Level 1

34 points

iOS 17 Storage Space Bug / Issue

This feature/item was not there upon iOS 16.6 - but after the upgrade to iOS17 - phone storage data has been taken up due to SYNCED CONTENT.

There was no reason for it to take up nearly 20-30% of the storage away from the phone (when my device had about 30-40 gigs left I'm down to 4.23gbs). This has disallowed me to back up my device to my iMac due to now lack of storage space b/c of this issue.

This seems to be an un-tested feature/bug/issue. I'm sure many users would not be happy knowing that their device storage was depleted for some unwanted/untested feature.

Is anybody else noticing this issue as well (as among many reddit forums /alternative forums as well).

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone 12 Pro

Posted on Sep 21, 2023 10:16 AM

Top-ranking reply

yomonmon

Level 1

8 points

Posted on Dec 7, 2023 8:12 AM

The 17.1.2 update didn’t help, but I am seconding the restore comment.

Back up your phone, wipe it, then restore it from that backup. Since I’m a Windows computer user and I don’t use iCloud, I backed up my phone via iTunes. I then did a factory reset of my phone (make sure to keep your eSim/carrier data, it will give you that option before you completely erase it), then backed it up from the backup I created. You should also be able to create a backup from iCloud if you don’t have iTunes. It’s been around half a day and it LOOKS like everything is normal so far. One of my apps shrank from 1.4gb to 417mb, and the Documents & Data size now looks reasonable. Previously, simply deleting apps did nothing to change the size of Documents & Data.

It took a few hours and time will tell if is bloats back to its bigger size, but it’s worth a shot. Just be very careful when backing up and erasing your phone.

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153 replies

geo799

Level 1

16 points

Dec 2, 2023 11:56 AM in response to cliffhillis

Besides the slow app starting time after upgrading 13 pro to 17.1.2 now it's a mess with the space... It looks like it's taking space from imessge and saving locally all content ( 2tb iCloud plan) imessges were 18gb with ios 16 and now at 77gb and growing.... Erasing content does nothing... 256gb almost full after ios kept it at 160-180gb all the time with iCloud... This is really incredible, who designed or approved such os?!

STJ23 Author

Level 1

34 points

Nov 14, 2023 11:47 AM in response to augierjp

Try removing older/ unused apps also all social media accounts.

Nov 17, 2023 7:52 PM in response to augierjp

You're going to have to reset or roll back the phone and try again, sorry.

Nov 20, 2023 1:19 PM in response to AnuragAgarwal96

I refuse to do the update. I suggest calling apple support and ask for a senior advisor. They’re the only ones that know how to help you with your phone a senior advisor.

Jan 17, 2024 7:03 AM in response to STJ23

I have submitted a complaint to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). Would advise those having the synced content issue do the same.

AnjanSai

Level 1

19 points

Sep 25, 2023 4:17 AM in response to guboji

I have the exact same issue and reported to Apple support team thy say it might take some time to resolve the issue not sure how much time they might take.

But this is a show-stopper issue and each time we use the phone app the storage increases and after few days it will consume the complete storage and it's a dead end.

STJ23 Author

Level 1

34 points

Sep 25, 2023 2:58 PM in response to JMB23

Hope u update the phone before moving everything over bc that's where they messed up. In addition I'd delete all downloaded podcasts and start fresh. In addition, its honestly anything that comes default w apple apps intergrated into the OS that reads as sync data. We're going to have to wait

STJ23 Author

Level 1

34 points

Sep 26, 2023 6:22 AM in response to jczk

Do you see your SYNC CONTENT going up? Please provide screenshot.

The sync content is related to apps already that come with the phone - that sync w/ the PC/MAC - ie - PHOTOS/MUSIC/PODCAST/NEWS/

Not 3rd party apps you install once you get your device.

So no - your issue isn't related to this post - HOWEVER - see what your apps do once you uninstall- and change the settings to not save the data files.

AnjanSai

Level 1

19 points

Sep 26, 2023 10:23 PM in response to STJ23

Hi everyone,

Looks like the storage issue is with Most of the apps like Youtube, Facebook, phone app music apps etc, Initially i thought it is only for Phone app but while using for 2 to 3days i got to know that when we use the apps for some time then the storage of that app increases drastically, even if there is no new downloads.

If i use the YouTube and browse the vides for 3 - 4 minutes the storage increase by 100 MB, if i use for longer time then the storage increase high for the YouTube app. So this is same for the Majority of the apps, as we use them the storage is getting increased.

This is a Major issue in the IOS 17 and i am wondering how such a big issue came out and why this was not found in the testing. There was almost 6 or 7 beta releases for IOS 17 and how could this Major bug be missed by the apple team.

After few days the storage will consumed and it is a dead end for all the users. Apple as to take a immediate action on this and try resolve the Bug ASAP.

Sebmann

Level 1

16 points

Sep 28, 2023 11:54 PM in response to Water4ever

After updating my iPad to the latest version it gave me about 4GB back. My system data now only is 1.76GB, but the phone app is still growing every time I am opening a contact. Now it is at 6.02GB. The synchronized content folder is 0kB. Also the pics are more than the double the size of what it was with iOS16, 12GB instead of 5.22GB.

Sep 29, 2023 9:08 AM in response to STJ23

I have spoken to someone at Apple today and they have told me that the Engineers have now asked them not to escalate any more cases relating to this as "we have enough now to be able to work on it". Expect a patch/update at some point. Allegedly.

JMB23

Level 1

19 points

Sep 29, 2023 1:15 PM in response to Clapham Boy

I’ve been working with a senior escalation person since Sunday. An engineer (or engineers) have gathered data and they are on the case. I’m sure they have enough info now with all of the complaints. Now we wait for the 17.0.3 fix and I hope that my 128GB capacity phone, formerly at 57GB, and after transfer now at 90GB and growing about 1GB/day, can hold out until the fix. I have about 30 days it seems…

Suggestion: check your iPhone storage daily and take screenshots.

Oct 19, 2023 4:58 AM in response to STJ23

I have iPhone 15 pro max last night my phone started to be come buggy would not turn off keep freezing this I kept getting notices that my memory was full. I have 512 memory capacity. So I had erase my stuff then restore from iCloud. It was really weird and my phone was getting hot from all that. Since I reset my phone seems to be ok now.

Oct 19, 2023 11:43 AM in response to STJ23

I upgraded to iOS17 and was quickly told I was out of storage. Messages seems to take up a lot. I go there and it has every photo listed at 510.5 MB… for an iPhone photo?!? I then look at videos. Same thing. 510.5 MB even though all videos are different lengths etc. something is definitely wrong.

Nov 11, 2023 3:10 AM in response to STJ23

Thank you for posting about this! I am losing my mind every morning as my phone says storage is full as it somehow comes up with 10GB of messages every night. Each day I’ve been deleting and then overnight it’s sucked dry again. I was forced to update my phone due to a new Apple Watch 9. Usually I wait it out to update until these kind of bugs are worked out. I’m so annoyed at this and sounds like nothing we can do?

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iOS 17 Storage Space Bug / Issue