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.
Last step when I switch the iCloud backup to “on” it gives me a message that my phone will no longer backup to my computer automatically when I sync with iTunes. Is that OK?
May 22, 2013 at 10:37 amIt’s up to you. Do you prefer backing up to iTunes or do you prefer iCloud? Personally I use iCloud. However it’s completely your preference.
May 22, 2013 at 10:41 amThanks Damien – you’ve been incredibly helpful! Cheers!
May 22, 2013 at 10:57 amI was trying to manage iCloud on my iPhone and iPad to free up space and was guided to manage storage section where I could edit Document & Data and free up space but when I clicked into manage storage I did not see Document & Data….where did I go wrong?
May 22, 2013 at 9:57 pmSettings -> iCloud -> Storage & Backup -> Manage Storage.
As I was typing this I tried it out myself just to make sure. The first time I tried it on my iPad it didn’t show up. It worked on my iPhone. I closed the settings app on my iPad and re-opened it and now it’s there.
So if you still can’t see the documents & data, try turning your iPhone off then on, since it seems a little buggy.
May 23, 2013 at 12:22 ammy question is the same as Ali’s (above), but I cannot see a response from you with regard to the problem!! Totally unable to use the ipad at all.
June 6, 2013 at 4:13 amTry to force a reset. Hold down the lock and home button until it resets (around 10 seconds).
June 6, 2013 at 9:04 amThankyou for your help….at least I now have it unlocked.
June 6, 2013 at 9:35 amAre you still having issues clearing out your iCloud backup space?
June 6, 2013 at 10:26 amHiya. I recently purchased a new iPhone 5, and have backed it up from my iCloud, were i currently have a total storage of 15GB as i pay for the extra 10GB. Per year, it is saying i have 3.9 GB free but has not backed up to my iCloud since having the phone 3 weeks ago as it ‘has not enough iCloud data available’ , it gives me the option to delete back up from iPhone 4s ( previous device ) and has this device as never backed up, so i was wondering if i chose to delete backup from iPhone 4s am i going to loose all my data or will it still remain on this device to be backed up on this phone?! Thanks
July 18, 2013 at 11:49 pmHey Sharna, you can delete the iCloud backups. All the content that is currently on your iPhone 5 will stay on your device. I do suggest creating a new backup of your iPhone 5 in iCloud as soon as possible after you have cleared out the previously used space though.
July 18, 2013 at 11:53 pmI noticed in another comment you said that “other” is backed up to iCloud. My “other” is 5.02 GB. How do I clear this? or what is it?
June 18, 2013 at 3:46 pmHey Bliss, here’s another one of my articles where I explain what the other space is and how to remove it. http://appducate.com/2013/01/reclaim-other-storage-space-on-ipad-iphone-and-ipod/
June 18, 2013 at 3:51 pmHELP! My iphone is locked due to ‘ Not Enough Storage Space’ I need to save all the photos from the device before I restart it but it’s not allowing me to transfer them. How do I delete apps or save photos if Iphoto isn’t allowing it?
June 19, 2013 at 7:59 pmTry restarting your device first. Hold down the home and lock button until it restarts.
June 19, 2013 at 8:25 pmHi I have done all of theses steps and when I press delete storage ect it says cannot be deleted this time giving me the options, try again or cancel ?
June 21, 2013 at 4:39 pmMy “Other” space is the culprit, and I’ve learned that photo attachments in text messages go into the backup. I regularly delete stupid photos from my camera roll after texting them, and I save photos sent to me that I want to keep to my camera roll. I didn’t realize they were still being backed up… I don’t want to delete my entire conversation history with my boyfriend, for example, but I also don’t need photos of the pancakes he made for his children in my iCloud backup. Is there a way to clean it up, without manually scrolling through months of old messages?
July 11, 2013 at 12:35 amUnfortunately I don’t believe there is a quick way of achieving that. The only choices are delete everything as once, or manually one at a time. Not much we can do about that.
July 11, 2013 at 12:40 amHi…I am very new to apple products as I just purchased an iPad and an iPhone 5 this past December. I am still learning about these devices along with everything that goes with them. My question is (and sorry if the answer is obvious but I don’t want to lose my pics) if my photos from my iPhone have been synced to photo stream, can I now delete them from my phone and will they stay in photo stream? I need to make more storage. My phone hasn’t been backed up for weeks! Thank u!!!!
July 21, 2013 at 7:50 pmYes, if it’s synced with Photo Stream then deleting the photos from Camera Roll will not delete it from Photo Stream. Remember though, Photo Stream only syncs your latest 1000 pictures.
July 22, 2013 at 11:15 amThank u so much! I was pretty sure but I didn’t want to take a chance until I had confirmation. However didnt know about it only syncing 1000. Will photo stream only hold 1000 pics or only sync the latest 1000 pics? Thanks for being so helpful!
July 23, 2013 at 8:48 amPhoto Stream will only hold the latest 1000 photos, once you go past 1000 it will automatically start deleting from the oldest photos to make room for the new ones.
There are other options instead of Photo Stream as well. I actually use Photo Stream and Dropbox simultaneously. It works much the same as Photo Stream, but without the 1000 picture limit. You don’t need to use Dropbox but here’s more info about it if you’re interested: http://appducate.com/2012/12/dropbox-2-0-for-ios-is-here/
July 23, 2013 at 10:06 amWell that clears that up and guess I’m going with Dropbox. Thank u again!!!! U have been very helpful and I appreciate it!
July 24, 2013 at 1:40 pm