Malfunctioning iPhone 4S 'OTHER' Memory capacity allocation

Question

Cobalt19 Author

Level 1

20 points

Malfunctioning iPhone 4S 'OTHER' Memory capacity allocation

I have a 32Gb iPhone 4S. Please tell me if the following memory allocations looks correct...

Audio 13.4 Gb

Video 0.76 Gb

Photos 3.4 Gb

Apps 0.81 Gb

Other 8.3 Gb

Free 1.66 Gb

(this TOTALS 28.33 Gb)

My PROBLEM here is the size of the OTHER allocation - its ridiculous! How can it be so large - what is it and how do I reduce it?

I read on these discussions that you have to Restore from Backup in the hope it will reduce. Really?! Surely teh backup will have the same allocation backed-up - only to be 'restored' ! What is the confirmed reliable way of reducing this and what size is realistic to have allocated as OTHER?

Otherwise I wasted my money on a 32Gb iPhone which has lost a quarter of its memory to unseen/unknown 'stuff' that is not disclosed.

iPhone 4S, iOS 5.1, Win XP

Posted on Aug 22, 2012 3:41 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 22, 2012 3:50 PM in response to Cobalt19

Anything more than 1GB in the "Other" category indicates corrupt data. You'll have to restore your iPhone to delete the corrupt files. And no, the corrupt data is not saved in a backup.

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Answer 2

roaminggnome

Level 10

106,365 points

Aug 22, 2012 3:50 PM in response to Cobalt19

"I read on these discussions that you have to Restore from Backup in the hope it will reduce. Really?! "

Yes really. You have corrupt files.

"Surely teh backup will have the same allocation backed-up"

Possible, but certainly not always.

If restoring from backup fails to remove it, then restore as new.

" What is the confirmed reliable way of reducing this and what size is realistic to have allocated as OTHER?"

Exactly what you already know. Restore from backup. If that fails, then restore as new.

"Otherwise I wasted my money on a 32Gb iPhone which has lost a quarter of its memory to unseen/unknown 'stuff' that is not disclosed."

Not sure why you go on about this.

You knew the answer before you asked the question:

"Restore from backup. If that fails, then restore as new."

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Answer 3

amy_lou

Level 4

1,576 points

Aug 22, 2012 3:52 PM in response to Cobalt19

It's not completely ridiculous. 'Other' is any data that doesn't fall into those other categories like app data, documents, etc. It also stores your texts and the OS of the phone. Doing a restore doesn't take 5 years, so I would recommend you just make a backup of your data, transfer purchases, and restore the device to see if it lessens the amount of 'other,' and if it doesn't, all that data is integral to your device. Try then to manually delete things like text messages

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Answer 4

iinami

Level 4

1,856 points

Aug 22, 2012 3:59 PM in response to Cobalt19

Cobalt19 wrote:

Otherwise I wasted my money on a 32Gb iPhone which has lost a quarter of its memory to unseen/unknown 'stuff' that is not disclosed.

the first thing to do is remain calm.

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Answer 5

Cobalt19 Author

Level 1

20 points

Aug 22, 2012 4:07 PM in response to AjaxOfSalamis

Does Restore from Backup delete any files which have appeared on my iphone since back up was done (e.g. over the air calendar sync) ?

Does Restore as New delete any files on iphone?

I am concerned about losing valuable data via the Restore proces you see....

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Answer 6

roaminggnome

Level 10

106,365 points

Aug 22, 2012 4:12 PM in response to Cobalt19

Backups do not include any itunes content. You should be transferrring all itunes purchases to your computer regularly.

You should also be importing all pics taken with iphone regularly.

You should be syncing all contacts and calendars to your computer or cloud serviceregularly as well.

"Does Restore as New delete any files on iphone?"

Yes. As new mean exactly that, as new. It had no content when it was new. it will have no content when you restore as new. Everything should be on your comptuer. Just sync it back.

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Answer 7

Cobalt19 Author

Level 1

20 points

Aug 22, 2012 4:47 PM in response to roaminggnome

Ok - thanks...but I am confused as I just found this on Apples own site...

support.apple.com/kb/HT1766

...which seems to suggest otherwise regarding the inclusion of iTunes content. It says they are backed up.

So I think if I BackUp my iphone and subsquently then Restore it later then at least it will result in loss or deletion of any post-Backup/pre-restore over-the-air calendar changes. This is a problem and I am not sure how to deal with this other than stay away from restoring and leaving my iphone permanently in this state of wasting a quarter of its memory on OTHER.

I will not touch iCloud because MobileMe deleted all my calendars on all synced devices and I cannot afford to lose ALL my calendars (used in my business) again . I feel captive to ths probem and I have little faith that Backup/restore process will leave my iPhone data intact.

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Answer 8

Aug 22, 2012 4:55 PM in response to Cobalt19

I had to restore my phone today for other reasons, and all of my content magically reappeared.

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Answer 9

amy_lou

Level 4

1,576 points

Aug 22, 2012 5:03 PM in response to Cobalt19

HT4946 outlines exactly what's stored in an iTunes backup

- App Store Application data including in-app purchases (except the Application itself, its tmp and Caches folder)

and it doesn't mention iTunes music or content. If you think about it, that information is tied to your iTunes account in the purchased history, so if it were also stored in your backup, not only would it make the backup a way larger file, but it would be backing up data that should already be on your computer either in iTunes or in your purchased history, and would be redundant

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Answer 10

Cobalt19 Author

Level 1

20 points

Aug 23, 2012 9:30 AM in response to amy_lou

@ Lawrence - no need to be sarcastic, it does not help me.

@amy_lou - Thanks for your reply. I have now read that HT4946 thanks. It makes me also realise that as an average user I dont instinctlively expect to have to read loads of 'HT' documents just to have to use my phone, but that aside I wanted to make a point here which has been a source of confusion from several of the replies above...

For me Backups = iTunes = Backups, in other words its all part of teh same overall process is it not? I can only Backup via Itunes and it is something that happens when I plug my iphone into my computer before syncing takes place via ...iTunes! Whatever happens within the mechanics of iTunes I dont believe I should have to get into the detail of. I am not a computer tech and one of the reasons I was lured over to Apple was that people said you didnt have to mess about with all that detailed technical stuff - the products and services "just worked". Well I can tell you that is that bold assertion is not true - and here I am just wanting to clear my 'clutter' out of my iPhone in order to release the massive memory usage by 'OTHER', and faced with having to learn all the technical detail about how backups work.

Dont get me wrong folks - I am genuinely grateful for your replies and suggestions here - I really am, but can you see it from my POV? I just want to get this iPhone working properly without having to learn a hundred new technical things about what happens to what when you press or click that button! Its most frustrating. That is what it was like with Microsoft windows and their smartphones - a nightmare. If I had not lost key data through a previous iPhone via MobileMe then maybe I would relax about this Backup and Retore process thing via iTunes, but unfortunately I don't trust these processes any more and I fear getting more trouble if I go down that route.

Perhaps I need to take it to the Apple store at let a Genius deal with this problem (and possibly lose on all my data!)...I suppose that way they might find a way of solving the problem and take responsibility for doing that.

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