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ilikewhey

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 14, 2014
3,616
4,680
nyc upper east
I’m on vacation and I’m running out of storage on my phone, I do have 200gb if iCloud but if I delete stuff on phone it gets deleted on iCloud as well, is there a way to delete videos on the phone but still keep a copy on iCloud
 

chrfr

macrumors G5
Jul 11, 2009
13,709
7,280
I’m on vacation and I’m running out of storage on my phone, I do have 200gb if iCloud but if I delete stuff on phone it gets deleted on iCloud as well, is there a way to delete videos on the phone but still keep a copy on iCloud
You'll want to be sure you have Photos set to use optimized storage. There's no manual controls, unfortunately.
 
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Givmeabrek

macrumors 68040
Apr 20, 2009
3,468
1,169
NY
The cloud and your phone are synchronized. They are the same. Download to your PC and then delete from your phone. That's the way to free up space.
 
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nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,175
7,763
You'll want to be sure you have Photos set to use optimized storage. There's no manual controls, unfortunately.
This.

My Photos library is currently clocking in at 1.1 TB. On my iPhone with "Optimize iPhone Storage" turned on, it's currently using 22 GB.

I wish iOS would provide "minimum storage" option, just like the Music app (shouldn't it be called "maximum size"?).
 

akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
iCloud is not just an online storage system. It’s also a syncing mechanism. Basically Apple’s idea is that users don’t need to worry about local / cloud storage. If you pay for iCloud then everything should automatically work and all you should feel like is iCloud is an extension of your local storage. Turning on optimise storage is your best option.
 
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akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
My optimized storage is turned on, I’m on vacation and don’t have access to my pc.

In that case keep the device connected to a charging point and also with WiFi. It should automatically push photos to iCloud at night.
 

ilikewhey

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 14, 2014
3,616
4,680
nyc upper east
In that case keep the device connected to a charging point and also with WiFi. It should automatically push photos to iCloud at night.
My iCloud is synced to the latest photo, my problem is I’m out of storage on my phone but I have 60gb free on iCloud, I’m wondering if I can delete stuffs on iPhone and not have iCloud delete it too
 

chrfr

macrumors G5
Jul 11, 2009
13,709
7,280
My iCloud is synced to the latest photo, my problem is I’m out of storage on my phone but I have 60gb free on iCloud, I’m wondering if I can delete stuffs on iPhone and not have iCloud delete it too
Deleting anything from your phone will delete those files in iCloud as well.
 

AZhappyjack

Suspended
Jul 3, 2011
10,183
23,657
Happy Jack, AZ
If it was me, I would upgrade the iCloud storage to the 2TB level ($9.99) for the time was on vacation... then clean up the media/data in Cloud storage and then drop back to the 200GB plan.
 
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akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
My iCloud is synced to the latest photo, my problem is I’m out of storage on my phone but I have 60gb free on iCloud, I’m wondering if I can delete stuffs on iPhone and not have iCloud delete it too

If optimise storage is turned on then you shouldn’t need to manage any storage. The OS will automatically handle the cleanup, provided your phone stays on charge at night and is connected to wifi.
 
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vddobrev

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2016
962
833
Haskovo, Bulgaria
Not only photos take space. Look into Settings --> General --> iPhone Storage. Check the recommendations there, and traverse each item to free space, like music, large attachments, etc.
 

ilikewhey

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 14, 2014
3,616
4,680
nyc upper east
If it was me, I would upgrade the iCloud storage to the 2TB level ($9.99) for the time was on vacation... then clean up the media/data in Cloud storage and then drop back to the 200GB plan.
I don’t see how that solve my issue, my iCloud have 60gb free, it’s my iPhone storage that’s running out, and apparently a decision at Apple is made that iCloud storage cannot be Independent from phone storage. If I delete a video from phone it gets deleted from my iCloud,

so far I believe I found a solution, google photo is independent from iPhone syncs, 100gb for 1.99 seems like a good deal and I can back up all the videos on there for the time being and all the photos under 16m is free
 

akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
I don’t see how that solve my issue, my iCloud have 60gb free, it’s my iPhone storage that’s running out, and apparently a decision at Apple is made that iCloud storage cannot be Independent from phone storage. If I delete a video from phone it gets deleted from my iCloud,

so far I believe I found a solution, google photo is independent from iPhone syncs, 100gb for 1.99 seems like a good deal and I can back up all the videos on there for the time being and all the photos under 16m is free

If photos is syncing with iCloud properly then you shouldn’t need to worry about the phone storage. The OS handles it when it needs more storage. Personally I’ve been using the base model since last few years and I’ve never had this issue. How much storage have you got left on your phone?!
 

ilikewhey

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 14, 2014
3,616
4,680
nyc upper east
If photos is syncing with iCloud properly then you shouldn’t need to worry about the phone storage. The OS handles it when it needs more storage. Personally I’ve been using the base model since last few years and I’ve never had this issue. How much storage have you got left on your phone?!
Before I start deleting I got .5gb left, 127.5gb used out of 128, I’m on indefinite vacation since my flights back into the states keep getting cancelled cause of corona.
 

chrfr

macrumors G5
Jul 11, 2009
13,709
7,280
Before I start deleting I got .5gb left, 127.5gb used out of 128, I’m on indefinite vacation since my flights back into the states keep getting cancelled cause of corona.
Have you looked in Settings/General/iPhone Storage to be sure that it's photos that are taking up your phone storage?
 
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BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,032
The way optimized storage works is when everything is uploaded to iCloud then it replaces your local photos on your phone with smaller images that are not full resolution. But only after everything is uploaded to the iCloud. That's why posters are recommending a few nights while plugged into power and on WiFi (hopefully not hotel wifi).
 
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nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,175
7,763
If photos is syncing with iCloud properly then you shouldn’t need to worry about the phone storage. The OS handles it when it needs more storage. Personally I’ve been using the base model since last few years and I’ve never had this issue. How much storage have you got left on your phone?!
While "optimize storage" is supposed to do that for you, in practice, it's a mixed bag. On my 64GB iPhone, Photos app is still using about 22GB. Granted I have 1.1TB library, but it shouldn't be using that much.

Apple really needs to add "minimum storage" setting like Music app has.
 

akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
While "optimize storage" is supposed to do that for you, in practice, it's a mixed bag. On my 64GB iPhone, Photos app is still using about 22GB. Granted I have 1.1TB library, but it shouldn't be using that much.

Apple really needs to add "minimum storage" setting like Music app has.

When you say it’s “shouldn’t be”, I guess that just depends on the type of things you have in your library. It doesn’t matter how much storage is being used by the app as long as the OS can cleanup when you need storage. Apple keeps some recent data on the device for ease of access.

It just seems people are trying to micromanage things that they don’t need to worry about.

I never had an issue with my devices and I have over 10000 images and videos in my library.
 

nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,175
7,763
When you say it’s “shouldn’t be”, I guess that just depends on the type of things you have in your library. It doesn’t matter how much storage is being used by the app as long as the OS can cleanup when you need storage. Apple keeps some recent data on the device for ease of access.

It just seems people are trying to micromanage things that they don’t need to worry about.

I never had an issue with my devices and I have over 10000 images and videos in my library.
"Optimize storage" is a black box that sometimes works, but not always.

My 64GB iPhone currently has 8 GB free. If I try to...
  • Add a large 4K HDR movie to TV app, I will get out of space error.
  • Download several large apps, I will get out of space error.
  • Go on a vacation and take several 4K videos, I will get out of space error.
And so on.

My Photos app have never budged at or below 20GB which suggests every images and videos consume certain amount of storage and they cannot be freed up.
 

akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
"Optimize storage" is a black box that sometimes works, but not always.

My 64GB iPhone currently has 8 GB free. If I try to...
  • Add a large 4K HDR movie to TV app, I will get out of space error.
  • Download several large apps, I will get out of space error.
  • Go on a vacation and take several 4K videos, I will get out of space error.
And so on.

My Photos app have never budged at or below 20GB which suggests every images and videos consume certain amount of storage and they cannot be freed up.

That’s interesting . On the other hand my free space never goes beyond 34-35GB and on my device it’s taking less than 3GB as you can see below.

1ef47b4019681fb059972efe7b0ee023.plist


Now I don’t know what individuals are storing on their devices or how they use their devices but it seems to be working as designed.

a2eebd8d1efe77b1e8a70be860758795.jpg
 

nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,175
7,763
That’s interesting . On the other hand my free space never goes beyond 34-35GB and on my device it’s taking less than 3GB as you can see below.

...

Now I don’t know what individuals are storing on their devices or how they use their devices but it seems to be working as designed.
Not on my iPhone.

I think there's certain amount of overhead that "optimize storage" likes to hold on to. As I stated earlier, iOS has never reclaimed Photos storage below 20 GB, even when I am running low on available storage space.

iPhone Storage page:
iPhone Storage.png


My iCloud storage:
iCloud Storage.png
 

akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
Not on my iPhone.

I think there's certain amount of overhead that "optimize storage" likes to hold on to. As I stated earlier, iOS has never reclaimed Photos storage below 20 GB, even when I am running low on available storage space.

iPhone Storage page:
View attachment 901482

My iCloud storage:
View attachment 901483

Are you on the latest iOS version - 13.4? As there is a specific bug fix related to photos using excessive storage.

  • Addresses an issue where Photos may appear to use excess storage
 
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nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,175
7,763
Are you on the latest iOS version - 13.4? Ad there is a specific bug fix related to photos using excessive storage.

  • Addresses an issue where Photos may appear to use excess storage
I am using iOS 13.4 and it has always been like this, even on my other devices like iPad.
 

akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
I am using iOS 13.4 and it has always been like this, even on my other devices like iPad.

I’d keep an eye on the storage usage if I were you after the update. Maybe update us after a couple of days if you see any changes.
 
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