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iPhone “other” storage maxes out phone memory

For several months I’ve had a problem where the “other” storage has maxed out my phone’s memory. I can’t take photos, apps crash, and things that require storage don’t function. I’ve tried deleting photos, messages, and apps, but every time I do the “other” grows to fill the new space. I did a restore and a full factory reset, but it happened a couple weeks later. Over night my storage went from 14.2 to 15.9 gigs of a 16 gig storage of my SE. This also recently started on my wife’s iPhone X. I almost thought about buying a new phone but I suspect this is a OS issue.

iPhone SE

Posted on Aug 17, 2020 6:24 AM

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4 replies

Aug 17, 2020 6:44 AM in response to andrewhortonart

  • Other: Non-removable mobile assets, like Siri voices, fonts, dictionaries, non-removable logs and caches, Spotlight index, and system data, such as Keychain and CloudKit Database. Cached files can't be deleted by the system.
  • System: Space taken by the operating system. This can vary based on your device and model.


About cached files in "Other"

Finder and iTunes categorize cached music, videos, and photos as Other instead of actual songs, videos, or photos. Cached files are created when you stream or view content like music, videos, and photos. When you stream music or video, that content is stored as cached files on your device so you can quickly access it again.


Your device automatically removes cached files and temporary files when your device needs more space.


If storage on your device differs from what you see in Finder or iTunes

Since Finder and iTunes categorize cached files as Other, reported usage for Music or Videos might differ. To view usage on your device, go to Settings > General > [Device] Storage.


If you want to delete the cached files from your device

Your device automatically deletes cached files and temporary files when it needs more space. You don't need to delete them yourself.


In short --> IGNORE, if you are not convinced, Restart the device. You will see that Others Storage will reduce but total storage will remain more or less the same.


Watch the demo in the GIF below made on my iPhone 6 iOS 12.4.7


In short --> IGNORE, if you are not convinced, Restart the device. You will see that Others Storage will reduce but total storage will remain more or less the same


You may watch the same GIF in the form of Video on YouTube --> Others Storage consuming lot of space on an iPhone


Aug 17, 2020 7:13 AM in response to SravanKrA

I’ve restarted many times, restored several times to no help. What it seems is that the phone isn’t clearing the cache.


I haven’t saved any offline content. I don’t have any video streaming apps which might have a large cache.


When this started the “other” was 4 gigs, after deleting apps and photos it grew to over 8 gigs (this is a 16 gig device). On my wife’s phone the other category has grown to 25 gigs. It keeps growing to fill any empty space and restarting doesn’t reset that.


Its not an illusion either: apps like Gmail, Google, and Instagram will crash, photos stored on iCloud can’t download to my phone, I can’t take new photos either.

iPhone “other” storage maxes out phone memory

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