i keep running out of storage space even though i should have plenty

BigDan1 · Nov 25, 2015

My iPhone keeps running out of space. Not sure why.
I have an iPhone 4s 16 GB.
My usage is Photos 1.3 GB, Whatsapp 1 GB, Messages 1 GB, and everything else combined is less than 3.5 GB. So total of under 7 GB. Why does it say I have 0 space? Literally, 0! I just deleted a number of photos then powercycled, still 0.
Thanks
Dan

J. A. · Nov 25, 2015

Did you remove the photos from the Recently Deleted folder as well? If you didn't they'll still count against your storage.

Connect your iPhone to iTunes on your computer and take a look at your storage there. It's possible that a storage called "Other" (orange colour) is causing your problem. To get rid of most of this Other storage, restore your iPhone. Make sure there's a recent backup to restore from afterwards.

BigDan1 · Nov 25, 2015

Thanks for this. Holy crap there's a LOT of other! 6 GB of it. Backing up iPhone now, we'll take it from there. Thanks a lot!

BigDan1 · Nov 25, 2015

OK I backed up my iPhone, after which the Other files went from 6 GB down to, I guess 4 GB. I've forgotten the exact number but I got 2 GB free space as a result. But then when I tried to restore my backup it said it couldnt because there wasnt enough free space on my phone. What do I do next?

Also will my contacts on Kik etc stay intact after a restore?

Thanks again!

J. A. · Nov 25, 2015

If you can use the backup to restore from, they'll be there again afterwards.

I don't know Kik. If it works similar to Whatsapp, there's a backup function within the app, in it's settings. Even if the backup doesn't include your contacts, it's possible to restore them in the app afterwards.

When you restore your iPhone, it will be erased completely. Except for the built in apps and default settings, nothing else will be installed. Usually, you'll be asked whether or not you wish to restore from a backup, or set it up as new after restoring.
As your Other storage space went down to 4 GB, it sounds like you already used a backup to restore from, so it shouldn't be necessary to restore from a backup again.
Please correct me if I didn't get your post the right way.

It's not necessary to guess how much Other uses. When you put the cursor to the orange part of the bar that shows Other, it will also display how much it's using on your iPhone. (Don't click left or right, just hover over Other).

bear7962 · Nov 26, 2015

I was thinking that Clearing Cache and rebooting might help as well as checking how much various apps have added thru use. I think reviewing this article might help you understand what is going on. How to Remove “Other” Data Stored on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch | OSXDaily
In addition, remember that IOS also takes up some space.

BigDan1 · Jan 17, 2016

Hi guys, I'm back.

JA, you had suggested I goto iTunes and see how much space was being used up there, and also to backup and restore. In the past the restore wasnt working but somehow this exercise would make the iphone not be out of space any more. Not sure how that happened.

Now I'm having the same problem again, of constantly being out of space, except now when I plug in the iphone it shows as being completely out of space. I backed it up to my computer but I cant restore it, it just keeps saying an error has occured. I even tried reinstalling iTunes, that didnt fix anything either.

Is there any help that oculd be provided?

Thanks!

scifan57 · Jan 17, 2016

Does the error message you get have a number?

BigDan1 · Jan 17, 2016

I should mention, when I open up iTunes it says "iTuneUp.dll could not load in 64-bit mode. Try contacting the plug in vendors to see if a 64-bit version is available."
Dont know if that's relevant.

But no there's no number with the error message when the backup restore doesnt work.

bear7962 · Jan 17, 2016

The iTunes on your computer may be corrupt or it is a problem from the Windows end of things. I found this posting in the Apple Community forums. " ... A DLL required for this installation to c... | Apple Support Communities

If it doesn't help you may have to delete iTunes from your computer and install a new version directly from the Apple website.

BigDan1 · Jan 17, 2016

I tried it again. This time I"m not getting the same error, and in fact for a few seconds it said its starting a restore. Then it said there isnt enough free space to do a restore. I've gotten that error before as well actually. But I'm still stuck.

At the moment about 5 GB is classified as 'Other'. I cant see the exact % at the moment because now for some reason when I click on the iPhone it doesnt show up at all (its in the top left but not the details of it). But I'm sure I'll see soon.