iPhone Storage Full or iCloud Full? How to Fix It

Two messages confuse almost every iPhone owner at some point. One says "iPhone Storage Full" (or "Storage Almost Full"), usually when you try to take a photo or install an update. The other says "iCloud Storage Is Full" or "Not Enough Storage: This iPhone cannot be backed up because there is not enough iCloud storage available".

They sound alike, but they're about two different places, and the fixes are different. Getting this wrong is how people accidentally delete photos they wanted to keep, so it's worth understanding before you start deleting.

Why This Happens

• iPhone storage is the physical space inside your phone, for example 128GB. Photos, videos, apps, messages and the system itself all live here.
• iCloud storage is space on Apple's servers, linked to your Apple Account. Every account gets 5GB at no extra cost, which fills up quickly with backups and photos. Paid plans are called iCloud+.

The confusing part is that iCloud Photos syncs rather than backs up. If you delete a photo from your iPhone while iCloud Photos is on, it's deleted from iCloud and all your other devices too (after 30 days in Recently Deleted).

Part 1: Fixing "iPhone Storage Full"

Step 1: See What's Using the Space

Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Wait a moment for the coloured bar to load. You'll see recommendations at the top and a list of apps sorted by size.

Step 2: Optimise Photos

For most people, photos and videos are the biggest user of space.

1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos.
2. Make sure syncing is on, then choose Optimise iPhone Storage.

Your phone keeps smaller versions of photos and downloads the full versions from iCloud when you open them. This needs enough iCloud storage to hold your library, so you may need to fix that first (see Part 2).

Step 3: Offload Apps You Don't Use

In iPhone Storage, tap an app you rarely use and choose Offload App. This removes the app but keeps its data, so if you reinstall it later, everything is still there. You can also turn on Offload Unused Apps from the recommendations to do this automatically.

Step 4: Clear Message Attachments

1. In iPhone Storage, tap Messages.
2. Review Photos, Videos and other large attachments and delete those you don't need.
3. Go to Settings > Apps > Messages (or Settings > Messages on older iOS versions) and set Keep Messages to 1 Year if you're comfortable losing older conversations.

WhatsApp has its own tool: in WhatsApp, go to Settings > Storage and Data > Manage Storage to find large videos and forwarded files.

Step 5: Empty Recently Deleted

Deleted photos stay on your phone for 30 days. In the Photos app, open Recently Deleted under Utilities and delete the ones you're sure about.

Part 2: Fixing "iCloud Storage Is Full"

Step 1: See What's Using iCloud

Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. The bar at the top shows how your iCloud storage is used. Tap Manage Account Storage (or Manage Storage) for detail.

Step 2: Delete Old Backups

Old backups from previous phones or iPads often take up gigabytes. In Manage Storage > Backups, tap any device you no longer own and choose Delete Backup. Don't delete the backup of the phone you're using now.

Step 3: Choose What Gets Backed Up

Tap your current iPhone's backup and switch off apps whose data doesn't need backing up, such as apps that store everything online anyway.

Step 4: Consider More Storage or Family Sharing

If your photo library is simply larger than 5GB, which is most libraries, the practical answer is an iCloud+ plan. If several people in your family each have a plan, Family Sharing lets you share one larger plan between up to six people. You can set it up in Settings > [your name] > Family.

How to Back Up Photos Before Deleting

• To a Mac: connect the iPhone with a cable, open the Photos app on the Mac and use Import.
• To a Windows PC: connect with a cable, unlock the iPhone, tap Trust, then use the Windows Photos app's Import option.
• To another cloud service: Google Photos, OneDrive and others have iPhone apps that can back up your library separately from iCloud.

Once you've confirmed the copies open properly, you can delete from the phone with confidence.

When to Get Help

If you're worried about losing family photos, or you're helping a parent whose phone is full, we can help. Our tech help for seniors and computer and device support include safe photo backups, iCloud tidy-ups and setting up Family Sharing. Much of this can be done through remote support. Senri Home engineers visit across West and South West London seven days a week, 8am to 9pm. Book a visit or call or WhatsApp 07826 399715.

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