iCloud Backup taking up space, but no backup to delete

[Traverse]

I've had this issue for about 6 months. I assumed it would eventually sort itself out, but the problem persists.

Several months ago I moved to iTunes backups for my iPad and iPhone. I delete my backups using System Preferences on OS X, but at some point noticed that about 500 MB of my iCloud space is being used for backups, but there are no backups listed on any of my devices that can be deleted (see screenshot).

Any thoughts on how to proceed?

 

[grahamperrin]

A similar report: iCloud says that backups are using 3 GB of space, but there are no backups - Ask Different

Also in Ask Different, a different type of discrepancy: http://apple.stackexchange.com/q/216018

If you have an iOS device, does its view of iCloud storage list any backup?

 

[Traverse]

A similar report: iCloud says that backups are using 3 GB of space, but there are no backups - Ask Different

Also in Ask Different, a different type of discrepancy: http://apple.stackexchange.com/q/216018

If you have an iOS device, does its view of iCloud storage list any backup?

Thank you for the links. I've checked every device and none are showing any backups that I can delete. What I may do is turn on iCloud backups on one device and then turn it off after a first backup to see if that "replaces" this stagnant backup with a selectable file.

I reached out to Apple Support on Twitter and got this response:

We can understand your surprise at being other storage allocated as a backup but not seeing what it is. Often times you can see information stored, but not be able to delete it. Many times, it is because this is for essential files, other times it can be allocated for other uses. This article helps to explain the "other" category that is often found in the OS X: apple.co/1oRYdNX. Check this out and see if it helps lead you in the right direction. If not, let us know and we can start digging a little deeper. Thank you and have a great weekend!

Also with a link to a KB article about "Other" space used on iOS and Mac devices.

I'm not really happy with this response though, because I never had this kind of random usage until I disabled my iCloud backups. Up until then, I could account for all the starve space being used.

 

[Paul_W]

Hi, newbie here. Just wanted to add that I'm having the exact same problem. When I remove all my backups from icloud all my devices show a small usage for mail and nothing else, but it shows something like 4.4gig or 5gig available. When I login to icloud.com it shows 0.6gig used as backups. But again, no way to delete it

 

[countryside]

I have an issue where it says my iPhone backup is 24.56GB? :/

 

[maxsix]

I've tried to use, and enjoy iCloud. Sadly it's just another example of a bad service from Apple.

Google Drive is stellar, a terrific example of how well Google does the cloud.

In fact, my iOS experience is wonderful thanks to Google's fabulous apps. I use every iOS app Google provides. They make my iPhone and iPads so much nicer to use.

Fast, effective and reliable, they eliminate all need to bother with Apple's rather buggy sodtware.

 

[countryside]

I've tried to use, and enjoy iCloud. Sadly it's just another example of a bad service from Apple.

Google Drive is stellar, a terrific example of how well Google does the cloud.

In fact, my iOS experience is wonderful thanks to Google's fabulous apps. I use every iOS app Google provides. They make my iPhone and iPads so much nicer to use.

Fast, effective and reliable, they eliminate all need to bother with Apple's rather buggy sodtware.

I agree, iCloud Drive is terrible, and I hope Apple will make a better version.

 

[maxsix]

I agree, iCloud Drive is terrible, and I hope Apple will make a better version.

Yes, I would be very happy to be using iCloud if it wasn't so risky. I like the convenience of the Apple ecosystem... But it's slipped into such disarray over the last few years its caused me to discover how amazing Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Contacts, Calendar, Chrome, and others are.

Now that I have relied in Googles fine products exclusively for several years, I don't miss others like Apple.

 

[countryside]

Yes, I would be very happy to be using iCloud if it wasn't so risky. I like the convenience of the Apple ecosystem... But it's slipped into such disarray over the last few years its caused me to discover how amazing Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Contacts, Calendar, Chrome, and others are.

Now that I have relied in Googles fine products exclusively for several years, I don't miss others like Apple.

This is the same for me. I recently switched to gmail, chrome, calendar, googledrive, docs, sheets, slides, etc.

 

[Traverse]

A similar report: iCloud says that backups are using 3 GB of space, but there are no backups - Ask Different

Also in Ask Different, a different type of discrepancy: http://apple.stackexchange.com/q/216018

If you have an iOS device, does its view of iCloud storage list any backup?

Hi, newbie here. Just wanted to add that I'm having the exact same problem. When I remove all my backups from icloud all my devices show a small usage for mail and nothing else, but it shows something like 4.4gig or 5gig available. When I login to icloud.com it shows 0.6gig used as backups. But again, no way to delete it

For anyone that encounters this issue: iCloud sometimes reserves space for backups likely to happen it the future. It never expires and the only way to get rid of it is for a senior support manager to release it. I called Apple Care and after 15 minutes they had it fixed. I don't know why I waited over a year to do it though.

 

[Paul_W]

For anyone that encounters this issue: iCloud sometimes reserves space for backups likely to happen it the future. It never expires and the only way to get rid of it is for a senior support manager to release it. I called Apple Care and after 15 minutes they had it fixed. I don't know why I waited over a year to do it though.

View attachment 667521

When I try to backup it says it can't because the space is already in use. What's the point in reserving space for a backup and then not releasing the space when you want to make a backup. Also, it should be up to the user to decide if they want to use their icloud for backups or other uses. Sounds like a load of rubbish to me. I've given up and reverting to backing up to itunes instead