If you have an iPhone that needs to be updated but you got a notification stating that there is not enough storage to update, don’t worry. We have all the information you need right here to fix the problem and get your iPhone updated in no time. 

When an iPhone doesn’t have enough storage to update, you can either update the phone through your computer with the iTunes app or delete apps, photos, videos, and anything you don’t need stored on your phone.

In this article, we find out why your iPhone needs so much storage to update, and step through the instructions for both solutions so that you can update your iPhone right now. So keep reading! You found exactly the article you were looking for. 

Why Do iPhones Need Storage for Updates?

Before we dig into the solutions to get your iPhone updated even if it says it doesn’t have enough storage, you should first understand why this happens in the first place. 

Essentially, when an iPhone is updated, a new software is downloaded to the phone. However, even if your phone has enough space for the software, it still might not work as there needs to be extra space for the installation process which requires temporarily downloaded files. 

So if your iPhone doesn’t have the amount of space required for the software and file installation, what should you do?

How to Update an iPhone That Doesn’t Have Enough Storage

The good news is that there are two extremely simple ways to update an iPhone if you don’t have enough storage space on it. 

It’s important to note that before you proceed with either of these options, you should first back up your iPhone onto the cloud to ensure you don’t lose any important photos or personal information. You can do this on the phone or by connecting it to a computer. 

Update Via iTunes

For the first solution, you will need a computer that you can connect your iPhone to via a USB charging cable. 

If you have those things, here’s what you need to do:

  • Plug your iPhone into your computer.Open the iTunes app.Click on the iPhone icon on the iTunes screen.Select Check for Updates.Follow the prompts to update your iPhone.

Now, your iPhone has the latest updates and you don’t need to get rid of any data on the device.

However, if you don’t use iTunes or have a computer handy, don’t worry! There is another option.

Clear Unnecessary Data on iPhone

The second solution we have for you is to clear unnecessary data on your iPhone. And although this may seem like quite a simple tactic, you may be surprised to learn that there are a  lot of apps, photos, and information being stored on your iPhone that you don’t really need. 

Here are a few of the ways to delete data on your iPhone without getting rid of the important stuff:

  • Delete apps which you no longer use. Clear out your photo trash folder. Delete downloaded music and podcasts (you can redownload them later.)Clear out your email trash folder.Clear the cache within the app menu.

You can and should also navigate to the Storage menu within the Settings menu of your iPhone. Here, you can see any duplicate photos that can be easily deleted or other links or videos you didn’t know you downloaded. 

Hopefully, you can get rid of enough stuff to run the update successfully! 

And remember, if you really need to, you can back everything up onto the cloud and retrieve what you want on your iPhone after the update. 

How Much iPhone Storage Do You Need to Update?

When you are clearing unnecessary data from your phone, you may want to know how much you need to get rid of in order for the iPhone to be able to update. 

According to the experts, you will need about 5GB of available storage to run an update on your iPhone. 

And to check how much storage your phone has at the moment, you can simply navigate to the Settings app, select General, and click iPhone Storage. 

If you have fairly close to 5GB already, deleting a few apps and old emails shouldn’t be a problem and you can update your iPhone right now!

The Bottom Line

Hopefully, your iPhone is already updating! But just in case you forgot, let’s recap on what you can do if your iPhone doesn’t have enough storage to update. 

You can either use your computer (either a Mac or a PC) to update your iPhone through the iTunes app without having to delete anything to free up storage on the phone. 

Or you can delete old photos, emails, and unused apps until you have at least 5 GB of storage available, then run the update again.