maltefromdeu

Q: How to reduce the backup size?

HI there,

 

I am syncing an iPad 32 GB and an iPhone 64 GB via icloud. Photos are not backed, no photostream activated. Apps which are allowed to upload to icloud for backup are very limited. Mail is not syncing to iCloud as well. Still, my backup size is for each device about 2.3 and 2.6 GB big. I want to stay under the 5Gb limit. Any idea, what might take up such a huge amount of backup space?  I already deleted the backup via settings --> icloud in each device, but that didn't help much.

 

Both devices are running the latest iOS.

 

Thank you very much!

iPhone 5, iOS 7.1.2

Posted on Jul 18, 2014 3:22 AM

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Q: How to reduce the backup size?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jul 18, 2014 3:23 AM in response to maltefromdeu
    Level 9 (50,417 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 18, 2014 3:23 AM in response to maltefromdeu

    The more you remove from your phone the less there will be to backup, logically you can see where that will go.

     

    Backup to your Mac instead.

  • by maltefromdeu,

    maltefromdeu maltefromdeu Jul 18, 2014 3:32 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 18, 2014 3:32 AM in response to Csound1

    RIght, but I am wondering about why the size is so big? Everything that could be defined in the iCloud setting has been reduced signifcantly to my needs, but nothing changed the backup size.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jul 18, 2014 3:35 AM in response to maltefromdeu
    Level 9 (50,417 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 18, 2014 3:35 AM in response to maltefromdeu

    iCloud backup has an on/off switch, so tell me how you think you have managed to exclude things?

     

    FYI, Photostream and Photos are not part of an iCloud backup.

     

    Here’s what iCloud backs up:

    • Purchase history for music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books Your iCloud backup includes information about the content you have purchased, but not the purchased content itself. When you restore from an iCloud backup, your purchased content is automatically downloaded from the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBooks Store. Some types of content aren’t downloaded automatically in all countries, and previous purchases may be unavailable if they have been refunded or are no longer available in the store. For more information, see the Apple Support article iTunes in the Cloud availability by country. Some types of content aren’t available in all countries. For more information, see the Apple Support article Which types of items can I buy in my country?.
    • Photos and videos in your Camera Roll
    • Device settings
    • App data
    • Home screen and app organization
    • iMessage, text (SMS), and MMS messages
    • Ringtones
    • Visual Voicemail
  • by wjosten,

    wjosten wjosten Jul 18, 2014 3:41 AM in response to maltefromdeu
    Level 10 (94,603 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 18, 2014 3:41 AM in response to maltefromdeu

    For most users, backing up a single device to iCloud, the 5GB's of free storage is more than sufficient. However, if you have multiple devices, staying under this 5GB limit is tough, using the same iCloud account, as you've found out. This is a good article on how to manage the storage, but I suspect you'll find it difficult to stay under 5GB's with two devices using the same iCloud account:

     

     

    http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/quickly-and-wisely-reducing-y our-icloud-footprint/

  • by wjosten,

    wjosten wjosten Jul 18, 2014 3:43 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 10 (94,603 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 18, 2014 3:43 AM in response to Csound1

    Csound1 wrote:

    FYI, Photostream and Photos are not part of an iCloud backup.

     

     

    That's not entirely true or correct...Photos in the camera roll ARE part of the iCloud backup, & usually account for a great amount of storage.

  • by maltefromdeu,

    maltefromdeu maltefromdeu Jul 18, 2014 3:46 AM in response to wjosten
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 18, 2014 3:46 AM in response to wjosten

    Thanks for your help!

    Photos in Camera Roll are set to not backup as well. I'm thinking that iMessage might be my problem here. Is there any way to delete iMessage Backups or at least can I see how much of my space it is using? Are Videos and Photos sent via iMessage included?

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jul 18, 2014 3:48 AM in response to wjosten
    Level 9 (50,417 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 18, 2014 3:48 AM in response to wjosten

    wjosten wrote:

     

    Csound1 wrote:

    FYI, Photostream and Photos are not part of an iCloud backup.

     

     

    That's not entirely true or correct...Photos in the camera roll ARE part of the iCloud backup, & usually account for a great amount of storage.

    Camera Roll yes, photo stream no.

     

    For the record I think that the OP is confusing Backup, with Sync, but we are not there yet.

  • by wjosten,

    wjosten wjosten Jul 18, 2014 3:49 AM in response to maltefromdeu
    Level 10 (94,603 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 18, 2014 3:49 AM in response to maltefromdeu

    Messages are included in the iCloud backup, but there's no way to turn this on/off or manage it, other than deleting the messages on your device.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jul 18, 2014 3:50 AM in response to maltefromdeu
    Level 9 (50,417 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 18, 2014 3:50 AM in response to maltefromdeu

    maltefromdeu wrote:

     

    Thanks for your help!

    Photos in Camera Roll are set to not backup as well.

    How did you set them not to backup, post a screenshot of the method you used. Or at least an explanation.