A phone that has no storage left is left unable to do the simplest tasks, such as take and store more photos and videos or download apps and updates. The best way to prevent this from happening is by taking steps the minute you see signs of a storage decrease. But what should you be on the look-out for prior to receiving a dreaded Storage Full pop-up that more or less locks your phone? These are the two surprising signs your iPhone is almost out of storage, as well as tips on what your first move should be to gain back valuable storage space.
Your iPhone is taking longer to start up
If your iPhone is taking longer to start up, it could be because it’s running out of space, according to James Calderon, editor in chief at Alrigh.com. “If you’re not using all of your iPhone’s storage, you might want to consider deleting some of your photos, videos, and music files to make room,” Calderon said.
Your iPhone is crashing more often
Your iPhone simply shouldn’t be crashing every other day. If it randomly blacks out from the pressure of trying to keep up with your app usage, this is a clear sign that you need to create more storage space on your phone. “If your iPhone is crashing more often, it could be because it’s running out of space,” Calderon said. “If you’re not using all of your iPhone’s storage, you might want to consider deleting some of your photos, videos, and music files to make room.”
What you should do is you’re out of storage
Okay, so you’re fairly certain that your iPhone is out of storage — what now?
“You need to go to the Settings app to check your iPhone’s storage and know what is occupying your iPhone’s storage,” said Tech Expert Charlene Chen at EaseUS.com. “You can do this by going to Settings -> General -> iPhone Storage.” These are the specific steps Chen recommends for freeing up space:
1. Delete unused apps
“Delete unused apps on your iPhone to get more available storage,” Chen said. “You can also enable the option ‘Offload Unused Apps’ in Settings -> General -> iPhone Storage, which will save lots of space.”
2. Delete Photos and Apps from the Photos App
“Now photos and videos take up much space on iPhone as the file size increases with the image or video quality,” Chen said. “You can delete useless and similar photos and videos from your iPhone. Also, you can delete photos and videos that have been uploaded and stored on iCloud. If you need these photos or videos, you’d better upload your photos and videos to a cloud service like Dropbox for backup.”
3. Delete cache on iPhone
“When you use iPhone and apps, it will generate lots of cache files so that you can access the file quickly again,” Chen said. “If you find the ‘Other’ storage massive in the iPhone’s storage, there are lots of cached files on your iPhone, like cached music, videos, and photos. You can clear this to get more space. You can remove cached files of an app by going to its Settings options — this is a process varies between apps.”
4. Clear downloaded files in the Files app
“You may have downloaded lots of files into the Files app,” Chen said. “When there is not enough space on your iPhone, go to the Files app to find your downloaded files and deleted the unwanted one.”
