How to Increase iPhone Storage Capacity Free

Worried about iPhone storage running out? Then let's help you increase it.

It's been over 15 years since the first iPhone was launched back in June of 2007. Since then, it has become one of the most used mobile phone devices around the globe. In North America, iPhones are used by over 55% of mobile phone users.

However, despite being a legendary device, it has nagging storage issues. Heavy apps, a lot of caches, and junk build-up can cause an iPhone to fill its storage. So, how to increase iPhone storage capacity for free? Let's dive in and find out.

Apple's iPhone is one of the most used mobile phones around the globe. However, many iPhone users usually complain about storage running out. Now, it's not because iPhone doesn't have adequate storage.

Even the 9-year-old iPhone 5 released in 2013 had 64GB of storage. However, the size of applications and the cache they build up nowadays renders any storage low. That's why it's essential to clean up such files.

However, other times it's simply a user's neglect of their device and constant downloading, gaming, and other apps that cause the iPhone storage to build up. Besides that, iPhone takes high-quality images and videos.

That's why storage could get filled up real quick if you're an avid photo or videographer. So, let's keep digging to find out how you can fix this.

How to check iPhone Storage Capacity

Checking iPhone's storage capacity is a straightforward process. This will allow you to understand which type of media is taking up your storage. Therefore, before you understand how to increase iPhone storage capacity, you need to check it first.

However, there are two methods of checking your iPhone Storage Capacity. Here's the first one:

Method 1: Via iPhone

Step 1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone

Step 2. Scroll down until you find the General settings option

Step 3. Under General settings, find and tap on iPhone Storage

Step 4. Analyze the storage bar

Step 5. Check which apps are taking up the most storage space

This is the method that you will use from inside your iPhone. However, you can also check storage from iTunes, here's how:

Method 2: Via iTunes

Now, it's important to understand that iTunes can be used on a PC, mac, or iPhone/iPad. But, the right way to check for storage on iTunes is this:

Step 1. Log into iTunes or open it on your mac/PC

Step 2. In devices, select your iPhone

Step 3. On the bottom, hover the mouse over the storage bar to check the available storage

Analyzing storage in with these two methods will help you understand which apps or sections in your iPhone are taking up the most storage. After that, you can either delete or remove files or use other methods to free up space on your iPhone after this.

How to Increase iPhone Storage Capacity Free

Now that you know which apps or sections in your phone are taking up the storage, you can move forward with ways to increase iPhone storage capacity for free. In this section, we're going to explore three such methods. So, let's get started:

Method 1. Use iCloud storage

One of the easiest ways to increase the storage or free up space in your iPhone is by using iCloud storage. It's given to all Apple users as they sign up, and you have around 5GB to work with. So, you can move some of the files by using iCloud.

Now, you can prompt iCloud to store your photos and messages. This way, they will be stored directly on the cloud instead of your iPhone's storage. Here's how you can do that with your photos:

Step 1. Head to your iPhone Settings

Step 2. Tap your screen name

Step 3. Find and tap on the iCloud option

Step 4. Inside iCloud options, find and tap on Photos

Step 5. In the following settings, toggle iCloud Photos on

This will save your Photos on your iCloud account and allow you to save ample space on your iPhone storage. However, once you're in the iCloud storage, don't quit because you still have to turn on the Messages option. Here's how:

Step 1. Tap on iCloud storage in your user settings

Step 2. Under the "Apps Using iCloud" group, find and toggle Messages on

And this will then save your incoming and outgoing messages on your iCloud account instead of your main storage.

Method 2. Reduce Camera Pixels

Another good way to save storage capacity is by reducing camera pixels. As mentioned before, iPhone is set to capture images and record videos in the highest quality possible. It captures 1080p 60FPs, and that takes up around 1-2GB of storage for an hour-long video. Therefore, here's what you'll do:

Step 1. Tap on Settings on your iPhone

Step 2. Scroll down and find Photos & Camera, then tap on it

Step 3. Reduce the Record Video settings to the lowest

Step 4. Reduce the Record Slo-mo setting to the lowest

This will ensure that the videos you record with your iPhone take up less storage space.

Method 3. Use USB Flash Drive

Last but not least, you can use a USB device to increase your iPhone storage capacity. Now, this doesn't have to be a USB flash drive, as you can connect an SD card with a card reader. However, the device(s) need to be in FAT32 or exFAT format.

However, you'll need an adapter that might look like this:

So, you connect the USB to one end and then attach it to your iPhone. Once you do, it'll detect the device. And from there, you can either copy your photos and videos into it or simply use it as external storage.

Concluding Thoughts

These are some key ways to increase your iPhone storage capacity. One of the easiest ways is to delete files that you don't need. But, if that's not the case for you, then you can use these methods to increase iPhone storage without spending another penny.

FAQs

If you have more questions, then you'll find their answers here:

1. Is 64GB enough for iPhone?

In most basic cases, 64GB would be enough for an iPhone user. However, if you take a lot of pictures or make videos, you'll find that the storage runs out quickly for you.

2. What happens when iPhone storage is full?

Even though Apple says your iPhone will delete caches and temporary files when storage is full, it will not be enough. Mainly because it needs a few gigabytes free to work properly. Hence, you will suffer application stutters, slowed-down performance, and an overall inability to download apps or take pictures.

3. Is 256GB iPhone faster than 64GB?

While there's a marginal difference between the two, storage only impacts performance when it runs out. So, let's say you have a 64GB iPhone with the same specs as a 256GB one. You will only notice the performance difference when both iPhones have around 50GB of data on them.

Simply because the 256GB iPhone will still have over 200GB, whereas the 64GB phone will be left with less than 10-15GBs.