iPhone storage full, but I have 2TB of iCloud storage

Hi,


Nobody answered the post by Nutter173…


Phone storage full, but have 2TB of iCloud - Apple Community


I have the exact same issue and question as Nutter stated in their post to a T. Is there anyone that knows the answer?


Additionally, is there a way to format iCloud storage as an extension of your iPhone’s internal storage? Similar to an SD card? This seems like it would fix the problem altogether by making the phone storage larger which would prevent the “phone storage full” notification from happening and subsequently leading to the inability to use certain features, such as the camera. I really thought this was how the iCloud storage worked years ago when I first had my iPhone. As they have been updating and changing the iPhone, it’s become less user friendly, imo. I don’t ever remember needing to make so many changes in the settings just to get my phone to work and still have problems with the storage. Not to mention, my phone is lagging terribly and it is starting to seem pointless that I’m paying for 2TB of additional storage each month that I am not able to use as intended at a rather high price ($10+ tax/mo x12mo = ~$130/year).


Thank you in advance for your time and help!

iPhone 12 Pro Max, iOS 16

Posted on May 17, 2023 11:23 PM

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2 replies

May 17, 2023 11:35 PM in response to meli51

meli51 Said:

"iPhone storage full, but I have 2TB of iCloud storage: Hi, Nobody answered the post by Nutter173… Phone storage full, but have 2TB of iCloud - Apple Community I have the exact same issue and question as Nutter stated in their post to a T. Is there anyone that knows the answer?[...]"

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Clear Space.


Troubleshooting iPhone Storage:

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...

Clear Space Using my User Tips:


May 17, 2023 11:49 PM in response to meli51

meli51 Said:

"iPhone storage full, but I have 2TB of iCloud storage: [...]is there a way to format iCloud storage as an extension of your iPhone’s internal storage? Similar to an SD card?[...]"

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Using External Storage with iCloud:

No. This is not an option. iCloud is cloud (virtual)storage. Hard Drives and SD cards are internal/external hardware storage. So, when it comes to cloud storage, other than iCloud, your only other option there would be to go through your ISP, asking about setting up a remote server client. FTP would be the protocol to use.


So, what to do...

Download All of iCloud:

One thought would be to download all of iCloud, and then search through it in Finder on a Mac. You would download it to an external drive, and then open the drive in Finder. Search through it using the search bar on the top-right corner of the Finder window. As for saving space, once downloaded, verify your can access the data, and then trash what is in iCloud, if you want to empty it, all 100%. Use my user tip: Getting a Quick and Direct "iCloud Drive-to-External Hard Drive" Download - User Tip

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iPhone storage full, but I have 2TB of iCloud storage

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