10 Fixes for the iPhone “Storage Almost Full” Popup

It’s one of the most common issues right now for iPhone users. The super annoying iPhone almost full storage notification that popups up 10 times a minute on your iPhone! You know, the one that says ‘Storage Almost Full: you can manage your storage in Settings’.

My iPhone storage is almost full

One of the reasons behind your iPhone memory shrinkage (not an official term), aside from your music, photos and videos, is your cache. Cache is simply storage of old data for memory. Your apps accumulate a lot of cache, especially if they do not self-clean.

It’s suggested by Apple, that iOS app developers build apps that have a self-cleaning function which clears your app cache every so often. Unfortunately, not all developers do this! That sucks, especially because unlike some Android phones, iPhones do not have a ‘clear all cache’ button.

Common issue

I’m going to go ahead and assume there are a lot of people experiencing this iPhone storage issue. I think this is safe to say after reading thousands of complaints on Twitter, and having general face-to-face conversations with family, friends and colleagues!

Find out how to get rid of the iPhone ‘Storage Almost Full’ message right now. Simply follow the tips below to fix your iPhone storage problem.

So full I can’t even open WhatsApp!

Is your iPhone so full that you can no longer retrieve your WhatsApp messages? If you’re at this level of iPhone storage capacity, you only have a few moments left till your phone explodes…only joking! But that’s what it sometimes feels like when the ‘storage almost full’ popup interrupts your every move. Work your way through the tips below, each suggestion will free up space on your iPhone 6/6S/6 Plus/SE/5S/5C/4S or 4. The first few you may have already tried but bear with me. I need to list all options I’ve found.

Get rid of iPhone storage full popup

Although there actually is no real ‘Go away’ option on this popup, there is a way to make it disappear. Find out how to fix the iPhone storage problem below:

1. Delete unused apps

Go through every single app that you have downloaded. See if there are any apps that you no longer need or no longer use. If you find any lurking on your home screen, delete them now.

Go to Settings > General > Usage > Manage Storage > tap and delete any unwanted apps

2. Delete unwanted photos and videos

Boo! It’s never the favourite option when trying to clear space on your iPhone. But it will help massively, even if you just delete a few iPhone photos or videos.

• You may have a screenshot you no longer need
• You may have two selfies that look exactly the same (come on, we all do it!)
• You may have accidentally taken a cluster of identical pics with the shutter mode on your camera

3. Clear Safari cache

Similar to most web browser apps, Safari stores data (cache) to cut down time spent accessing frequently visited sites. Over time, this cache builds up quite a bit. See if you can free up some iPhone space by deleting your Safari internet cache. This is a great tip. Some users have cleared over 2GB of space from their iPhones after trying tips 3 and 4.

Go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data

To restart your iPhone:

Press home button and lock button together and hold for 10 seconds (or until iPhone switches off) > then turn iPhone back on

4. Delete and re-install Facebook app.

No this won’t delete any of your data, just your cache. The Facebook app is one of the apps mentioned earlier that does not automatically clear its cache. Tut tut! If you delete Facebook and restart your device, you should see an immediate difference in your iPhone storage.

Hold down Facebook app for 1.5 seconds > (your apps will start to jiggle about) > tap X on the Facebook app > tap delete

Now Restart iPhone

Press home button and lock button together and hold for 10 seconds (or until iPhone switches off) > then turn iPhone back on

5. Reset all settings

Resetting your settings will not erase any of your data, just your settings and preferences. So your music, photos, contacts and calendar events will be safe.

To Reset All Settings – Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings

6. Backup and restore

There are two ways to backup and restore an iPhone. One is through iTunes. The other is through iCloud. Backing up your device simply means making a copy of your iPhone’s data and settings in a file. Restoring your iPhone means replacing all your current data and settings, with all the data and setting within a previous iPhone backup file.

• Create iPhone backup
• Restore from iPhone backup

7. Backup without iTunes or iCloud

Some people have problems backing up to iTunes or iCloud. They may get an ‘iCloud Storage Full’ notification on their iPhones. Or iTunes may hit them with an ‘iTunes could not backup the iPhone’ error message.

Download Enigma Recovery and the application will copy existing data on your iPhone’s database to your computer. You can then happily delete things that have been backed up from your phone, knowing they are saved to your PC or laptop. Click the download button above from your Windows or Mac computer and follow these steps:

1. Download & install Enigma Recovery
2. Open to start screen
3. Connect iPhone to computer
4. Select all and start scan
5. View and Export data to computer
6. Delete data saved to your computer from your iPhone

Something extra!

Here’s a bonus! Enigma Recovery can also recover deleted iPhone data during the process above. Enigma Recovery is a smartphone recovery and retrieval system, compatible with both Android, iPhone and other iOS devices. It can successfully copy the contents of your iPhone database (including deleted items) to your Mac or PC.

The software can create a backup of your device on your computer. During which it can capture deleted text messages, iMessages, contacts, call logs, WhatsApp history (including attachments), calendar entries and notes!

8. Turn off iCloud drive

iCloud drive is a cool feature that allows you to access files from your mac or any other iOS device connected to iCloud. To create more space on your iPhone, turn off iCloud Drive:

Go to Settings > iCloud > iCloud Drive > Off

9. Newsstand apps

Some magazine apps from your newsstand may not automatically delete old issues or copies. Generally, most magazine apps keep the latest 3 issues in the app. Old issues are deleted as new ones appear. However, there are some that will just store the entire history of old issues within the app. This could cause your iPhone memory to reach its capacity sooner.

Open your magazine app now to check if this is happening to you.

10. Tweet @AppleSupport

If none of the above methods worked for you, try this Twitter tip! If you have a Twitter account, tweet @AppleSupport letting them know of your iPhone storage issue. Then keep an eye on your direct messages. They should get in contact and find a solution for you. The response rate it pretty good, not 100%, but it’s worth a try!

Do you have any more Tips to add? What worked for you? Comment below!