my iPad storage says it’s full but it’s not. when i go into Storage it says i’ve used 13 of 16 GB but iit still says full.

A 16 GBs storage iPad has only approx. 12.7 to 13 GBs of actual storage space and, in addition, you should be maintaining a minimum of 2.5-3.0 GBs of free data storage space for iOS to function on a acceptable, nominal level of performance.

If you need to free up free data storage space on an iPad/iDevice, you need to start by backing up your iPad to either Apple's iCloud or by connecting your iDevice to a computer running the latest iTunes.

Then delete any installed apps that you no longer use or use infrequently enough that they aren't missed (you can always reinstalled any purchased or free apps at some time later, as you need them).

Thin out/delete any music/videos/movies/TV shows/images/eBooks/eMagazine/iBooks/audio books/Documents/PDFs, etc.

Delete any old saved emails that maybe saved to your iPad.

To permanently delete photos/images off of your iDevice go into the Photos app and find the Recently Deleted folder/album and permanently delete any photos/images stored in that folder/album.

Also, you can check to see what stuff is eating up all your valuable data storage space by going into the Settings App,,General Settings Panel, in the right hand column, tap Storage & iCloud usage panel ( in iOS 11, it’s iPad Storage ), in the top Storage Panel, tap the Manage Storage panel, wait for a list of apps to generate that will tell you how much space each app is taking up on your iDevice.

Then, do a hard reset of your iPad by holding down both the Home and sleep/wake buttons simultaneously until your iPad goes to black and restarts with Apple logo, then release the buttons.

FYI,

A 16 GBs iDevice can only store approx. 9-11 GBs of data.

Good Luck to You!

Not sure what your issue/s is/are, but a 128 GBs storage iDevice model has a practical storage amount of between 116-118 GBs.

So, your iPad STILL has approx. 40 GBs of free data storage left.

What is the exact storage message that appears?

If you have a large amount of apps open in the iOS App Switcher, these can eat up a lot of storage even though they are not active.

You could try backing up to iCloud and/or iTunes on a computer, then on your iPad in the Settings App under General, Reset do a complete Erase ALL Contents and Settings, then restore the iPad from your backup.

Good Luck to You!

same problem! running the latest ios and storage tells me, that more than half of my 32 gb storage is stuffed with videos, but i can’t find anything on the device. everything is on icloud and nothing should be on my ipad. i deleted all recently-added-folders, deleted all video apps completely, got rid of fat messages, tried to sync it with itunes and tried a hard reset. nothing helps. any ideas?

HI MichelPM, I have a similar issue with a 128GB IPad Air. I'm getting Storage warnings, but the usage graph shows only 79 out of 128GB used. What is considered "full" for each model? I would think that the graph should include a figure for the OS usage to show what's happening with the remainder? Thanks!

I have the same problem but storage is not full. iPad Air is using 17gb of 32gb. It was full and I removed photos using iTunes sync. Why can I not remove the message? Tried the usual on/off etc.

A 16GB iPad is only going to have about 13.7GB of usable space after you factor in the iOS and built in apps. You are therefore, at the limit now.

12.5 GBs is NO where near enough free data storage space.

That amount is not enough.

What EXACTLY have you removed or did not remove from your iPad?

You need to get your iPad down to 10-11 GBs.

Look on the SANDISK site, their IXpand device will back up photos etc.

Various capacities I purchased the 16 Gig model.