How to clear “System Data” on Apple iOS devices in under 5 mins
Why did this happen?
When I was transferring my data from my older iPhone to a newer iPhone, the transfer failed around 80% transfer. It seems like iPhone prevents transfer of data when iPhone battery drops below a certain threshold. Therefore we had to reset the entire iPhone and restart the transfer process. This may have triggered the iPhone 13 to hold onto old data after the reset.
Other people with iPhone 13 pro/ any iPhone have similar problem:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-storage-full-thanks-to-system-data-storagegate.2327955/?post=30707768#post-30707768
Before attempting any of the following actions:
- Backup your iPhone to iCloud or Mac/PC
What options are there?
1. Force restart iPhone
“Press and quickly release the volume up button, press and quickly release the volume down button, then press and hold the side button. When the Apple logo appears, release the button. An illustration of a face up iPhone model without a Home button. The volume up and volume down buttons are shown on the left side of the device, and a side button is shown on the right side.”
2. Clear safari cache
- Settings > Safari, and tap Clear History and Website Data.
3. Turn off Analytics:
- Settings > Privacy > Analytics & Improvements. Is your “Share iPhone Analytics” toggle turned off?
- Restart iPhone and see if this helped.
4. iCloud Photos <<< Magic Bullet
The magic bullet for my iPhone was to turn off iCloud Photos and the entirety of the “System Data” was wiped clean. I believe somehow iCloud was holding on the previously failed attempt of the transfer data in some unknown folder in hopes to continue upgrading. Turning off this feature for iCloud photos immediately purged the “System Data”.
- General > Photos > iCloud Photos > Toggle this off
- General > Photos > My Photo Streams > Toggle this off
5. Final Resort: Backup and Restore
- Backup and Restore
— https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/09/07/how-to-get-back-other-storage-on-the-iphone-or-ipad - However, some users claim that restoring the iPhone does not work:
— https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/other-holding-22-gb-how-do-i-clear-this.2241598/
To Sum Up:
- When transferring data to newer iPhone. Always have both iPhone plugged into power source.
- Try the options mentioned above before final resort of backup and restore.
References:
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201265
- https://medium.com/macoclock/how-to-magically-clean-out-your-other-system-data-in-ios-ipados-d02468780efa
- https://medium.com/macoclock/how-to-magically-clean-out-your-other-system-data-in-ios-ipados-d02468780efa
#iPhone #iOS #Apple #system_data #space #storage #iphone-storage #ipad #cleanup
