X

iCloud Storage Full? Never Pay For iCloud Backup Again.

    Categories: iCloud

iCloud Storage is one of the most misused and misunderstood features of the iPhone. I love Apple products, but there’s no other way to put this: In most cases, buying iCloud Storage is unnecessary and you should never pay for it.

In 99% of cases, you don’t have to pay any extra money to fully back up your iPhone and iPad. I’ll explain the real reason why your iCloud Storage is full, why your iPhone hasn’t backed up to iCloud for weeks, and how to fix iCloud Backup for good.

Most people don’t believe it’s possible, but let me be clear: After you read this article, you’ll understand how to back up your iPhone, iPad, and photos to iCloud without paying for iCloud Storage.

If you’ve seen messages like “This iPhone hasn’t been backed up in weeks”, “iPhone cannot be backed up because there is not enough iCloud storage available”, or “Not Enough Storage”, don’t worry. They’ll be gone by the time you finish reading this article.

iCloud Storage and iCloud Drive and iCloud Backup and iCloud Photo Library, Oh My! (Yes, it’s one too many)

There’s no understanding the solution to this problem without understanding the players in the game, so we need to start there. If you’re confused, you’re right where you’re supposed to be. Let’s take them one by one:

iCloud Storage

iCloud Storage is the total amount of storage space available on iCloud. It’s what you pay for. Everybody gets 5 GB (gigabytes) for free. You can upgrade your storage to 50 GB, 200 GB, or 2 TB (2 terabyte is 2000 gigabytes), and the monthly fees aren’t too bad — but it’s not necessary. We’re solving a problem now that will become more and more expensive with time.

Once your iCloud Storage is full, your iPhone will stop backing up to iCloud until you purchase additional storage space or free up storage space in iCloud.

Recently, Apple has begun to include additional features when you sign up for a paid iCloud storage plan. An iCloud+ plan includes iCloud Private Relay, Hide My Email, Custom Email Domain, and HomeKit Secure Video support.

iCloud Backup

iCloud Backup is a feature on iPhones, iPads, and iPods that backs up your entire device to iCloud, just in case something unfortunate happens. You should definitely use iCloud backup. Whether it’s a toilet phone or you leave it on the roof of your car, iPhones live dangerous lives and you should always have a backup.

iCloud Backups count against your available iCloud Storage. (You’ll see why I’m saying this in a minute.)

iCloud Drive

iCloud Drive is a newer feature that allows apps on Macs, iPhones, and iPads to synchronize files using iCloud. It’s like Dropbox or Google Drive, but it’s more integrated into Apple software because Apple made it. iCloud Drive shares files like documents and user preferences that aren’t that big to begin with, so in most cases it doesn’t have much of an effect on your total iCloud Storage.

Files in iCloud Drive count against your available iCloud Storage.

iCloud Photo Library

iCloud Photo Library uploads and stores all of your photos and videos in iCloud so you can access them from all your devices. There are some important differences between iCloud Photo Library and iCloud backup that you should understand before we move on.

All your devices can access and view individual photos that are stored in iCloud Photo Library. iCloud Backup is different: You can’t see individual files or photos in your iCloud Backup, even if photos are part of the backup. iCloud Backups are one big file that restores your entire iPhone — there’s no way to access individual files.

If you’re using iCloud Photo Library and iCloud Backup, you could be paying to back up the same photos twice: Once in your iCloud Photo Library, once in your iCloud Backup.

Photos and videos in iCloud Photo Library count against your available iCloud Storage.

My Photo Stream (Yes, we’re adding another one)

My Photo Stream uploads all your new photos and sends them to all your devices. Sounds kind of like iCloud Photo Library, right? But there’s a little difference:

Photos in My Photo Stream do not count against your available iCloud Storage.

You’re on your way to the solution, but it’s important to understand the key differences between iCloud Photo Library and My Photo Stream before you dive into the actual fix. Next, I’ll explain why your iCloud Storage is always full!

The Difference Between iCloud Photo Library and My Photo Stream

iCloud Photo Library permanently uploads and stores your photos and videos in iCloud. My Photo Stream uploads your photos to iCloud so they’re automatically downloaded on devices with My Photo Stream turned on. It only works over Wi-Fi and doesn’t fill up your iCloud Storage space.

This is really important: The only thing that’s eating up all your iCloud Storage and preventing your iPhone from backing up to iCloud is your Photo Library. 

Photos are big files and a few hundred photos can eat through your 5 GB of free iCloud Storage fast. Videos are huge files and you don’t stand a chance with 5 GB of iCloud Storage if you’ve got more than a video or two.

If we turn off Photo Library in iCloud Backup and use My Photo Stream to back them up instead, boom! iCloud problems are solved forever. Most people don’t realize that you can choose what backs up to iCloud.

But I Don’t Want To Lose My Photos!

You won’t. If you turn on My Photo Stream on your Mac or PC (yes, Apple makes My Photo Stream for PC too), your pictures will automatically download to your computer when your iPhone and iPad are connected to Wi-Fi.

The limitation of My Photo Stream is that photos only stay up there for 30 days, but if your iPhone is on any Wi-Fi network, home or abroad, your computer will automatically download all your photos as long as it’s connected to Wi-Fi too.

The other limitation of My Photo Stream is this: It doesn’t synchronize your videos. You’ll never have to pay for iCloud Storage again, but you will have to plug your iPhone into your computer every once in a while to back up your videos.

Here’s why this usually isn’t a big deal: Videos are huge and you’re probably doing this anyway.

You could spend a zillion years uploading all those videos to iCloud Drive over Wi-Fi (upload speeds are typically much slower than download speeds), or you can quickly transfer them to your computer with your USB cable and be done with it.

In my opinion, your photos and videos are safer stored on your own computer (using My Photo Stream) than on iCloud Drive, as long as your computer is backed up too. (That’s really important.) iCloud Storage is extremely secure and I’m not saying it’s going to get wiped out, but issues with passwords and user accounts can make it difficult to access your own photos if they’re not stored on your computer.

Let’s recap before we move onto the fix: Your Photo Library is consuming all your available iCloud Storage. You can stop your Photo Library from backing up as part of your iCloud Backup (counts against iCloud Storage) and use My Photo Stream (doesn’t count against iCloud Storage) to back up your photos instead.

How To Backup Your iPhone Without Paying For iCloud Storage

Right now, your iPhone won’t back up because your iCloud Storage is full. Next, we’ll set up your iPhone so you never have to pay for iCloud Storage again.

1. Plug In Your iPhone To Your Computer And Transfer Your Photos

This step has to be number 1 because the last thing I want to happen is for anyone to lose their photos. Photos of our families and memorable events in our lives are very valuable to us. When I was at Apple, I saw people brought to tears when they realized they would never recover photos of their kids or loved ones. I mention this as a strong word of warning: Always back up your iPhone and computer.

Now that the somber warning is out of the way, the other reason to back up your photos before you begin is that My Photo Stream only works for photos you take after you turn it on. If you follow these steps and accidentally drop your iPhone in the loo, you don’t want to lose your photos.

2. Turn Off Photo Library As Part Of iCloud Backup

Open Settings and tap on your name at the top of the screen. Then, tap iCloud -> Manage Storage -> Photos. Then, tap Disable & Delete.

You’ll see a warning asks if you want to turn off photo backups and delete the backup data from iCloud. When you tap Continue Anywaynothing is erased from your iPhone.

When we turn on My Photo Stream on your iPhone and computer, your photos will begin to upload to My Photo Stream (also part of iCloud) and your computer will automatically download them. It’s going to be OK: Tap Continue Anyway and watch as your iCloud Backup size shrinks to a manageable size.

3. Turn Off iCloud Photos

Go to Settings -> Photos and turn off the switch next to iCloud Photos. You’ll see a pop-up giving you the option to download a copy of your iCloud Photos. That’s not necessary because, as I mentioned above, your photos will be uploaded to My Photo Stream as soon as we turn it on. You can still use My Photo Stream or iCloud Photo Sharing to synchronize your photos between devices without using any space in iCloud Storage.

If you’re a Mac user, you may need to turn off iCloud Photo Library on your Mac as well. Head to System Preferences -> iCloud and uncheck the box next to Photos.

4. Turn On My Photo Stream On Your iPhone & iPad

Open Settings and tap on your name at the top of the screen. Then, tap iCloud -> Photos and turn on the switch next to Upload To My Photo Stream.

5. Turn On My Photo Stream on your Mac or PC

I’ll let Apple explain how to turn on My Photo Stream on your Mac or PC instead of explaining it here. Their support article has an excellent walkthrough and some other interesting information about My Photo Stream.

You’re Done! No More Problems with iCloud Storage.

OK, none of are going to get rich from the money we save from never paying for iCloud Storage again. What we have done is solve a problem that will only get more expensive with time.

Your iCloud storage never has to be full again. Even if you choose to continue paying for iCloud Storage for now, you’ve learned there’s a safe and simple way to stop. There’s a lot of misinformation about how iCloud works and we all make better decisions when we’re informed. Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing from you!

View Comments (271)

  • According to Apple, photo stream is going to be discontinued in July 2023, and so that leaves us no choice but to use the icloud storage...and keep paying for it!

  • Hi David! Thanks so much for your helpful article! I just have a couple of doubts- when you say photos aren´t renewed after 30 days- but then if you connect to wifi they are? So I have nothing to worry about as long as I ocasionally connect my iphone and laptop to wifi?

    Other doubt- what happens if my laptop breaks? Are the only copies on my laptop of my pictures?

    Last doubt!! How does this work when doing iphone transfers if in the future I get another Iphone? My photos won't be automatically transfered, and I'll have to do a manual transfer from my laptop?

    Many thanks in advance for you help :)

  • Thank you for your clear explanation. Does this also work for the goodnotes app? Because my storage is almost full all because of goodnotes (i don't have any photos)

  • Dear David,
    I am so pleased to have stumbled onto this article on the use of PhotoStream. Even for an older man with little techno skills, your description of the process was concise and quite clear.
    Thanks for your knowledge and sharing generosity.
    PeeSurg

  • Is it possible to download/copy all my information from cell phone (iPhone 7plus)it’s about ready to blow up & out of space and my MacBook only has 13GB left. I have a lot of info in my Calendar , Contacts notes has Birthdays, Ann. Special dates ect. A friend downloaded my Mac on an external hard drive for me because I’m completely dysfunctional when it comes to electronics, that being said I am unable to down load my iPhone pictures of 16500 & videos 1500 to it. I need to get my iPhone downloaded/copied or something asap. Are the picture keepers or other devices safe or what can I do, desperate. I have 9 grown children and so much of my life is them and on my phone & Mac . Hoping to get a new laptop & phone but not now. Any help will be greatly appreciated :)

  • My daughters data will not work but it's not her sim card. We've done all the usual things apart from factory reset. Can you help? Thanks

  • I did all this and now all of a sudden 48.4 GB of my 50GB is being used by "back ups." I have no idea what happened and may have to make an appointment to see an Apple specialist.

  • I haven’t seen Photo Stream, but you can download the ‘Google Photos’ app on your phone to keep all your photos and videos. When you delete your photos & videos out of your camera roll in your phone, it doesn’t delete in the Google Photos app. Just make sure you allow access to all photos in Systems by going to: Systems > scroll all the way down to see all of your apps > Google Photos > Photos > All. Then you can do what was suggested in the article to not let your photos backup in iCloud backup. Prayerfully this helps.

  • I don’t have enough storage on my phone to keep all the iCloud photos so they will be deleted from my phone if I turn off iCloud uploads.

    • If you read through the steps in the article, the number 1 step is to download your photo's. Then you can go back and turn off the photo backups. Be sure to read through all the steps and understand what needs to be done before proceeding.

  • It seems my photo stream was taken away. Can we still do this but back up our phone manually by connecting it over some interval to icloud photos??

  • A MASSIVE problem I've had for years that the geniuses can't figure out is why my photos keep not only duplicating, but also triplicating and even quadrupling on their own. And it's not every photo, but there isn't a clear pattern of which ones and why. I've been paying for extra icloud storage for years now because they can't figure it out. Unfortunately my laptop is not working at the moment so I can't take my photos off/from my phone right now. Any suggestions?

  • Thanks for the great tips. Anything that keeps making you upgrade is something I want get out of because it’s a trap. This article really helps the layman.

  • THANK YOU SO MUCH! For years I have paying for 50 Gb with no problems, but after I recently downloaded hundreds of photos from my photo album and then deleted them from my phone (all as a preemptive measure to avoid going over my limit), suddenly my "next backup size" was 70 Gb and all backups ceased. After several hours of flailing around, I succumbed to the obvious solution and upped my subscription to 200 Gb, but that left me really angry and worried that the problem would just escalate from here. This is the first clear explanation I've seen of how to fix the problem permanently.

  • Hi, I don't have My Photo Stream ANYWHERE on my devices. I just read an article that says that Apple is eliminating it, so that we HAVE TO pay for the storage. I tried everything you said and looked up a few more websites, it just isn't there anymore. What am I supposed to do?

  • My Photo Stream appears not available to - in my case - new iPhone users. The advice to not use iCloud Photo Library and include photos in backups to avoid duplicate copies of photos makes sense. If using My Photo Stream isn't possible, how can one avoid upgrading iCloud and still keep photos safe? Just move photos to a MAC or PC and keep the photo library small?

  • I posted a question/comment on here sometime in the last couple of weeks, but I don’t see it anywhere. I don’t completely recall what what all I asked about, other than that I know it is not my photos or the photo library etc that occupies my storage space, though I am sure I elaborated more.
    I am also interested in backups and what all you would consider to be needed in a backup, given that most of us have many dozens of apps.

  • What’s the point in using iCloud backup anyway? What exactly does it preserve of apps in the event of a problem? I decided to do one, after downgrading to the free 5G, and my backup is over that limit. But my photos and videos are not a part of it at all, either in iPhotos or iCloud Drive. So,

  • I clicked on the links you suggested for turning on My Photo Stream on Mac or PC https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201317 support article
    The instructions here state that photos will only be stored for 30 days on My Photo Stream, which isn't what most people will want I shouldn't think and you don't mention this in your otherwise very helpful article. To be safe I will download mine onto an external hard drive, but what is your comment on this?

    • From article above ……………. But I Don’t Want To Lose My Photos!

      You won’t. If you turn on My Photo Stream on your Mac or PC (yes, Apple makes My Photo Stream for PC too), your pictures will automatically download to your computer when your iPhone and iPad are connected to Wi-Fi.

      The limitation of My Photo Stream is that photos only stay up there for 30 days, but if your iPhone is on any Wi-Fi network, home or abroad, your computer will automatically download all your photos as long as it’s connected to Wi-Fi too.

  • G’day David. Thanks for your brain. But I have a problem - I don’t have a computer. Just an iPhone and an iPad. What can I do? (Btw, I’m not very savvy on stuff)

  • I have had my Mac since 2010 and just became an iPhone user. What would you suggest if the storage in my Mac computer is already full and not synching with iPhone photos? I cannot see any photos in my photo stream on Mac and many haven't been backed up there because iCloud space is too full. Is there a way to do what you've suggested even when you can't transfer onto Mac? I do have Google Drive and Google Photos, so technically all photos on my Mac are already saved there. I could wipe and start over?

  • There is nothing called iCloud under settings on my iPhone 6. Do these instructions not work on old iphones?

  • The whole Apple backup system is a scam. Both Amazon and Verizon allow free backups. We need a class action suit against Apple for charging on iCloud. They are a rip off organization!

  • I asked a question about an hour ago, and I can’t seem to find my question or a response. Will the response be emailed to me? Thank you.

  • Thanks for unraveling this mystery!! I figured all this out on my own but was relieved to hear I did it right with your article. Quick question though that I still can’t get a straight answer to: -
    I was told by an apple rep( as I was trying to figure out how to do all this before I read your artlcle) and they informed me how iCloud saves the full res versions of the photos in the cloud, and leaves a smaller thumbnail size on my phone. My question is: when I plugged my phone into my Mac & downloaded all my files directly from my phone, did I download the thumbnail smaller versions or did the full res versions some how get paired from iCloud and get saved as full res into my computer? I am afraid if I now go into iCloud and choose ‘turn off and delete’ that I am deleting the high res file versions and that am I going to be stuck with the smaller sized files forever loosing the full res files ?
    I will wait for your answer before I hit that deleted button. Thanks!

    • Hi Bobbie! Yes, a lot of this information is still relevant! Thanks for bringing the publication date to our attention. I'll pass this on to some of our editors, it might be time to revamp this post!

  • I have a question on step #1: "Plug In Your iPhone To Your Computer And Transfer Your Photos". So what are the steps for doing the transfer? I read that I have to have iCloud on my PC and then I can upload files to iCloud from the PC. How do I do this? Or can I transfer the pictures just to my pc? I would love to stop paying for extra storage. Thank you.

    • Hi Leo,

      There are two things we're talking about here: iCloud storage, which you can buy more of at any time, and iPhone storage, which is the amount of memory built into your iPhone. When you buy a 64 GB, 256 GB, or 512 GB iPhone, we're talking about iPhone storage.

      Go to Settings -> General -> iPhone Storage and check to see what's taking up all the space on your iPhone. Usually there are some actionable suggestions in there. Thanks for the comment and I hope this helps!

      Best of luck,
      David P.

      • David, the ONLY thing we are talking about it here is MONEY. Now go back 20 years or so and did you really live less comfortable without having all the APPLE iCloud mumbo jumbo or correct me if I am wrong here? Again, STOP paying monthly for iCloud. Apple charges HUGE $ for their devices and still charge you monthly for iCloud etc? Give me a break here, in my opinion, Apple is for people that don't need to look at their bank account to see if they can afford a full fridge every single day. For the most of us, APPLE is nothing but a rip off company! Not saying that other big tech companies are much better but its your money you pay for things that most of us don't really NEED! Period!

        • I don’t want to lose contact with you as you are just what I need. I’m an 81 yr old silver surfer who doesn’t understand a lot about her fone and I feel you would be a great help to me if you wouldn’t mind please. I have to go for little while so when I come out of this page I won’t know how to get back to you, I found you by accident and don’t know where you are, I only have to pop off for about an hour but with my fingers crossed I will get back to you again. Thanks Doreen

  • I don’t want to pay 99cents every month for ICloud. I managed well before. I can manage without it. I don’t store files or photos.Or anything for that matter. ICloud doesn’t mean anything to me. How can I stop this extra money grab?

  • My iPhone XS Max is suddenly very slow and sometimes lie linr just doesn’t move. Help? Thank you.

    • Hi Jacki! I'm sorry to hear your iPhone is giving your trouble. Have you updated your iPhone recently? It may be experiencing a software bug that a newer update might have already fix. I'd recommending heading to Settings -> General -> Software Update to check if there's an iOS update available! Hope this helps!

    • Hi Lisa, have you tried turning on True Tone? It automatically adjusts your iPhone's brightness setting depending on your environments lighting. If you don't like how dark your screen seems in daylight, this might be the solution for you!

      Open Settings -> Display & Brightness. Under Display & Brightness, check the switch labelled True Tone to see if this setting is currently turned on or off. I Hope this helps!

  • Hi David, I tried to follow your instructions, but unfortunately my MacBook Pro will not allow me to enter my password when I try and change the options on photo stream. Any suggestions?

  • I don't usually leave comments David, but I wanted to express my thanks. I've had my iPhone 7 for 2.5yrs and download iOS updates without issue, till now? I spent a couple of hours reading advice off of the net yesterday followed by an hour on the phone with Apple Care with no solution.
    After downloading the iOS 14.6 update on Sunday night, I woke to find all my passwords missing and the settings page for it reconfigured, followed by the calendar info gone and colour related tabs replaced, why I have no clue. Despite all my settings being set to update to cloud on auto they hadn't because according to the technician, there wasn't enough space left. I wasn't aware, nor was I that I should back up before every new iOS update, but to find your tutorial was much appreciated and clear to follow for someone who has a very limited knowledge of these things but appreciates the end user experience of the products. So I'll consider myself schooled today and hope I can put what I've learnt from you today into practice.

  • I pay for Google cloud, plus I have Amazon, having Apple ICloud seems redundant. I’m a new IPhone user, so this phone has been a learning curve as it is. Can’t it just continue with Google?

    • Hi Janice, unfortunately, Apple products play well with other Apple products. It's the same with Google, Samsung, and everyone else.

  • Hi!
    Thank you so much for this article
    very helpful
    I just got an email from ICloud saying my storage is complete Full!

  • Hi ! I have 461 mb on iCloud and yet it says I don’t have enough storage to back up my phone . Like what the heck ?

    • 461 mb is very little space. It's no wonder that you don't have room to backup your phone.

      • I think you misunderstood 0.4G of the 5G free space. So has 4.6 free space available on iCloud and yet says it can’t back up.
        I have the same issue and think its the messages app.
        This article was wriiten long before apple included messages as a backup.
        Though I think it’s a bug as even woth message not selected to backup it still seem to count toward the total.
        Can anyone else confirm this?

  • i don’t have an ipad, a mac or a pc. i just have the iphone 12 pro max. how do i use my photo stream? will it work for me if i just turn it on and stop my photos from backing up on icloud?

  • Hi, can you tell me I have to pay continuously every month for iCloud upgrade?! if yes or not how many month do I have pay? Please! I beg your response! I need to know that immediately!

  • I hope you respond David. I followed your instructions. Although, the way the Settings were organized is a little different since you wrote the article. For example in step 2, I never saw a "This iPhone" option under Manage Storage. Anyway, after completing all the steps I received an email from the iCloud team stating, "You must download your full resolution photos and videos to at least one device before they are deleted from iCloud Photos in 30 days." I must say this is a little disconcerting. I'm inclined to turn iCloud photo back up back on. How do I confirm Photo Stream is working? Do you have any advice?

    • I think you missed the part in the article where he mentions to use your lightning cable to plug up to your iMac and it will automatically download those photos, if it doesnt, you can still download them manually, page three of article explains it beautifully in 5 steps

      • Both article (and you Brian) refer to some “pages” to which there is no any link or instructions how to find them. Instruction as it is on this page is misleading. “You are done” implies - nothing else has to be done. Instruction reassures - turn off and delete Photo Library, it is going to be OK. Actually, you are not going to be OK and definitely you are not “done”. What about backing up pictures from Photo Stream before they get deleted AFTER completing all explained steps??? Unlike Kurt I was not alerted by e-mail. The guess is whoever decides to trust this instruction as a Bible,… there going to be some people brought to tears again. 

        • Hi Michael, thanks for your feedback! What specifically would you like us to update about this information? The last thing we would want is to bring anyone to tears!

1 2 3 4
David Payette: I'm a former Apple employee and the founder of Payette Forward, and I'm here to help you with your iPhone.