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Can't free space held by iCloud backups

I got a new iPhone so I went into iCloud and deleted the 3GB of backups from my old phone. However now iCloud still says I have 3GB/5GB used by Backups. When I click into Manage Storage to inspect which backups are taking the space, it shows 0KB of Backups.


How can I get this 3GB back?


Posted on Apr 13, 2022 9:35 AM

Reply
3 replies

Apr 15, 2022 9:58 PM in response to hatboysam

Hi hatboysam,


Mmm ... Seems from this article: Manage your iCloud storage – Apple Support (AU)


"iCloud backups are available for 180 days after you disable or stop using iCloud Backup". 


So, seems the back-up may be taking up no space ... yet may be still available if , for any reason, it is needed ?


Sorry, I don't know more about this situation.

All the best :-)




Apr 14, 2022 4:17 PM in response to hatboysam

Hi hatboysam,

Welcome to the Apple Community.

Sure seems confusing.

iPhone storage, and iCloud storage are two different things

Maybe this info. from an Apple Support article. will help you check:


Find and manage backups stored in iCloud

If you use iCloud Backup, you won’t find a list of your backups on iCloud.com.

Here’s how to find your iCloud backups on your iOS or iPadOS device.

On your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch:

    1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
    2. Tap Manage Storage, then tap Backups.
    3. Tap a backup to see more details about it, choose which information to back up or delete the backup.

You can choose which content to back up only from the Settings menu of the device that stores that content.

For example, while you can view your iPad backup from your iPhone, you can choose which iPad content to back up only from the Settings menu of your iPad.


Complete article: Locate backups of your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch – Apple Support (AU)


All the best :-)


Can't free space held by iCloud backups

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