iCloud storage is full, what to do - simple cleaning instructions

As part of a limited promotion, Apple is allowing all iCloud users to temporarily get 50GB of cloud storage for free, up from the standard 5GB. It doesn't matter how long you've been using Apple cloud storage - even if you previously bought an iCloud extended plan of 50 GB or more (you just need to upgrade to 5 GB in advance). You can get a free seat in a few seconds, but this is not a permanent promotion. Let's look into it in more detail.

You can use iCloud for free for 4 months

The new promotion, which Apple appears to be running jointly with reseller re:Store, works similarly to the Apple Music trial period. It allows you to get 50 GB in iCloud for 4 months from the date of participation. That is, at the end of the free period, you will need to make a decision - either continue to use the extended plan and pay 59 rubles per month, or switch again to the tariff with 5 GB of storage.

About free iCloud storage - how much space is allocated

Developers provide 5 GB of iCloud storage for free. You can store in it:

audio recordings;
video files;
messages and their attachments;
programs;
mail;
bookmarks in the Safari browser;
books and PDF files;
iCloud Drive content
backups and more.

If this space is not enough for you, you can buy additional volume - 50 GB, 200 GB or 2 TB (can be used by the whole family on different devices).

Flash drive for iPhone

A flash drive for iPhone can even have 512 GB of memory

This is the simplest flash drive for iPhone. Its price starts at 342 rubles for the 4 GB version, but there are also more serious models: 64, 128, 256 and even 512 GB. However, even here the prices do not bite. The top modification costs only 1.5 thousand. In my opinion, this is an excellent offer, considering that it connects to the PC via USB-A and has a removable USB-C adapter. That is, you can use the flash drive not only with the iPhone.

Buy a flash drive for iPhone

The operating principle of such a flash drive is extremely simple. Install the application, slide out the Lightning connector and connect the accessory to your smartphone. It’s clear that you can’t leave a flash drive in your smartphone forever. Therefore, it is best to use it only for downloading not the most important files: high-resolution photos and videos, downloaded files and music.

How to see how much iCloud memory is used

You can check your iCloud status by going to Settings on your device. This is done like this:

Open the settings menu.
Click on the device name (account).
Next is “iCloud”.

A color scale will appear at the top of the screen, showing how much space is occupied and by what. Those who have not yet created an account when installing iOS will need to do so by providing an AppleID and password.

iCloud doesn't display music, books, or movies purchased from iTunes. The photo stream and pictures uploaded to the library are also not loaded there.

Lightning flash drive for iPhone

This flash drive allows you to protect data with a fingerprint scanner

This flash drive is of a higher class than the previous one, and therefore costs more money. It is arranged, plus or minus, the same way: on one side there is Lightning, on the other there is USB-C, built into USB-A, which opens like a car hood. But the accessory itself is made of aluminum, not plastic, and the manufacturer promises the highest read and write speeds, comparable to the built-in memory of modern Apple devices.

Buy a Lightning flash drive

The actual speed is not disclosed, but the manufacturer assures that a full movie is copied to a flash drive in just 50 seconds. If we assume that it weighs 2 GB, then it turns out that the write speed is approximately 40 MB / s, which, although not bad, is still not fast enough. However, satisfied users who write reviews note that the accessory is quite fast, so there are no complaints about it.

How to buy more storage memory

You can increase the storage size on any device: iPhone, iMac, iPad, iPod and PC. To do this you need to follow a few simple steps:

Go to "Settings".
Click on the device name.
Select the iCloud tab.
Next, “Manage storage” or “iCloud storage”.
Below the scale there is a section “Change storage plan”. In earlier versions of iOS – “Buy more space”.
Check out the pricing policy and choose the appropriate tariff plan.
Click "Buy".

Then follow the instructions and make the payment. On Mac computers, the purchase follows a slightly different pattern:

Click on the Apple icon, which opens a menu.
Select "System Settings".
Click on the iCloud icon.
Then “Buy additional space” or “Change storage plan.”

After selecting your plan, enter your AppleID and complete your purchase. Windows PC owners need to open the iCloud for Windows program and select Storage. Further actions will be similar to those described above.

Europe, Middle East and Africa

Albania 2, 3 (USD) 50GB: $1.19 200GB: $ 3.59 2TB : $11.99

Belarus 2, 3 (USD) 50 GB: $1.19 200 GB: $3.49 2 TB: $11.99

Bulgaria 3 (BGN) 50 GB: BGN 1.99 200 GB: BGN 5.99 2 TB: BGN 18.99

Croatia 3 (Croatian Kuna) 50 GB: 7.99 Croatian Kuna 200 GB: 24.99 Croatian Kuna 2 TB: 79.99 Croatian Kuna

Czech Republic 3 (CZK) 50 GB: CZK 25 200 GB: CZK 79 2 TB: CZK 249

Denmark 3 (DKK) 50 GB: DKK 7 200 GB: DKK 25 2 TB: DKK 69

Egypt 3 (EGP) 50 GB: EGP 18.99 200 GB: EGP 54.99 2 TB: EGP 189.99

Eurozone 3 (Euro) 50 GB: €0.99 200 GB: €2.99 2 TB: €9.99

Hungary 3 (HUF) 50 GB: HUF 299 200 GB: HUF 899 2 TB : HUF 2990

Nigeria (Nigerian Naira) 50 GB: 300 Nigerian Naira 200 GB: 900 Nigerian Naira 2 TB: 2900 Nigerian Naira

Pakistan (Pak Rupees) 50 GB: PKR 100 200 GB: PKR 300 2 TB: PKR 1000

Iceland 2, 3 (USD) 50GB: $1.23 200GB: $3.71 2TB : $12.39

How to free up space on iCloud

There are several ways to free up cloud storage memory. We highly recommend using them all. Unnecessary files can be located in any of the device programs.

Cleaning up the image library

According to statistics, photos take up the most space in iCloud. To free up memory, go to the photo stream and manually delete unnecessary pictures and their duplicates, previously taken screenshots. Those who constantly post photos on Instagram may not notice that the filtered versions are saved in the phone's memory.

But that's not all. Deleted files continue to be stored on the phone for some time. This is done so that the user can find and restore a file erased by mistake. Therefore, to completely clear memory you need to:

Go to the image library.
Open folder display mode.
Find the Recently Deleted folder.
Confirm action.

You can remove duplicates using third-party programs, for example, Gemini.

Transfer photos from storage to PC

If all the photos on the device have not lost their relevance, you can not delete them, but transfer them to your computer. How to do it:

Go to iCloud settings on your device.
Select the Manage Storage tab.
Next, go to “Photos”, click on the “Disable and Delete” button.
Back up your photos to your PC or transfer them manually by connecting the device via a cord.
Delete all photos from iCloud.

New photos will still be saved to iCloud. You can disable this option in the cloud storage settings.

Delete old and backup copies of the device

To find out if your device has old backups, go to iCloud settings. Next you will need:

Click "Manage Storage".
Select "Backup".
Click on the unnecessary copy, then “Delete backup”.
The last step is to click the “Disable and Delete” button.

Before deleting old copies, it is best to create a new one by connecting the gadget to iTunes on your computer.

Change backup settings

If the user has iCloud backup enabled, all installed programs will be automatically saved in memory. To see which applications are taking up storage space, go to the “Backups” section.

Next, click on the icon of your device. The screen will display a list of all programs whose data is saved in the cloud.

You must select those applications that do not need to be archived.

Note! If several devices are synchronized under one iCloud account, each of them takes up memory. Check the settings of each device by going to the archiving options.

Clearing files from iCloud Drive

Clearing iCloud Drive will also help free up memory:

Open iCloud Settings.
Select the Manage Storage tab.
Go to iCloud Drive.
A list of all files stored in iCloud Drive will open.
Find the unnecessary file, slide it to the left with your finger and delete it.

Clearing messages and their attachments

Those who use the iMessage service may not realize that photos, voice messages and other attachments are saved along with their backup copy. You can delete them while saving the correspondence:

Go to iMessage.
Select the message thread you want to delete and click the corresponding button.
To erase only attachments, click Details.
A special menu will open where all files will be displayed.
Click "More", select several photos or videos and delete them.

All text messages will remain in iCloud storage. You can also delete old conversations, freeing up even more space. To erase files from What's Up, select this option from iCloud storage. You can also do this manually in the program itself.

External hard drive

Another option for expanding iPhone memory is to use an external hard drive. Just don't confuse it with a flash drive. Here, the hard drive will connect to your device using Wi-Fi, so you can transfer any type of data on the fly without using any cables or inputs. An example of such media would be the SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick, the capacity of which varies from 16 to 256 GB.

This hard drive has a power button as well as a wireless indicator light. It comes with MicroSD, so you can replace it with any other size. The device itself acts as an intermediary. At one end of the drive there is a USB input so that the user can transfer files to computers and other devices not only via a wireless network, but also using the standard method via a USB port. To configure the drive, there is built-in software where you can set certain parameters. The cost of such a device varies from 3,300 to 6,000 rubles.

Asian-Pacific area

Armenia 2, 3 50 GB: $1.19 200 GB: $3.49 2 TB: $11.99

Australia 3 (AUD) 50GB: AUD1.49 200GB: AUD4.49 2TB: AUD14.99

China Continental 3 (CNY) 50 GB: CNY 6 200 GB: CNY 21 2 TB: CNY 68

Hong Kong (HKD) 50GB: HKD8 200GB: HKD23 2TB : HKD78

India 3 (INR) 50 GB: INR 75 200 GB: INR 219 2 TB: INR 749

Indonesia (IDR) 50 GB: IDR 15,000 200 GB: IDR 45,000 2 TB: IDR 149,000

Japan 3 (JPY) 50 GB: JPY 130 200 GB: JPY 400 2 TB: JPY 1,300

Kazakhstan (Kazakh tenge) 50 GB: 349 Kazakhstan tenge 200 GB: 999 Kazakhstan tenge 2 TB: 3490 Kazakhstan tenge

Malaysia (MYR) 50GB: RM3.90 200GB: RM11.90 2TB: RM39.90

New Zealand 3 (NZD) 50 GB: NZD 1.69 200 GB: NZD 4.99 2 TB: NZD 16.99

Philippines (PHP) 50GB: PHP49 200GB: PHP149 2TB: PHP499

Republic of Korea (KRW) 50 GB: KRW 1,100 200 GB: KRW 3,300 2 TB: KRW 11,100

Singapore (SGD) 50GB: S$1.28 200GB: S $3.98 2TB: S$12.98

Taiwan 3 (NTD) 50GB: NT$30 200GB: NT$90 2TB : NT$300

Thailand (THB) 50 GB: THB 35 200 GB: THB 99 2 TB: THB 349

Vietnam (Vietnamese dong) 50 GB: 19,000 Vietnamese dong 200 GB: 59,000 Vietnamese dong 2 TB: 199,000 Vietnamese dong

1. In countries and regions that do not support local currencies (such as Argentina), storage upgrade fees will be charged in US dollars. Learn more about countries and regions that charge in US dollars.

2. iCloud storage upgrade prices for Albania, Armenia, Belarus and Iceland are quoted in US dollars. Due to value added tax (VAT), prices were slightly higher.

3. Taxes are included in all prices for the following countries and regions: Australia, Austria, Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, UK, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Egypt, India, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus , China mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, United Arab Emirates, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russia, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Taiwan, Turkey, Finland, France, Croatia , Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia, South Africa and Japan.

4. In some US states, tax will be added to the monthly payment amount (subject to local laws).

Available payment methods for iCloud Advanced Storage include credit cards, debit cards, and an Apple ID account. If you don't have enough credit in your Apple ID, you'll be billed for the remaining amount. Apple Store Gift Cards are not accepted for premium iCloud storage plans. Learn how to manage your storage usage.