This article explains how to get rid of System Storage on an iPhone as well as looks at the limitations involved in the process, and how you can reduce its size.
What Is System Data in iPhone Storage?
Basically, the System Data category on your iPhone comprises many different files that you might think about, where your caches, settings, saved messages, voice memos, and…well, any other miscellaneous data is stored. In the old versions of iOS, Apple referred to this as Other storage. These files are usually too small to have separate categories, so your iPhone or iPad groups them all together in the System Data or Other folder.
Give a new name to other as System Data is more apt and not too much strange, since users can get an obvious idea of what’s in the folder. Despite this, there’s no easy way to identify and delete the contents of the folder due to the many files grouped together in the category.
But don’t be worried; difficult does not mean impossible. We will show you a few tips to deal with this problem.
Let’s briefly look at how to view your iPhone storage to know whether System Data is taking up too much space before we start.
Clearing your iPhone’s System Storage
You may want to get rid of any updates that were not necessary. If you decide not to install a Beta update or any other update, you might still find it saved in the System Storage. To find and get rid of any updates you don’t want to hold on to:
1.Tap Settings.
2.Click General.
3.Click iPhone Storage.
4.Scroll until you find Software Update.
5. You can pick the update and you will find a selection to hit that reads Delete Update.
You can also work on deleting caches that are not necessary on your phone. These are saved data from app use that don’t really need to hang around that long, but do. Unfortunately, there is not a way to clear caches universally. You will have to go into each app and look for how to clear its cache. You might also get rid and reinstall the app. However, you can easily delete your browser’s cache, which takes up quite a bit of data. If you use Safari, you’d find Safari under Settings, select it and tap “Clear History and Website Data.”
Another uncomplicated point is to simply get rid of all those apps that you don’t use anymore, thus freeing up more system storage.
1.You just need to press and hold the app you want to delete.
2. A menu will pop up that gives you the option to remove the app at the bottom.
3. Tap the Remove App option.
4. Click Delete App.
5. You may have to click Delete again for confirmation.
You can also shrink the system storage on the iPhone by connecting it to iTunes through your computer like you normally would using a USB cable. You just have to:
1.Open iTunes.
2.Connect the iPhone to the computer with the USB cable.
3.Unlock your iPhone.
4.Let the two sync automatically for a few minutes.
5.You can now check how the sync altered the System Storage. Go to Settings, then General and then down to Storage. Then go down to System Data, which may have shrunk in size.
6.You can disconnect your phone from the computer.
The added storage can help your phone run more optimally and save room for things you actually use.
How Can I Reduce iPhone System Storage?
While you can’t just delete iPhone system storage, you can perform a few steps to reduce it. Below is an overview of how to reduce iPhone system storage.
There’s no one solution to reducing your system storage so work your way through the ideas below to utilize it.
- Restart your iPhone to clear lots of the non-permanent files contained within system storage.
- Reduce your message history. All your messages are kept as cache files within system storage. Click Settings > Messages > Message History > and reduce the length of time in which your messages are saved to reduce the data used.
- Delete and reinstall apps. All apps keep a certain amount of temporary data within system storage. Delete and reinstall them to clear it.
- Factory reset your iPhone. Restoring your iPhone to its original settings is a big step, but it often clears space you can’t delete in any other way. Consider it as a last resort solution.