You try take a picture and instead get the “Storage Almost Full” warning. When iPhone storage is full, updates stop, a few apps won’t work properly, and some pictures in Messages won’t download. But here’s some good news. Most of the fixes cost nothing and take under half an hour. We've listed seven, cheapest first, so you can stop as soon as you have room again.
What Happens When iPhone Storage Is Full
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Camera: new shots fail to save, and video can cut off early.
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Updates stall. Neither iOS nor your apps will download.
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Apps: a few crash or freeze when they need room for data.
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Incoming photos and videos in Messages may not download.
iOS does try first. Per Apple's storage guide, it clears cached files, temporary files and anything you can download again once space runs low. If the warning keeps returning, that cleanup isn't enough on its own.
First, Check What Is Using Your Space
Settings, General, iPhone Storage. This is where you start.
A color-coded bar will show what takes up the most space, and underneath are applications sorted by size. The makers of Apple devices will usually have suggestions above the list, such as to offload unused apps or large attachments. These will be based on your personal use.
7 Easy Fixes From Free Hacks to Paid Solutions
1. Offload Unused Apps
Offloading removes the app from your phone but doesn’t remove its documents and data. Reinstall the app and all the data will remain untouched.
This can be automated by enabling Offload Unused Apps from App Store settings. Offloading an individual app can be done from the iPhone Storage app.
2. Clear Message Attachments
Group messages tend to be quite sly. With time, you end up with years worth of pictures, videos, and gifs that go unnoticed.
To remove them on your iPhone Storage, select Messages and click Review Large Attachments, where you can proceed to delete the large attachments. Setting your Keep Messages to 1 Year or 30 Days prevents future accumulation, but also deletes past messages.
3. Optimize Your Photo Library
Empty Recently Deleted first. Pictures that you delete stay in it for up to 30 days and still occupy space. Afterward, go to the Duplicates album and combine whatever duplicates it finds. If using iCloud Photos, turn on Optimize iPhone Storage. The iPhone will store lighter copies and download the full-size photos whenever you view them, depending on your iCloud storage capacity.
4. Clear Safari and App Caches
Settings, Apps, Safari, Advanced, Website Data. Tap Remove All Website Data at the bottom. It signs you out of sites but leaves bookmarks and passwords alone.
Chat and social apps hide bigger caches. Look at Documents and Data for each one in iPhone Storage, and if it runs to several gigabytes, delete the app and reinstall it. Offloading won't touch that cache.
5. Deal With System Data
Apple splits it in two. System is iOS itself. Other covers Siri voices, fonts, dictionaries, logs and caches you can't delete by hand.
A restart helps. So does installing the latest iOS update and reinstalling your heaviest apps. Cleaner apps don't, because iOS walls off every app from the others and from the system.
6. Move Photos and Videos to an External SSD
Video changes the math. ProRes files are up to 30 times larger than standard HEVC, per Apple's ProRes guide, so heavy 4K shooters fill a phone faster than any cleanup can clear it. A drive moves the whole library off at once, for a one time cost.
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Connect the SSD to the phone via a USB C cable or through the adapter for older iPhones.
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Go to Photos, select your videos and photos, tap Share, Save to Files, and the drive.
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Load the drive in Files and check that some of the video copies were successful.
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Remove the original files from Photos and Recently Deleted.
Careful with step 4. If iCloud Photos is enabled, the photos will be deleted from the iCloud as well when you delete them off the phone.
The Digiera Endura Ultra Thin MagSafe Portable SSD sits on the back of the phone, and iPhone 15 Pro and later can record ProRes straight to it. It's $178.49 for 1TB. The Digiera 500MB/s Magnetic Portable SSD costs less, from $94.49 for 512GB, and works with laptops as well.
We cover why a magnetic SSD helps when your phone runs out of space in more detail.
7. Upgrade iCloud
Still full every few weeks after all that? Then your library has simply outgrown the phone.
A bigger iCloud plan gives Optimize iPhone Storage room to work and backs up the whole device. You pay monthly, though, which adds up next to a drive you buy once. Our guide on how an iPhone SSD compares with iCloud runs through the numbers.
How Much Space Each Fix Frees
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Fix
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What it removes
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Rough size of the win
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Cost
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Offload unused apps
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App files, keeps data
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Small to large, depending on the apps
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Free
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Clear message attachments
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Old photos, videos, GIFs
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Small to large, depending on years of chats
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Free
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Optimize photo library
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Deleted items, duplicates, full size originals
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Medium to large
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Free (needs iCloud space)
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Clear Safari and app caches
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Website data, app caches
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Small to medium
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Free
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Deal with System Data
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Leftover caches and update files
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Small to medium
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Free
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External SSD
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Your photo and video library
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Large
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One time purchase
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Upgrade iCloud
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Nothing by itself; enables Optimize
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Depends on fix 3
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Monthly
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Small is under 1GB. Medium runs from 1GB to 10GB, and large is anything above that. For your exact figures, check iPhone Storage.
Keep It From Filling Up Again
Switch the camera to High Efficiency under Settings, Camera, Formats. Files get smaller with no visible change.
Keep Offload Unused Apps turned on. Look at iPhone Storage once a month, and if you film a lot, clear video off the phone every few weeks rather than waiting for the warning.
If your camera roll keeps refilling the phone, move the overflow somewhere it can't slow you down. Digiera's MagSafe SSDs for iPhone snap onto the back and hold up to 2TB of photos and video, with no monthly fee.
FAQs
What happens if your iPhone storage is full?
New photos and videos stop saving, and iOS and app updates won't install. Some apps may crash. Photos sent to you in Messages can also fail to download until you clear space.
Why is my iPhone storage full when I have iCloud?
iCloud only frees phone space for photos, and only with Optimize iPhone Storage turned on. Apps, messages and System Data stay on the phone either way.
What is System Data on iPhone and can I delete it?
Not directly. It's iOS plus caches, logs, fonts and Siri voices. A restart, an iOS update and reinstalling heavy apps usually bring it down.
Does deleting photos free up storage right away?
Not really. Deleted pictures will be put in Recently Deleted folder where they stay for 30 days. Only when the album is cleaned does the storage become available immediately.
Is it better to buy more iCloud or use an external drive?
It all depends on your use. It is ideal for iCloud for backing-up automatically and accessing from anywhere. The external hard drive would be suitable for huge video collection because of one time payment.
Do cleaner apps free up iPhone storage?
Not much. Since iOS sandboxing all apps, a cleaner cannot access System Data or cache of any other application. iPhone Storage apps do better.
Can I save photos directly to an external SSD?
Sure. You have to tap on Share, and then Save to Files, and select your device. ProRes videos can be saved directly to SSD by iPhone 15 Pro and later Pro devices.
