ICloud storage full: “Not Enough Storage”. Backups exceed 5GB

backupicloudstorage

Not enough storage

Just like everyone else, I get the notification that my iCloud is full and no backup can be made. iOS gives me the suggestion to upgrade my storage on my iCloud account. Because I only want to store my settings, phone numbers and other 'light' stuff, I see no reason to upgrade. I think a few gigabytes should be more than plenty to backup my device(s).

What is taking all the space on my iCloud?

First I checked on my Mac – OS X Mavericks

On OS X I have checked the following in 'System Preferences' -> 'iCloud':

  • Backup 4.44 GB
  • Documents 550.7 MB
  • Mail 5 MB

System Settings iCloud

Okay, my major storage exists of the type 'Backup'. I Guess these are the backups from my iPad and iPhone, but System prefs gives me no further clue. Lets look at my iPhone

I got out my iPhone – iOS 8.4

I go to 'Settings' -> 'iCloud':

  • iCloud Drive ON
  • Photos ON
    • iCloud Photo Library OFF
    • My Photo Stream OFF
    • iCloud Photo Sharing ON
  • Mail OFF
  • Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Safari, Notes, Passbook ON
  • Backup, Keychain, Find My iPhone ON

iCloud settings

Then I go to 'Settings' -> 'iCloud' -> 'Storage':

  • Total storage 5.0 GB
  • Available 15.9 MB

iCloud Storage

I go to 'Settings' -> 'iCloud' -> 'Storage' -> 'Manage Storage':

LAST BACKUP FAILED

An additional 5 GB of storage is required. To
continue backing up this iPhone do one of the following:

  • Change your backup options
  • Delete some data
  • Buy more storage

Also, it gives me the following use of my data:

Backups:

  • iPhone backup of 4.3 GB
  • iPad backup of 137.4 MB

Documents & Data:

  • Some documents with a total of 534.6 MB

full

Okay, so all my storage goes to 'Backups'. Lets select the iPhone backup (and here is where I get lost…)

'Settings' -> 'iCloud' -> 'Storage' -> 'Manage Storage' -> 'iPhone Backup':

BACKUP OPTIONS

Choose the data you want to back up.
An additional 5.0GB is required to back up
this iPhone

Next Backup Size 5.0 GB ⚠️

  • Photo Library 2.3 GB OFF
  • WhatsApp 550 MB OFF
  • Keynote 238 MB OFF

What is taking space?

There is no space requiring stuff to backup and still is it taking 5.0GB… What does my phone want to backup that takes 5.0 GB of space? Is there a way to visualise this? I only want to backup some settings and contacts, no major stuff…

How can I backup my stuff with the default 5 GB?

Best Answer

What to do when you do not have enough storage because your backup size is too large:

  • Delete the current backup on your iCloud for that specific iOS device.
  • Your iCloud backup is now automatically turned off, so turn it back on.
  • A new backup is made and has a reasonable size.

Theoretically your phone could crash in the short while you do not have a backup, so you could run an iTunes backup first.

storage