iPad Storage Almost Full? Here’re 9 Tips [iPadOS 17 Supported]

There is a warning popping up that iPad storage is almost full and you can manage your storage in Settings when I try to save photos on iPad. But when I checked the iPad storage, it’s not full. Why does my iPad say storage is almost full? I don’t want to receive the message and what can I do?

For many years, iPads have been one of the most reliable devices for many users. With a bigger screen and better portability, the iPad successfully bridges the gap between an iPhone and Macbooks. For people who don’t know, Apple’s iPad runs on an independent operating system - iPadOS that comes with features that are particularly tailored for the bigger iPad screens.

ipad storage almost full

And, like the traditional iOS, even iPadOS can run into several unexpected errors. “iPad storage almost full” is one such error that many iPad users encounter from time to time. If you’re also seeing this error message on your iPad screen, continue reading - we’ll share different solutions that’ll help you optimize your iPad’s storage and fix the error.

Part 1: What is Taking Up Storage on My iPad?

Now, before you go ahead and start resolving the error, it would be better to check the current storage status of your iPad. To do this, you can go to iPad settings and analyze the storage. Start by opening the “Settings” app and then press “General”. Inside the “General” menu, click on “Storage & iCloud Usage”.

check ipad storage

Here you’ll see a complete status of your iPad’s current storage. In case the storage is full, go ahead and remove a few unnecessary files from the device.

ipad storage

Part 2: 9 Tips to Fix iPad Almost Full

Tip 1: Remove Unused Apps

In the majority of cases, apps are the real culprits that eat up the highest storage space on an iPad. So, before everything else, make sure to go through your app list and delete applications that you don’t use frequently. Removing these rarely used apps will help you create enough storage space on your iPad and avoid running into the “iPad storage almost full” error.

In order to uninstall the apps, go to “Settings>General” and then click on “Storage & iCloud Usage”. Then, tap on “Manage Storage” and select the files that you want to uninstall. Click “Delete App” to complete the process.

delete unused apps

Tip 2: Delete Media Collections in Apps

If you’ve been using your iPad for a while now, you may already know that many apps automatically download several media files to function properly. While 2-3 media files may not cause any issues, if they continue to accumulate on each other, your iPad will most likely run out of storage space shortly. This is why you should always keep a check on all the apps and remove unnecessary media collections from time to time.

Tip 3: Clear Safari Cache

If you frequently use Safari on your iPad, it might be the reason behind the “iPad storage almost full” error. Like any other web browser, even Safari automatically stores cached files to deliver a better user experience. However, when these cached files pile up, they occupy considerable storage space.

So, if your iPad’s storage space is still full, clear the Safari caches and check if this frees up the storage space or not. Click on “Settings” and select “Safari”. Then, tap the “Clear History & Website Data” option and tap on “Clear” to delete all the cache files in Safari.

clear Safari cache

Tip 4: Delete Email and Messages

Like the other media files, even emails and messages occupy significant storage space on an iPad, especially when you haven’t cleared them in a while. So, if the previous solutions didn’t clear your iPad’s storage, open the “Messages” app and tap “Edit” at the top-left corner. Then, select the threads that you want to remove and click “Delete” to erase them permanently. You can repeat the same process with the “Email” app to delete random email threads.

delete messages

Tip 5: Delete Songs on iPad

If you have stored offline songs on your iPad, it would be better to remove them when the storage gets full. Songs usually eat up a lot of space and saving them offline is not practical either. Instead, you can use live streaming platforms like Spotify and YouTube music to listen to your favorite tracks without killing the iPad’s storage space.

Tip 6: Delete “Other” Data in iPad via Finder/iTunes

While scrolling through your iPad’s storage management, you’ll see a dedicated tab named “Others”. This folder mainly contains files that are miscellaneous and don’t usually fall under a specific category.

If you don’t clear these miscellaneous files, they’ll most likely continue to accumulate and occupy the storage space. So, connect your iPad to Mac and open the iTunes app. Here you’ll see how much space is occupied by “Other” files. You can then delete these files to free up the storage space.

delete other data via iTunes

Tip 7: Enable Cloud Services for Videos and Photos

One of the easiest ways to optimize iPad storage space and tackle the “iPad storage almost full error” is to enable cloud services such as iCloud and DropBox. With cloud services enabled, your device will automatically save all your photos and videos on the cloud and keep your device’s storage space clutter-free. Here’s how to enable cloud services on your iPad.

  1. Step 1. Open the “Settings” app and click “Photos”.
  2. Step 2. Inside the “Photos” menu, simply toggle the switch on to enable “iCloud Photos”.

    enable icloud photos

Once this feature is enabled, all your photos and videos will be saved on iCloud and you’ll be able to keep the storage space free.

Tip 8: Turn off Automatic Download and Background Apps Refresh Service

Today, almost every iPad application has an auto-update feature that automatically installs the latest updates. However, it’s worth understanding that not every app needs to be updated. If there are rarely opened apps on your iPad, you can simply disable the “Automatic Download & Background Apps” feature to fix the "iPad storage almost full warning".

  1. Step 1. Again, launch the “Settings” app and click “iTunes & App Store”.
  2. Step 2. Click “Automatic Downloads” and turn off the “Updates” feature.

    disable automatic updates

Tip 9: Fix iPad Storage Almost Full with A Data Manager Software [Free & Easy]

In case you’re still seeing the “iPad storage almost full warning” and there are files that you can’t delete, we recommend using UltFone iOS Data Manager. It’s a feature-packed iOS data management tool that’s designed to manage iOS data more conveniently.

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The key features of UltFone iOS Data Manager:

  • Backup iPhone/iPad/iPod data to computer without iTunes/iCloud.[Free]
  • Transfer files between iOS devices and Computer with a few clicks.
  • Support add, delete, export and import files and merge contacts.
  • Files include messages, reminders, calendars, bookmarks and etc.
  • Compatible with the latest iPhone 14 and iOS/iPadOS 16

So, here’s the step-by-step process to backup your files from the iPad to the computer using UltFone iOS Data Manager.

  • Step 1 Install and launch UltFone iOS Data Manager on your system and connect your iPad using a USB Type-C cable. Once the device gets recognized, switch to the “Backup & Restore” feature to get started.

    backup ipad to fix ipad storage almost full

  • Step 2 Now, select the files that you want to back up on your computer and click “Backup” at the bottom-right corner.

    backing up ipad data

  • Step 3 The tool will initiate the backup process. Be patient as this process will take a few minutes to complete. Once the process completes, click “View Backup List” at the bottom-right corner to complete the process.

    ipad backup is completed

That’s it; UltFone iOS Manager will backup all the selected files to your computer and you’ll be able to manage your iPad’s storage more effectively.

Conclusion

So, that’s how you can troubleshoot the iPad storage almost full error on your iPad. It doesn’t matter which iPad model you’re using, you’ll be able to free up the storage space and keep its performance up to the mark and avoid unexpected errors. And to manage your iPad storage better, it is highly recommended to use UltFone iOS Data Manager as it can not only backup data but import, export and delete data.

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  • Selectively restore backup to iPhone/iPad.
  • Transfer files on iPhone/iPad/iPod to/from computer freely without limitation
  • One click to export photos to computer
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