Level 1 (4 points)

Help with iPhone storage (emergency)

My iPhone storage is full and hardly anything is working. My storage is at 255.23 GB and of that, the Photos app is at 191.43GB (last I remembered). Hardly anything is actually working and so many glitches are happening. I cannot email, I can’t take a photo or video, I cannot click to phone a number (as I tried with Apple), I cannot delete photos or videos, I cannot back up on iCloud, I can’t delete the search history from Safari, I can’t even fully switch off the phone (instead of just putting it to sleep iykwim), and I honest to God don’t know what to do. I’ve been battling a full phone in various ways for MONTHS now, and I’m sick and tired of it. I want my phone to actually back up as I have 6TB of storage on iCloud but only 1.9GB used and yet it snot able to back up whic is just insanity. Utter laziness. Just BACK UP, there’s no reason you can’t…. Anyway, I genuinely can’t live without this phone, so I need to do something ASAP to fix it. It’s honestly an emergency. I can’t contact Apple so I need help from you guys, ASAP aka right now. Thanks in advance.

Posted on Sep 27, 2026 1:57 AM

3 replies

TheLittles

Level 10 (211,627 points)

Sep 27, 2026 2:03 AM in response to ScottishRailwayFan

"Help with iPhone storage (emergency): My iPhone storage is full and hardly anything is working. My storage is at 255.23 GB and of that, the Photos app is at 191.43GB (last I remembered). Hardly anything is actually working and so many glitches are happening. I cannot email, I can’t take a photo or video, I cannot click to phone a number (as I tried with Apple), [...] Anyway, I genuinely can’t live without this phone, so I need to do something ASAP to fix it. It’s honestly an emergency. I can’t contact Apple so I need help from you guys, ASAP aka right now. Thanks in advance."

-------

Clear System Data(formerly called "Other"), as that ought to relieve lots of space, allowing you yo use it forthcoming to make phone calls, and such. How to Clear "System Data" in your iPhone's Storage: - User Tip

Troubleshooting iPhone Device Storage:

Try Removing Data from the iPhone itself...

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...

Use my two User Tips:

TheLittles

Level 10 (211,627 points)

Sep 27, 2026 2:12 AM in response to ScottishRailwayFan

-------

As for iCloud Being Full...

Managing iCloud Storage:

Download All of iCloud Drive, then Clear It:

Use my User Tip: Getting a Quick and Direct "iCloud Drive-to-External Hard Drive" Download - User Tip

Purchase or use an external hard drive that is of great capacity, and then export all of iCloud Drive to it. Once downloaded, verify you can access these files. Once verified, trash what is in iCloud. All will be cleared from iCloud Drive.

Export Photos:

Export your Photos to a computer (Mac or Windows PC). Then, remove them from your phone. Transfer them to an external hard drive, and then store the external hard drive for backup and safe keeping (use Drag & Drop to perform the transfer. Use Cut & Paste, or it would remain on your computer).

muguy

Level 10 (95,874 points)

Sep 27, 2026 3:04 AM in response to ScottishRailwayFan

You’ll need to delete content from your device for it to work properly; likely about 20 GB. Then, if you haven’t already, you may wish to optimize storage for photos is settings to keep originals in iCloud and optimized versions of your photos on device.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256365839