Mar 18 2016

Don’t miss that photo! Solving iPhone storage woes

Sooner or later the hard disk on your iPhone will fill up.

Sooner if you have a 16Gb phone (like Al)
Immediately if you have an 8Gb phone (like Tim)

The iOS operating system and built in apps use a chunk of disk space. (The 16Gb iPhone starts with only about 12Gb of available space). Various apps, photos, music and videos quickly chew up the rest.

Can you free up space to allow you to take more happy snaps?

Yes.

But before you start – back up your phone to iCloud or iTunes.

To find out what is eating up all your hard disk space, in iOS 9, navigate to :

Settings > General > Storage and iCloud Usage > Manage Storage.

From here you can delete any apps you no longer use, or games you have played and completed. (farewell, Infinity Blade). You can always download them again from the App store.

Be careful, you will lose all the data associated with the apps unless they have been backed up or previously uploaded to iCloud. You will need all those cute Videostar movies Millie has made over the years to blackmail her when her 21st comes around in 2022.

Wouldn’t it be good if you could increase the amount of storage in your phone?

Unfortunately, you can’t open an iPhone up and insert a bigger hard drive. And there is no slot to insert a memory card.

However, Al has found another way, which is particularly useful when travelling.

You are out in the Uralba Nature Reserve and spot a Sooty Owl. Finally. You line up the photo but ‘There is not enough available storage to take a photo’! Curses.

No problem. Insert the i-Flashdevice HD, load all your photos from your phone onto it, delete them from your iPhone, and the Sooty Owl snap is all yours.

The i-Flashdevice HD is a small memory storage gadget that has an iPhone (lightning) plug in one end and a USB plug in the other. They are available in a range of Gb sizes.

When plugged in, you can use the dedicated app to transfer your photos and videos from the iPhone to the device. You can also listen to music or watch movies that have previously been loaded on to the device.

The USB plug allows you to upload the photos to your Mac, or to store movies to watch on your phone during the long flight home from Uralba.

Al says that this is an ideal solution for a cheapskate who bought a 16Gb phone. His words, not mine.

The i-Flashdevice HD is available from a range of sellers for a range of prices (about $40 – $80 depending on capacity) on eBay.

Al – are you happy with yours?