How to erase iPhone system data to get more storage
While checking iPhone storage, you must have found Instant takes up a significant amount of storage capacity. In addition to deleting photos and media to get extra space, you should also erase iPhone system data to free up storage.
What is iPhone system data? How to reduce those large system files to smaller ones?
That’s what you will know in this post.
Table of Contents
What is system data on iPhone?
System is the space occupied by the operating system on the iPhone. This may vary depending on your device and model. Generally speaking, iPhone system storage contains 2 types:
• System files that are necessary to operate the core system of iPhone and iPad.
• Temporary system files that include backups, logs, caches, configurations, and other files.
To check your iPhone’s system storage, you need to tap Settings , then select General and tap iPhone Storage . You can then view the iPhone’s total storage and used storage taken by System, Photos, Apps, Media, and Others .
iPhone system files are often invisible to users and you cannot access or open them directly as if you were viewing a photo or video.
To erase system data from iPhone, you will need to move to the next part.
How to Delete iPhone System Files (3 Ways)
Erase iPhone system and other storage files without restoring
Just like cleaning computer system files, you will need a professional iPhone system cleaning tool as it cannot distinguish between junk system files and necessary operating system files.
iPhone Cleaner is a system junk removal tool for iPhone. It can scan iPhone and remove those junk system files including caches, invalid system files, temporary files and locked log files quickly. Additionally, you can free up more space by uninstalling apps, cleaning up large files, and deleting photos that take up a lot of space on your iOS device.
iPhone Cleaner – Clean iPhone System Data
- Delete large files on iPhone, iPad, and iPod with iOS 16 and earlier.
- Uninstall apps and app data to free up space on iPhone.
- Delete photos from iPhone without erasing data through backup.
- Erase all content and settings on iPhone before a sale, gift, etc.
The steps to erase iPhone system data are quite simple.
Free download this iPhone system cleaner software on Windows or Mac computer depending on your device. Run it after successful installation.
Connect your iPhone to this computer via USB cable. Don’t forget to unlock iPhone and tap Trust to confirm on iPhone.
Select Free up space in the left panel and click Clear junk files from the drop-down list.
Then this software will start a system junk scan on the iPhone. You can check the scanning progress bar on the right panel.
When the scanning process is completed, you can find all system junk files categorized in the right panel. Check the box before system types and click the delete button in the lower right corner to clean iPhone system files immediately.
This method can also clean junk files in Other Storage on iPhone .
Wipe iPhone system data by restoring
The second option to clear iPhone system space is to restore iPhone or iPad to factory settings.
However, while erasing all system data on iPhone, it will also erase all content and settings on iPhone or iPad.
That’s a pretty extreme option!
There are 3 ways to restore iPhone to factory settings:
1. Go to Settings on iPhone, tap General , hit Reset Settings and select Erase Contents and Settings .
2. Connect iPhone to a computer where you should be running the latest version of iTunes, find your iPhone Device , click Summary, and finally click restore iPhone .
To be clear: Before you erase iPhone system files by restoring, you must backup iPhone data to avoid any data loss.
Delete iPhone System Files by Clearing iPhone App Caches
As mentioned above, iPhone system files are generated by caches, logs, and more. Therefore, you can clear app caches to get more space.
There are various apps installed on iPhone such as Safari, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and more. The method of clearing app caches varies for different apps.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cleaning iPhone System Storage
Can we upgrade iPhone 6s from 16 GB to 64 GB?
No. Unlike Android, which adds more storage when you insert an SD card, the iPhone’s internal storage is confirmed when you purchase it. Apple currently does not offer services to upgrade iPhone storage. But you can purchase your iCloud storage to store data on the cloud service.
How to get more storage on iPhone?
There are several ways to get more space besides purchasing the iCloud service. You can delete unwanted data such as photos, videos, music, etc., and wipe iPhone system data.
What is Other in Data Usage on iPhone?
Other refers to non-removable mobile assets such as Siri voices, fonts, dictionaries, non-removable logs and caches, Spotlight index, and system data such as keychain, CloudKit database, and cached files that the system cannot delete.
Also Read: How to Delete Temporary Files on iPhone (Speed Up iPhone Safely)
Conclusion
System data takes up a lot of space on iPhone. When your iPhone storage increases, erasing iPhone system data can be a good solution. This page collects 3 ways to delete iPhone system files. To erase iPhone system data without restoring, you need to use iPhone Cleaner. If you only have a free way to get more space, you can erase all content and settings on iPhone.
