iPhone storage so full my photos disappeared bug

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Level 1

11 points

iPhone storage so full my photos disappeared bug

My iPhone 12 Pro has been full for a while, I had about 100gb of photo and video. I lost 95% of the photos last night but i think the data is still on my phone but it’s stuck in “system data”

It all happened when I finally got around to backing it up. I used Microsoft store iTunes (unfortunately) first. I went to get a drive and unplugged the phone (it wasn’t running anything yet). Then it got stuck in a weird boot loop, and would load to the homepage but was glitchy and not showing all the icons. At first I could see all my photos still. I went to delete some old longer videos it would say they deleted but they were still there, then suddenly a huge chunk of them disappeared.

I downloaded iTunes from Apple and it made a backup of the phone successfully (but with the block of unreadable system data). I updated to newest ios and the phone works again, still full but can’t see photos.

This wasn’t completely backed up to icloud. Feeling pretty saddened that I just lost all these memories but I have hope because the system data storage exactly matches the volume of photos I used to have.

iPhone 12 Pro Max, iOS 16

Posted on Oct 8, 2022 11:21 AM

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Answer 1

Ostrich8 Author

Level 1

11 points

Oct 9, 2022 2:13 PM in response to LD150

I recovered it! No data loss as far as I can tell.

I’m coming from the position that it sucks to lose ur data to a bug that Apple doesn’t adequately warn you about so having some hope is way more important than good luck buddy. A lot of people (including myself up until now) aren’t aware that you can lose data to a boot loop if your phone is full.

Maybe I got lucky that it let me back it up, it took a few tries and different methods. I’ll do a write up on how I did it when I have time. Used windows 10 and cmd prompt and eventually extracted everything. Stressful day what a relief!

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Answer 2

TheLittles

Level 10

196,111 points

Oct 9, 2022 2:27 PM in response to Ostrich8

Ostrich8 Said:

"iPhone storage so full my photos disappeared bug: My iPhone 12 Pro has been full for a while, I had about 100gb of photo and video. I lost 95% of the photos last night but i think the data is still on my phone but it’s stuck in 'system data;[...]"

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Thank you for the screenshot.

Ridding of "System Data" (Formerly Called "Other"):

See that long grey line? Rid of it. Refer to my User Tip: How to Clear "Other" in your iPhone's Storage - Use Backup - User Tip

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Answer 3

LD150

Level 10

91,471 points

Oct 8, 2022 12:52 PM in response to Ostrich8

What can we say except never let the empty storage get below 10% or 6GB whichever is the greater. You were lucky to be able to use iTunes.

The standard fix for ridiculous amounts of bogus system data is Backup, Reset to factory settings, then restore the backup. You managed that.

If the System Data was backed up and returns on restore then it was not bogus and was generated by a rouge app on the phone.

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Answer 4

Ostrich8 Author

Level 1

11 points

Oct 9, 2022 8:20 AM in response to LD150

What I mean is the 100gb of photos instantaneously disappeared from “photo” storage space and became “system data” while it was glitching. It is for sure not bogus data. It’s backed up on my computer now and is taking 120gb of space but I need to figure out how to retrieve it. Feel lucky I didn’t have to erase the device to save it you're correct. Hopefully the Apple Store will have some hope for me lol

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Answer 5

LD150

Level 10

91,471 points

Oct 9, 2022 9:42 AM in response to Ostrich8

I admire your optimism. Good luck

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Answer 6

Ostrich8 Author

Level 1

11 points

Oct 9, 2022 10:18 AM in response to LD150

I admire you’re pessimism thanks m8

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Answer 7

LD150

Level 10

91,471 points

Oct 9, 2022 11:55 AM in response to Ostrich8

I am working from experience, where are you coming from? Rammed full iphones generally crash completely when trying to backup, yours has just managed to survive with partial losses.

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