first so you can quickly set up your iPhone afterwards again!

First try a Forced restart

Force restart iPhone - Apple Support

If no better

Backup, DFU, and restore

If you can import your media to Photos app in a computer and copy important documents to a cloud server it will give you some resilience on case the restore from backup fails.

(1) How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

(2) DFU If you can't update or restore your iPhone or iPod touch – Apple Support (UK)

(3) Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support

If the problem remains then arrange a repair

iPhone Repair - Official Apple Support

Thanks tvanmil. I have 30Gb free on iCloud and 10Gb WhatsApp to backup so it should have fitted.

iOS 15.2.1 has just been released but the two headline bug fixes did not include this issue. Nevertheless I tried to update anyway and got a warning that some apps will need to be removed and would be reinstalled after the update. As there was nothing to lose I went ahead and the storage problem has so far disappeared (about 24 hours now).

As WhatsApp was the second largest storage user (after photos) then it is possible that WhatsApp was removed and restored as part of the process.

When the XR restarted there were 120 WhatsApp messages to open.

If 15.2.1 doesn’t fix it then maybe removing the WhatsApp app and reinstalling it may help?

If you have strange behaviour when on charge you coukd have a hardware problem.

First try a Forced restart

Force restart iPhone - Apple Support

If no better

Backup, DFU, and restore

If you can import your media to Photos app in a computer and copy important documents to a cloud server it will give you some resilience on case the restore from backup fails.

(1) How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

(2) DFU If you can't update or restore your iPhone or iPod touch – Apple Support (UK)

(3) Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support

If the problem remains then arrange a repair

iPhone Repair - Official Apple Support

You beat me to it but yes that is the ultimate remedy

Just for Anisotropic

Backup, restore to factory, and restore from backup

If you can import your media to Photos or iTunes in a computer and copy important documents to a cloud server it will give you some resilience in case the restore from backup fails. Or if you insist on downgrading to a droid.

(1) How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

(2) Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

(3) Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support

Hi all, for me it now seems solved.

I don't think anything in particular was changed in 15.4 that fixed it. I read somewhere that sometimes when iPhone has low storage, and you update from the iPhone itself, it can leave files (stored/corrupt) which iOS doesn't pick up on. A suggestion was to update the iPhone from a MacBook, which I tried.

It's been more than a week now and so far I haven't seen any apps being uninstalled (which was always the first sign of the issue for me) or any messages that my storage is full.

For the ones having this issue reappearing after several factory resets and reinstalls etc., maybe this works too? So when the next update is out, do not install from your iPhone but from your MacBook through cable.

(And let's hope the issue doesn't reappear again in a few days time...)

The popular tech press are reporting it has been fixed in 15.3.1 Try it.

Had to do a complete reset. Backed up the phone and erased everything. Seemed to have sorted it for now. I was close to buying a new phone. But **** that….

I just had the same issue since February 1st after upgrading to iOS 15.3. Had to factory reset the phone, and that’s not always a pleasure

Apple Team are not here. just volunteers, users like you.

If you think its a bug then report it here

https://apple.com/feedback

I was curious if this bug persisted.

To clear the error, I did a factory reset on my 11pro 64GB. I then restored from a backup and the error was gone. However, with every update the error comes back. So I guess I will be waiting to update till they decide to fix it cause a factory reset is a PAIN with all my work authenticator apps.

I had that problem too. I cleaned out everything from iCloud (I have the free tier of 5Gb) which seemed to do the trick. It turned out that WhatsApp was trying to backup there but failed to complete the process. Maybe also due to the local storage issue.

After cleaning out iCloud storage completely, I could finally backup on my MacBook again.

Update. I’m on 15.2 when I started to notice this problem.

I have restarted my phone a couple of times, and now I don’t seem to have the problem.

I also have this error and while Apple is not here to listen to your troubles, I did post about it here seeking an answer (which I did not get). Just updated to 15.2 and still keep getting the badge despite storage only being 1/2 full. I guess we will have to report it directly to Apple in order for them to fix it.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone/

Hello @toolcube

Hope You are fine sir I am using iPhone 8+ and I was facing same issue but now my issue is solved I purchased the ICLOUD space. Go to settings and purchase space. The price is very cheap you can easily buy the space on monthly basis.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201318

Hope after purchasing space your issue will resolve. Thanks

Regards

Andrew sam

[Link Edited by Moderator]