iCloud getting a little bloated? If you’re running low on iCloud backup space you can either buy more space from Apple or clear out some of the space already being used.
This iPhone cannot be backed up because there is not enough iCloud storage available.
Apple gives away 5GB of free space when you create an iCloud account. You can of course purchase extra space from Apple for a yearly fee if you want.
- 10 additional GB (15 GB total): $20/year
- 20 additional GB (25 GB total): $40/year
- 50 additional GB (55 GB total): $100/year
If you’ve gotten a messages saying that there is a not enough iCloud storage available to backup to, then you can buy more space or simply empty out some of the data to make room for new backup data.
Included in the iCloud backup is your Mail account (including attachments), App data , device settings and photos in the Camera Roll. App Data can be saved to iCloud from any iOS device with iCloud, even from your Mac.
Emptying iCloud backup space
Manage Space
The data in the backup can be accessed from your iOS device, Mac or PC (with iCloud control panel installed).
To manage the backup data, open Settings -> iCloud -> Storage & Backup -> Manage Storage. On this page, you have the option to delete a device from the backup and remove documents & data. You can remove an entire backup of any device from any device, however you can only edit individual backup data while using the device where the backup data is located. For instance, while on my iPad, I can edit the individual data in my iPad backup, but to edit the individual backup data on my iPhone, I would have to be using my iPhone.
Under the “Backup Options” on an iOS device, there are on and off switches that can be used to remove photos, iBooks and other App backup data. Simply turn the switch from “On” to “Off”.
If you’ve replaced your iOS device with a new one, the backup for the old device will still remain in iCloud, wasting precious space. If you never plan on using that old device again, you can delete that backup from iCloud, as it should clear out a lot of space depending on the backup size. Go to Manage Storage, click on your device and tap the big red “Delete Backup” button.
Edit the data on a Mac or PC
Desktop iCloud
On a Mac, go to System Preferences -> iCloud -> Click the “Manage” button on the bottom right. To edit the backup on a PC you must have the iCloud control panel installed. You can download it from the Apple website here: Download iCloud control panel.
From this panel you can remove an entire iOS device backup and individual items that have been backed up from your Mac or PC. To empty the Mail backup, you have to actually go to the Mail app and delete emails manually. If you want to empty out the Mail, but don’t want to permanently delete the files forever, you can always save them to your computer or Dropbox.
The same thing goes for Photos in the Camera Roll, if you want to keep them backed up but don’t have the iCloud space, you can always backup to Dropbox instead – read more about Dropbox. You can also use Photo Stream, it syncs (backs up) your latest 1000 pictures without tapping into you available iCloud backup space. If it’s not already enabled, go to Settings -> Photo Stream -> flip the switch from off to on.
On a PC, once the iCloud control panel is installed, open it and click the Manage button.
iCloud is not the only way to backup your device, iTunes is also a good way of keeping a regular backup – Read More about backing up to iTunes.
Manually manage iCloud files in Finder
If you’re using a Mac then it’s possible to manually delete items from your iCloud backup from within Finder. I ran into an issue myself where an app I had deleted from my iPhone didn’t completely get removed from iCloud. Its leftover files didn’t get deleted and was just taking up space. Simple fix, I just manually deleted that folder in Finder. Here’s my article about How to browse iCloud files on Mac OS X in Finder.
Hey
I have switched off a few apps because my icloud won’t back up due to not having enough memory, and it still won’t back up any suggestions?
February 5, 2013 at 10:45 amHello Mohamed, when you plug your device into iTunes (or over Wi-Fi) do you have a large amount of space taken up by the “Other” space? This “Other” space gets backed up to iCloud, this space is known for notoriously taking up gigabytes of space.
You can find the “Other” space in your iOS devices summary page in iTunes. It’s the orange section of the bar located at the bottom of the summary page.
February 5, 2013 at 10:52 amI have just plugged it into iTunes, the other space is taking up 1.30GB it is saying I have 5GB free
February 5, 2013 at 11:43 amThat “Other” space can be somewhat emptied out making a bit more space, although your “Other” space isn’t that high. Do you have a lot a photos on your device? The Camera Roll is usually the largest hog of space in an iCloud backup, have you tried turning it off?
Do you normally keep an iCloud backup, or are you trying to backup to iCloud for the first time on your device?
February 5, 2013 at 11:50 amI normally back up to icloud, and my camera roll is taking up majority of the space, I have deleted a load of pics and apps but still the same issue.
I don’t have my phone backed up on iTunes just on icloud, if I deleted Icloud and backed it up again would I lose everything?
February 5, 2013 at 12:05 pmYou will only loose your iCloud backup by doing that, all the data, apps ect, on your iPhone will remain on your iPhone.
January 26, 2014 at 5:37 pmClearing out old text messages solved my storage issue. I have 4 devices backed up to one account. ( camera roll off )
June 12, 2013 at 7:25 amAwesome, glad to hear you got the other space taken down. Thanks for the feedback on what worked for you.
June 14, 2013 at 2:23 ampls help.r ipad canot b open or turned off due to icloud backup.we cant either turned it off.wat shal we do?tnk u
February 12, 2013 at 4:38 amHello!
i got the message about icloud but i can´t even press the “close” button or the “Settings” button.
what should i do? i can´t do anything?
March 7, 2013 at 10:59 amCould you elaborate a little I’m not sure what you mean. Is your device frozen? If so try restarting it.
March 7, 2013 at 11:10 amokey, i try that , i´ll whrite too you later when i have tried it!
thanks for the help! :D
March 7, 2013 at 12:03 pmMine is doing the same thing… I can not do anything with my phone, I can’t press the Close button or the Settings button. And I have added more storage space through iCloud on my computer. I guess I am headed to the Apple Store.
May 24, 2013 at 8:52 amNext time try holding the lock and home button like you would take a screen cap for ten seconds to hard power it down. You can skip the slider to turn it off that way. Worked when mine did the same thing. So frustrating. I have not once been able to fully back up my Iphone 4s. Argh.
June 4, 2013 at 2:25 pmI am not able to backup my ipad because 5mb is taken up by email. I have tried deleting old emails and even turning the email off, but it won’t free up space. Do you know how I can free up space? I don’t really even need email on the iPad but turning it off leant help and for some reason when I to it off, it disappears from my iPhone as well.
March 31, 2013 at 8:41 amPhotostream does NOT backup videos… only photos .. “PHOTO”stream…
May 4, 2013 at 9:26 pmYou are correct, thank you for pointing that out Ben. I’ve updated the article.
May 6, 2013 at 11:34 amI bought more space on my iPad but my sons iPad is still frozen it won’t let me turn off or restart
May 14, 2013 at 1:25 amThey are all on one I cloud account
May 14, 2013 at 1:29 amI have deleted all but 5 photos on my camera roll and under my iphone storage usage, it says 405MB for Photos and Camera Roll. I have uploaded all my photos and videos and cleared it from my phone but the usage it still high. Any tips?
May 17, 2013 at 6:04 amIs it being taken up by photo stream? Go to Settings -> General -> Usage -> Photos & Camera. It’s split into Camera Roll, Photo Library and Photo Stream. Which is taking up the space?
May 17, 2013 at 10:06 amPhoto stream is empty. I uploaded and removed everything from photo stream too. Under the settings usage screen it says 85.2KB for photo stream, 0 bytes for photo library, 405MB for camera roll. Odd. After removing all photos, I turn off my phone and turn it back on again a few minutes later. Still showing same amount of usage.
May 17, 2013 at 11:14 amHmm, that is an odd issue, it may be an issue with the cache. You might be able to reset the cache if you select then unselect sync photos it iTunes. You don’t have to sync any photos, just click the “Sync” button after (un)checking the sync photos option.
May 18, 2013 at 10:27 pmmy ipad shows an error that i didn’t backed up ipad in 2 weeks .
and if i press to ok this messege it didn’t response and i am not able to use my ipad
it just strucked to this error.
May 20, 2013 at 10:06 pmHelp …. I deleted my iCloud backup for my iPhone when using my iPad to free up more space. Now I’m thinking I shouldn’t have done that as I can’t seem to add it back. I’m worried that if I lose my phone I won’t be able to use the ‘find my phone feature’ or be able to access contact numbers saved on the iPad etc. Is that the case and how do I reinstall iCloud backup for my phone?
Any suggestions welcome!
May 22, 2013 at 9:47 amYou just need to re-enable it. On your iPhone, open Settings -> iCloud -> select the backup/syncing services you want and put them to the on position. Next, at the same location tap “Storage and Backup” then the “Backup Now” button.
May 22, 2013 at 9:53 am