iCloud backup size "0 KB"-- what does this mean?

Question

pz1999 Author

Level 1

32 points

iCloud backup size "0 KB"-- what does this mean?

I have an iPad and am suddenly not sure the iCloud backups are any good.

Maybe 6 months ago I recall checking and seeing something reasonable for the iCloud backups for this device. But I just checked on them like this:

iPad > Settings > (User name) > iCloud > STORAGE: iCloud > Manage Storage > BACKUPS

This lists "0 KB".

Then it lists the iPad specifically ("This iPad") and this also says "0 KB". Under this it says "Backup Size Zero KB". Peculiarly, it does seem to find new things to back up under "Next Backup Size". If I find the "Backup Now" button and do it, the iPad does appear to be doing something and backing up. But coming back to check, the result is still the same-- the total backup size is "0 KB", even after doing a new backup.

Peculiarly, there is *something* under backups in there, because the bar graph, the one at:

iPad > Settings > (User name) > iCloud > STORAGE: iCloud

... does show a small amount of our iCloud space used by "Backup" (yellow bar).

In other symptoms, if I log in on iCloud, I don't see the iPad under "My Devices".

I can't tell if I have a valid backup or not. It could be that the "Zero KB" / "0 KB" indicators are incorrect and there really is a valid backup. (But of course I can't count on that-- I wouldn't want to depend on this backup and try to restore from it and find it to be corrupt.)

What's going on in this situation? Is this "Zero KB" / "0 KB" symptom common? I haven't found any threads in a fair bit of googling that appear to be the same as the situation I'm seeing.

iPad 2 Wi-Fi, iOS 10

Posted on Feb 23, 2018 3:07 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

pz1999 Author

Level 1

32 points

Feb 25, 2018 2:12 PM in response to pz1999

I wanted to include a couple snapshots from our iPad and iPhone. That way, other users who think they might be having the same problem can see what it looks like:

It's good to know other people are seeing this problem too. I'm wondering how widespread this is, what devices or users it affects, and why.

It is feeling like this is a problem on Apple's end, since it appears it isn't at all uncommon, and it seems to be recent.

It's a bit tough to have faith in a backup being restorable, if it isn't even displayable. So hopefully something will be done about it. Otherwise I think one has to assume these backups are no good.

Reply

Answer 2

Mar 7, 2018 6:49 PM in response to luizmcg

iCloud backup is fine. It appears that for some older iOS's the backup size is showing as 0Bytes under the Last Backup. But, it is, in fact all there and in tact. You can look at any other iOS device that is backing up to the same iCloud account, go to Settings>your name>iCloud>Manage Storage>Backups, tap on the device that is showing 0 Bytes elsewhere, and you will see the accurate size of the backup for that device.

Cheers,

GB

Reply

Answer 3

zwaa

Level 1

11 points

Jun 30, 2018 12:24 AM in response to pz1999

I have the same issue with my old 4S but it can't be updated beyond iOS 9.3.5 so I'm apparently stuck with it because

I daren't reset the phone since I might lose data if restore fails, and anyway it'll just come back again at some point won't it? So this is obviously a really old issue and for obvious reasons(it would've been discovered during development) it probably does work on a fresh system, but it's embarrassing for Apple…

Reply

Answer 4

Feb 26, 2018 8:12 PM in response to pz1999

The only way to submit feedback: Apple - Feedback. They read all feedback, but do not respond directly to it. It appears to be a cosmetic bug, and I'm fairly certain they are aware of it.

Did you get your iPad backed up to iTunes yet?

Cheers,

GB

Reply

Answer 5

May 4, 2018 8:55 PM in response to TheeWildOlive

Just to make sure, I would recommend that you create a current backup in iTunes on a computer to make sure that what you have now is safe.

Then, I would erase the device and restore it from yesterday's backup. You should be fine. I've never yet had a backup that did not back my device up to exactly where it was at the time of the backup.

When you go to Settings>your name>iCloud>Manage Storage, tap on the device in question, and you should see the actual backup size there. I know you looked at it on your Mac, but also see what you see on the device itself under the iCloud Storage path above.

And, just so you know, I did actually do this with one of my own devices (my old iPad), and everything restored with no issues (just a few with the Two-Factor verification and a place to put the verification code, for example), but the restore itself, worked just fine.

So, here are the instructions:

How to erase your iOS device - Apple Support

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support

Best of luck,

GB

Reply

Answer 6

pz1999 Author

Level 1

32 points

Feb 23, 2018 3:14 PM in response to pz1999

Just to add a quick addendum, part of what I said above isn't true anymore-- I do now see the device on icloud.com. (Details: I logged back in on iCloud from a Mac web browser, and the iPad is now showing up under "My Devices". Under "Storage" the "Backup" bar says it's taking up 3.5 GB.)

However, the primary symptom is still the same; the iPad itself says the backup size is 0 KB.

Reply

Answer 7

pz1999 Author

Level 1

32 points

Feb 24, 2018 2:47 AM in response to pz1999

OK, now I'm *really* puzzled.

I was checking my wife's iPhone as well-- which is completely independent of this iPad (has different Apple ID, and its own iCloud paid subscription).

To my surprise, it had the exact same problem! Its backups *also* seem to run successfully, but then get listed as "0 KB" in size.

Now I'm wondering: Is this a problem on Apple's end? Are iCloud backups suddenly not being displayed correctly... for a lot of people? Maybe even for everybody?

Again, these devices are not on the same iCloud subscription (each has a separate subscription), and they are on different Apple ID's.

In both cases, I can see the respective devices correctly when I log in to www.icloud.com on a browser... and the blue "backups" bar in each Apple ID's case lists some amount of space used (3GB or 6GB). And photos appear to be getting updated. But the Apple device itself, in each case, shows backups as being sized "0 KB".

Reply

Answer 8

pz1999 Author

Level 1

32 points

Feb 24, 2018 3:35 AM in response to pz1999

I should clarify, both devices claim to be backing up, and do list most recent backup times. When I trigger a backup manually, it appears something is being done (it doesn't say the backup failed or anything). But in both cases the final backup size is "0 bytes", "0 KB", or "Zero KB", depending on which menu I'm looking at.

Now, it's entirely possible that these actually are valid backups. But I don't see how anyone could be expected to trust the integrity of a backup that looks like this. I'd check the contents of each of these backups and see specifically what's in them, but of course there's no way to do that. Without being able to do that, no reasonable and attentive person could be expected to believe these backups are good and would be ready to use if needed.

Am I missing something here? Has this been the case for months and I just never noticed until now?

(PS, I'd go make an iTunes backup and rest assured that I had that backup as well. While I do have this on the iPhone, I've never backed up the iPad to iTunes before. In fact, it's the attempt to do a first iTunes backup-- which as I understand it has a low but nonzero chance of wiping the entire iPad in the process of backing it up-- that led me to find this problem. I wanted to make sure the iCloud backup of the iPad is good, so that I could rest assured I had some backup if the iPad was wiped by backing it up to iTunes, I could restore from iCloud, but I don't see that I can count on a "0 KB" backup as a fallback. Things are starting to feel borderline Orwellian.)

Reply

Answer 9

Mxsmanic

Level 1

4 points

Feb 24, 2018 9:58 PM in response to pz1999

I am seeing the exact same thing. I coincidentally noticed it today while checking to see that all my devices were backed up. I hope that this is a temporary problem and that the backups are actually being done.

Reply

Answer 10

Mxsmanic

Level 1

4 points

Feb 25, 2018 3:30 PM in response to pz1999

I'm seeing the same thing. Zero KB for the size of the current backup. The size of the next backup takes forever to appear and is ten times smaller than it should be. The storage graph for iCloud shows a different amount used by backups on each device. The backup status for some devices (not all) shows as Unknown on other devices, although it still shows the time of the last backup.

Reply

Answer 11

Feb 25, 2018 8:47 PM in response to pz1999

If your iPad is actually running iOS 10, and it is no longer showing in iCloud.com under Settings, then you should try signing out of your iCloud account on that device and then signing back in. Doing that may not only clear up your issues with the device not showing, but may also clear up the 0KB issue.

Best of luck,

GB

Reply

Answer 12

pz1999 Author

Level 1

32 points

Feb 26, 2018 11:39 AM in response to pz1999

I'm wondering if anyone knows how to submit this topic or flag it for Apple support. It might be a fluke, but so far 29 people have clicked the "I have this question too" button, so it's at least a fluke of widespread effect. It seems like something they should look at or be aware of. It's possible it's just cosmetic but it's also possible it's a bad sign. I submitted a post last night on the "feedback" pages but I suspect that goes in the same bucket as "it'd be nice if the iCloud login page were mauve" kind of feedback, rather than the "I think this looks like a bug and might be important" bucket.

Reply

Answer 13

Fermi

Level 1

14 points

Mar 1, 2018 7:13 PM in response to gail from maine

Doesn't seem to be only a cosmetic bug if I cannot access those backups to restore my phone, nor can I delete them from iCloud to make space. It says Backups is taking 2.7 GB of space but it doesn't show me any backups. I will submit via Apple Feedback - thank you for the link.

Reply

Answer 14

Mar 2, 2018 3:13 PM in response to Fermi

Fermi wrote:

Doesn't seem to be only a cosmetic bug if I cannot access those backups to restore my phone, nor can I delete them from iCloud to make space. It says Backups is taking 2.7 GB of space but it doesn't show me any backups. I will submit via Apple Feedback - thank you for the link.

I'm a bit confused. Are you stating that you erased your device, and you were not able to restore it from the backup made by that device, even thought it showed the full-sized backup in other places?

And where are you looking to see the backup, where you are not seeing it?

Also, what is preventing you from deleting it?

Can you clarify so we can see if we can get you sorted out?

Cheers,

GB

Reply

Answer 15

luizmcg

Level 1

4 points

Mar 6, 2018 6:34 PM in response to Janne_E

Hi Janne.

So Icloud Backup is broken for all ios but 11 ?

Any word from Apple if this is forever ?

In iphone 5c, ios 9.3.5 , complete backup of 3.2 Gb was successful, but it took only

less than an hour, when the initial estimated duration was 13 hours ! Size of 0 Kb

Luiz.

Reply

iCloud backup size "0 KB"-- what does this mean?

Similar questions