Deleted files in Files app will not delete

[iratethepirate]

In my Files App > Deleted Files list there is a bunch of zip archives that are rather large in size that I can not delete. When you use the delete all function, the files disappear, but then when you renter the deleted files folder again the files appeared as if they weren’t deleted [as it doesn’t reclaim my space, they are in fact not deleted].

After hours of research I can not find a solution that works. Even some have thrown in that a soft reboot works, but that didn’t solve my issue. Still frustrated. Any suggestions would be appreciated whether or not they will accomplish my goal.

I don’t own a Mac. Just this iPhone XS Max with the latest version of iOS 13. Most of my space is being wasted by unwanted files that can not be deleted as of now, and that is a huge problem.

 

[0128672]

You mention only using the Delete All function. What happens if you try to delete an individual file?

 

[iratethepirate]

You mention only using the Delete All function. What happens if you try to delete an individual file?

Same results.

 

[0128672]

Have you tried signing out of the iCloud and back in again?

 

[iratethepirate]

Good question. How do I do that on the iPhone? I’m dumb I know...

 

[0128672]

Good question. How do I do that on the iPhone? I’m dumb I know...

Settings > [your name] at the top > scroll to the bottom > Sign out

 

[iratethepirate]

Yeah... no dice with that either. I even rebooted this phone while signed off the icloud but still nothing worked.

 

[0128672]

If these are large files, it might take them quite a while to delete. What’s the longest you’ve stayed in the Recently Deleted screen without doing anything else? I don’t know if that will make a difference. When you say large files, how large?

Also a user in an Apple Community discussion was able to resolve the issue by doing a hard reset on his device. This was from 2018 but you can try that too:

Files app won't remove files permamently … - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

 

[0128672]

Also here’s a MacRumors thread about the same thing:

Recently deleted in Files app won’t permanently delete from iPad

I’ve got a number of files from “On my iPad” deleted and currently in the “Recently deleted” section of the Files app. But I’ve tried numerous times and in numerous ways to permanently delete these ... but when I “select all”, press delete and confirm to delete, they Appear initially to be...

forums.macrumors.com

I hope these are helpful to you.

 

[iratethepirate]

Also here’s a MacRumors thread about the same thing:

Recently deleted in Files app won’t permanently delete from iPad

I’ve got a number of files from “On my iPad” deleted and currently in the “Recently deleted” section of the Files app. But I’ve tried numerous times and in numerous ways to permanently delete these ... but when I “select all”, press delete and confirm to delete, they Appear initially to be...

forums.macrumors.com

I hope these are helpful to you.

Yeah I read that before posting this of my own and didn’t help my case. But I finally found something that fixed this. There was some apps on my phone that I downloaded from a third party source and then I guessed if that could be the issue. It was. After uninstalling the apps now I got my storage back.

Thanks for all the efforts in helping me. Hopefully others having this issue will make good use of this thread.