The iOS 11 is quite exciting, mainly because of its interesting features. Unfortunately, if you’re stuck with an older iPhone, the new operating system may turn into a nightmare because of lack of storage. Those problems will start to bother users even more when they have to update their system. In case you want to update iPhone but you’re running extremely low on storage caused by various app data, photos, videos and more, your iPhone will notify you that it’s impossible. Still, here’s how to update iPhone when low on storage.
Don’t update wirelessly
Not updating wirelessly means using iTunes and that way try to avoid the problem. Many users refer to this solution when they want to update iPhone when low on storage and it works most of the time.
Users connect their iPhone to computer, and then the computer is the one that downloads the firmware update instead of the phone, saving its storage. The iTunes is capable of reading the data of the phone and keeps only the files that are necessary for installation and your data. Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Make sure to plug your iPhone in the computer or Mac that you will use to conduct the update. If iTunes app doesn’t launch automatically, make sure to launch it yourself.
Step 2: Find the iPhone icon located at the top left side of the program and click it. The icon is located beneath the playback controls.
Step 3: After a window pops up, it will promptly inform you whether there is a new software version awaiting to be installed on your iPhone. In case it doesn’t, ensure to click Check for Update button in the Summary box in the program.
Step 4: If the program detects an update, proceed by clicking Download and Update in the pop-up window. After that, the installation will start, taking several minutes until your iPhone is promptly updated regardless of the free or taken storage. However, make sure to have battery completely charged up so nothing wrong occurs during the update.
How to update iPhone when low on storage without iTunes
When you’re running low on storage, you don’t always know what is causing it to be so low. Fortunately, in setting app of your iPhone, every app has the amount of storage it takes written inside its basic information.
Navigate to the Settings app and tap general. Go to Storage & iCloud Usage and tap Manage Storage.
The app will show you how much storage has each app taken from you. You can erase the data or compare it as apps sorted from the most to the least amount of storage. If you like to play games, there are some games that can take up to 1GB of Storage. If you don’t play such game as often, maybe it’s a good time to delete it.
Other things to do
If you don’t want to get rid of your favorite games and apps, there are several other things to do that should enable you to update iPhone when low on storage. Deleted voicemails and photos aren’t really deleted. User needs to clear them out in order for them to permanently disappear from the phone. To clear voicemails go to Phone, tap Voicemail. Go to Deleted Messages and tap Clear All. Clearing photos is similar. Go to the Photos app and tap Albums. After that, tap Recently Deleted, select each photo that you want gone from your iPhone permanently and finally, tap delete.
Lastly, if you’re using HDR images, make sure to delete the casual photos as there are already two copies of every photo staying on your phone and filling up your memory. Make sure to delete every image that isn’t HDR and that way save some more space for your iPhone.
Did any of these tips help you update your iPhone? Let us know in the comments.