Brewster B
Level 1 (18 points)
Mac OS X

Q: iPhone runs out of space, but can't find what is taking up the space

My iPhone consistently runs out space. When I plug it into iTunes, it shows several GB free, but the iPhone itself will show zero free. I've seen this question on the forums, but I don't think the solution (wiping and restoring) is practical. Anyone have any other ideas other than restoration? I have to do this every two weeks and it's getting old.


Data point:


I tend to take a lot of photos then delete them and yes, I clear them from the Deleted Items. I'm almost certain that they don't actually delete, as if I don't take any photos, then the space issue doesn't occur and iTunes shows the correct amount of space free. Enabling or disabling My Photostream, iCloud Photo Sharing, or iCloud Photo Library has no effect one way or the other - the space still fills whenever I take and delete photos (and delete again from Deleted Photos). What is going on?

 

iPhone 6 Plus 16 GB

iOS 9.3.2

Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Jun 14, 2016 2:55 PM

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Brewster B

Q: iPhone runs out of space, but can't find what is taking up the space

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Corrie84,

    Corrie84 Corrie84 Jun 15, 2016 9:21 AM in response to Brewster B
    Community Specialists
    Jun 15, 2016 9:21 AM in response to Brewster B

    Hi Brewster,

     

    Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. I know that storage is quite valuable these days, so I'll be happy to provide you with some resources to help you free up some space on your iPhone.

     

    To start, check out some of the tips provided here for finding the cause of what's using your space on your iPhone:

     

    Check your storage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

     

    Note that at the bottom of that article, it talks about using iCloud Photo Library to optimize your iPhone storage and free up space. You can see more about that functionality here:

     

    iCloud Photo Library FAQ

     

    In most cases, you'll simply want to use iCloud Photo Library to optimize your iPhone storage, and then use the tips in the first article to find any apps that may be using too much space and either remove the data from the app, or remove the app entirely depending on your usage.

     

    Enjoy your free space! Cheers.

  • by Briansyddall,

    Briansyddall Briansyddall Jun 15, 2016 9:40 AM in response to Brewster B
    Level 6 (8,753 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jun 15, 2016 9:40 AM in response to Brewster B

    Hi

    The problem is you only have a 16 G iPhone = 12.5G because of the ios

    & the stock apps .

    If you can think about selling & upgrade to 64G

    Cheers

    Brian

  • by Brewster B,

    Brewster B Brewster B Jun 15, 2016 9:57 AM in response to Briansyddall
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 15, 2016 9:57 AM in response to Briansyddall

    Nah, that's not it. When I do a restore and have all my apps on, I have 8 GB free.

  • by Brewster B,

    Brewster B Brewster B Jun 15, 2016 2:45 PM in response to Corrie84
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 15, 2016 2:45 PM in response to Corrie84

    Here's what those websites said:

     

    If you want to delete the cached files from your iOS device

    Your iOS device automatically deletes cached files when it needs more space. You don't need to delete them yourself.

  • by Brewster B,

    Brewster B Brewster B Jul 5, 2016 4:19 PM in response to Brewster B
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 5, 2016 4:19 PM in response to Brewster B

    This thread shows the problem, but solutions didn't work for me:

     

    I have deleted photos from iphone 6 but the photo library still takes up a lot of space in internal storage. How can I delete photo library from storage on the iphone?

  • by Brewster B,

    Brewster B Brewster B Jul 5, 2016 4:23 PM in response to Brewster B
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 5, 2016 4:23 PM in response to Brewster B

    As this fellow puts it:

     

    With all respect, the "recently deleted" aspect is just the simple case. I think most readers of this thread have come here out of desperation and have already followed all the web advice on deleting photo's. My iPhone 5 settings / Usage / Storage / Photos & Camera shows Photo Library 3.6 GB and Shared Photo Stream, 4.3 KB. In Settings / About there are 77 Videos and 199 Photos.

     

    There are actually 3 (three) photos in the Library and 0 (zero) videos and Recently Deleted is clean. Photo stream is nearly empty (deleted everything last night) and there are no Shared items. As I have 3 GB of free space in iCloud then the handy trick suggested by wbannatyne doesn't work out. I'll sleep on it and extend my storage plan temporarily tomorrow - thanks a million for the tips.

     

    A good nights sleep will prepare me - unless the current Yosemite performance nightmares wake me up again.

     

    As an Apple user for 25 years, active developer and enthusiastic coach (I've just returned from giving iPhone / iPad training to new Apple customers) I am now seriously worried by  the recent Apple system quality aspects that are now impacting my productivity and wasting hours of my time.

  • by elcpu,

    elcpu elcpu Jul 5, 2016 6:06 PM in response to Brewster B
    Level 6 (16,207 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 5, 2016 6:06 PM in response to Brewster B

    FWIW, first disable all iCloud Photos, i.e., iCloud Photo Library, Photo Stream, Photo Sharing. Just rely on Camera Roll and the Recently Deleted only. Then do a Restore as New following the instructions below. I suspect you have a corrupted system and restoring from backup is bringing the corruption back.

    Use iTunes on your Mac or PC to restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

  • by Brewster B,

    Brewster B Brewster B Jul 5, 2016 6:16 PM in response to elcpu
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 5, 2016 6:16 PM in response to elcpu

    Did you even bother to read my original post? If you had, you'd know I've done this and, yes, it works. But the point is hat it has to be done almost weekly.

  • by elcpu,

    elcpu elcpu Jul 5, 2016 6:25 PM in response to Brewster B
    Level 6 (16,207 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 5, 2016 6:25 PM in response to Brewster B

    Yes I bothered to read your original post and also the whole thread. I also bothered to volunteer my time to try to help you. You have a good day.

  • by elcpu,

    elcpu elcpu Jul 5, 2016 6:35 PM in response to Brewster B
    Level 6 (16,207 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 5, 2016 6:35 PM in response to Brewster B

    Did you even bother to read my original post? If you had, you'd know I've done this and, yes, it works. But the point is hat it has to be done almost weekly.

     

    And if you had bothered to read mine and followed up you would do a Restore as New, not from backup. A restore as New installs a fresh iOS and nothing more - just like a new phone. If that does not solve your issue you have hardware problems. Nothing left to try.