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Backup and photos not deleted even after selecting delete.

I have turned off the backup and chose the option for delete backup for all my devices. But for some reason I am still seeing the backup taking up space in my icloud and the previous photos that I cleared are all still there. On top of that, my iCloud photo sync doesn't seems to be working. I want to restart from a clean slate as I am setting up icloud+ for family sharing but I keep facing these roadblocks. How do i overcome this?

4 replies

“Backup and photos not deleted even after selecting delete.: I have turned off the backup and chose the option for delete backup for all my devices. But for some reason I am still seeing the backup taking up space in my icloud and the previous photos that I cleared are all still there. On top of that, my iCloud photo sync doesn't seems to be working. I want to restart from a clean slate as I am setting up icloud+ for family sharing but I keep facing these roadblocks. How do i overcome this“

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A Tip on Clearing iPhone Storage:

Caches may have intensely uploaded. So, clear them.


Troubleshooting iPhone Storage:

Internal storage cannot be upgraded. It is what it is. So, the maximum internal storage capacity never increases, even if you upgraded your iCloud plan. Learn More here: What's the Difference Between Device Storage and iCloud Storage? Apple Support


So, what to do...

Clear Space Using my User Tips:

“Backup and photos not deleted even after selecting delete.: I have turned off the backup and chose the option for delete backup for all my devices. But for some reason I am still seeing the backup taking up space in my icloud and the previous photos that I cleared are all still there. On top of that, my iCloud photo sync doesn't seems to be working. I want to restart from a clean slate as I am setting up icloud+ for family sharing but I keep facing these roadblocks. How do i overcome this“

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Troubleshooting iCloud:


Download All of iCloud Drive:

If you wanted to, you could download all of iCloud Drive, and then trash what is in there. Perform my User Tip: Getting a Quick and Direct "iCloud Drive-to-External Hard Drive" Download - User Tip. All would be saved, and would then be removed. You would then use Finder to browse all of iCloud.

“Does this means I can only delete what is in the iCloud after I download them into a hard drive? I don’t quite understand how this works.”

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Clearing this Space:

This would be iCloud Drive that you’d be clearing. You would have it on a backup, and would then trash what is in iCloud Drive. Clearing iCloud Photos*** is a task of its own —but iCloud Drive take up lots of data —and it’s the best route to take, if you want to save space, and start with clean remote storage. You’d use a new Finder window to search through it.


Does this means I can only delete what is in the iCloud after I download them into a hard drive? I don’t quite understand how this works.