This happens far too often. You try to download the latest iOS release or an awesome new app only for your iPhone to say “storage is full.”
You’ve already downloaded all the apps, photos, and videos you don’t need and there’s still not enough space. But still no space. Then under storage in the Settings page, you see a huge chunk of stuff called “other.” What does “other” mean in storage? And how do you remove it to clear some room for what you need?
Other storage is a bit of a mystery to most iPhone users. But we’ll you understand what it is and how you can clear some space for when you need it.
This happens far too often. You try to download the latest iOS release or an awesome new app only for your iPhone to say “storage is full.”
You’ve already downloaded all the apps, photos, and videos you don’t need and there’s still not enough space. But still no space. Then under storage in the Settings page, you see a huge chunk of stuff called “other.” What does “other” mean in storage? And how do you remove it to clear some room for what you need?
Other storage is a bit of a mystery to most iPhone users. But we’ll you understand what it is and how you can clear some space for when you need it.
View Your iPhone Storage
To see how much storage you have available and how much you have used, follow these steps:
- Open Settings
- Select General
- Tap iPhone Storage
There will be a graph at the top of the screen showing your total iPhone storage. It will break down the different types of data you’re using.
Underneath, you’ll find a list of apps on your phone and how much data they’re taking up as well. Be sure to give your phone 30-60 seconds to finish analyzes data to see exactly how much storage everything is taking up.
What Does “Other” Mean in iPhone Storage?
The first few sections of iPhone storage are pretty familiar. These are categories like Apps, Media, Mails, and Photos. However, then you’ll see Other which can sometimes balloon to over 10 GB or more of space.
Other is a broad category. It refers to everything else. This includes system files, data cages, Siri voices, updates, log, and more.
One of the worst offenders is streaming download files. When you download anything from TV, Music or other apps, it’s indexed as Media. Even though your streaming content, these files have caches that are used to make sure you have smooth playback.
- Other apps caches like Safari and messages can also take up tons of space. Your iPhone is supposed to automatically manage all of these areas. But it often doesn’t do the best job.
How to Reduce the Size of Other
You can’t completely erase Other. But you can cut down its size. Begin by clearing the Safari cache.
- Close all Safari tabs open on your phone
- Open Settings > Safari
- Select Clear History and Website Data
You can do the same with apps particularly browsers like Chrome or Firefox. From here, clear out space in messages:
- Open Settings > Messages
- Select Keep Messages
- Change from Forever to 1 year or even 30 ways to reduce data cache.
Finally, return to iPhone storage and check out the apps list. Some apps keep data stored as cache. The Podcasts app is one that can keep gigabytes of data like this. Delete and reinstall the app to clear additional space.
If You Really Want to Clear Out Other
If you want to minimize the size other then you can take the ultimate option, restoring your phone. You’ll first need to back it up or sync it to iCloud. This may take a while.
The best way to restore your phone is by using an iTunes backup. Connect your phone to your computer and launch iTunes. Then back it up. If you want to keep your passwords and health data, use the Encrypt local backup option.
When the backup is complete, disconnect your iPhone. Then reset it by going to Settings > General > Reset and tap Erase All Content and Settings.
Then follow all the steps to reset your phone. After the initial process, you can connect to iTunes or sync from your latest iCloud update.
This is the most complicated process but it will leave you with the absolute smallest Other folder.
Use iCloud or External Storage
Before resetting your phone, you should consider using iCloud or buying an external storage device. All iPhone users get 5 GB of free iCloud storage. But you can easily upgrade to one of these plans:
- 50 GB: $0.99 per month
- 200 GB: $2.99 per month
- 2 TB: $9.99
If you have an unlimited data plan then iCloud is a great option particularly if you’re stuck with a 16 or 32 GB iPhone.
If you don’t have an unlimited data plan then check out an external storage device. There are tons of USB sticks that connect to the iPhone lightning port. They start as little as $15 and make it easy for you to store photos, videos, and other key data. Plus you can easily transfer it to your computer or other iOS devices.
What Does “Other” Mean in iPhone Storage?
Other refers to all kinds of data found in the apps on your phone. Anything that isn’t media, apps, mail, photos, and messages is wrapped up in this category. The best strategy, particularly for people without too much storage capacity on their iPhone, is to check it out once a week. Cleaning lint out before it gets too big will help you maximize your storage space so you never have to run into that annoying “iPhone Storage Capacity Full” message again.
When you’re ready to upgrade to a new iPhone with 128, 256, or even 512 GB of storage, you can sell your old iPhone to Buyback Boss. Click here to see how much your iPhone is worth. And learn how easy it to sell your phone here.
Head over to the Buyback Boss Blog to dig into all things iPhone. Have you ever wondered what a blacklisted phone is? Or if an iPhone is waterproof? Learn this and more on our blog
