[All iPads] The capacity bar in iTunes is showing 4.7 GB being used up by "Other"

supermac96 · Jan 8, 2013, 05:46 PM

I looked through my apps and don't see anything such as video/music downloads in other apps that would be causing this. I assume this is well above what the "Other" is usually at. Can anyone think of any solutions to see what this "Other" space is and to get rid of it? I have a 32 GB iPad 2, not jailbroken.

aPple nErd · Jan 8, 2013, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by supermac96

I looked through my apps and don't see anything such as video/music downloads in other apps that would be causing this. I assume this is well above what the "Other" is usually at. Can anyone think of any solutions to see what this "Other" space is and to get rid of it? I have a 32 GB iPad 2, not jailbroken.

What iOS r u on? And have u restored it?

brand · Jan 8, 2013, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by supermac96

I assume this is well above what the "Other" is usually at.

That is where you would be wrong. It depends on how the Apps that are installed store their data.

supermac96 · Jan 8, 2013, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aPple nErd

What iOS r u on? And have u restored it?

6.0.1, and no I have not. I haven't restored any of my devices in a long time, will it put all my apps/music/settings and everything back exactly how they were even if the music is not purchased on iTunes or not on my computer?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by brand

That is where you would be wrong. It depends on how the Apps that are installed store their data.

but i looked through all my apps to look for apps that might contain a lot of data that would go under info and did not see any.

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it also says over capacity buy 1.11 GB. This happens kind of often but then after a few times of plugging it in, the bar randomly gets smaller and so does the "Other" and there is around 1 GB of capacity available.

brand · Jan 8, 2013, 06:16 PM

An example would be the Navigon GPS App stores the map data it downloads as "Other". That data can be several hundred megabytes.

supermac96 · Jan 8, 2013, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brand

An example would be the Navigon GPS App stores the map data it downloads as "Other". That data can be several hundred megabytes.

Ya im aware of that. I used iexplorer and found a folder named "archived apps". There were apps that I had a long time ago that were actually .zip. overall they added to over a GB. I deleted them and I now have room on my iPad and now I have 2.8 GB of other. If i don't have any apps like the GPS app or downloads apps or any other app that would have a significant amount of "Other" space being used is this a normal amount to have or are there likely other files such as the ones I deleted that I should search for?

WhySoSerious · Jan 9, 2013, 01:37 PM

i believe if you have .pdf files saved, it will go under as "other".

blackbear219 · Jan 9, 2013, 02:03 PM

I wonder about this mystery from time to time as well. I am convinced that while some of that "Other" might be valid data for my currently installed apps, there is some (or a lot of) junk in there as well.

For example, a while back I installed a game that I hadn't played in a while. The game did not use iCloud saves. When I started the game up for the first time, it had all my progress and levels unlocked from the first time I had the game installed months ago. The only thing I can think of is that this particular game stored its save data in the "Other" region and when I deleted the game it deletes the app itself but not the "Other" data that the app has written.

I've done a backup and a restore before, that doesn't help because "Other" is part of the backup.

The only way I know to fix it is to completely wipe the iPad and resync your apps and data back on fresh...but of course you can lose a lot of saved games, etc by doing this.

Overall, I just deal with it...but I strongly suspect that there is some bad file management by iOS and developers behind the scenes here.

dancj · 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackbear219

I've done a backup and a restore before, that doesn't help because "Other" is part of the backup.

The only way I know to fix it is to completely wipe the iPad and resync your apps and data back on fresh...but of course you can lose a lot of saved games, etc by doing this.

Doing a standard restore from backup doesn't clear down the iPad first so it won't clear anything from Other. If you do a Reset to factory settings and then restore from the backup then it'll only bring back the stuff you actually need - and you won't lose your saved games.

I do this every six months or so just to clear down the Other.

2ndchancephones · Jan 9, 2013, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dancj

Doing a standard restore from backup doesn't clear down the iPad first so it won't clear anything from Other. If you do a Reset to factory settings and then restore from the backup then it'll only bring back the stuff you actually need - and you won't lose your saved games.

I do this every six months or so jut to clear down the Other.

I'm going to try this, because my iPhone is about 25% other!

blackbear219 · Jan 9, 2013, 03:31 PM

Interesting. I will check that out.

blackbear219 · Feb 1, 2013, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dancj

Doing a standard restore from backup doesn't clear down the iPad first so it won't clear anything from Other. If you do a Reset to factory settings and then restore from the backup then it'll only bring back the stuff you actually need - and you won't lose your saved games.

I do this every six months or so just to clear down the Other.

I finally got around to giving this a try and it didn't reduce my "Other" space at all. Which must mean that it's valid data that I need, so I'm fine with that.

dancj · Feb 5, 2013, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackbear219

I finally got around to giving this a try and it didn't reduce my "Other" space at all. Which must mean that it's valid data that I need, so I'm fine with that.

Arse.

Well at least now you know.

racoonboy · Feb 5, 2013, 08:58 PM

its cache. Clear browsing data in safari should free up some space. When i did the software update, i shed around 2-300 mb.

jmccray · Feb 5, 2013, 09:35 PM

It could also be people sending you video and audio clips in text messages.

adnbek · Feb 5, 2013, 10:10 PM

If you send/receive lots of pictures and videos through iMessage, those are all counting towards your usage as well. If they are in your camera roll as well, you can delete them.

charlituna · Feb 11, 2013, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by supermac96

. Can anyone think of any solutions to see what this "Other" space is and to get rid of it? I have a 32 GB iPad 2, not jailbroken.

Other is mail, contacts, calendar, messages, app data etc.

Some of it could be cache files from safari etc. a reboot or reset typically flushes that out.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by supermac96

6.0.1, and no I have not. I haven't restored any of my devices in a long time, will it put all my apps/music/settings and everything back exactly how they were even if the music is not purchased on iTunes or not on my computer?

Nope. Items that were brought over from computer like music, photos etc are not included in backups to iTunes or iCloud.

adnbek · Feb 11, 2013, 09:23 PM

You can check under Settings > General > Usage, you can see what apps are using what space on your iPad.

Jan 8, 2013, 05:46 PM	#1
supermac96 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: somewhere over the rainbow	The capacity bar in iTunes is showing 4.7 GB being used up by "Other" I looked through my apps and don't see anything such as video/music downloads in other apps that would be causing this. I assume this is well above what the "Other" is usually at. Can anyone think of any solutions to see what this "Other" space is and to get rid of it? I have a 32 GB iPad 2, not jailbroken. __________________ iMac 21'' 500 gb, 10.6.6, iPad 2 32gb wifi, iPod Touch 2g 8gb 4.2.1 greenpo1son jailbroken, iPod nano 2g 4gb
	0

Jan 9, 2013, 01:37 PM	#7
WhySoSerious macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Dallas, TX	i believe if you have .pdf files saved, it will go under as "other". __________________ ...do you honestly think you're clever for replying to my post with "why so serious"?
	0

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Jan 8, 2013, 06:16 PM	#5
brand macrumors 68030 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 127.0.0.1	An example would be the Navigon GPS App stores the map data it downloads as "Other". That data can be several hundred megabytes.
	0

Jan 9, 2013, 02:03 PM	#8
blackbear219 macrumors member Join Date: Sep 2012	I wonder about this mystery from time to time as well. I am convinced that while some of that "Other" might be valid data for my currently installed apps, there is some (or a lot of) junk in there as well. For example, a while back I installed a game that I hadn't played in a while. The game did not use iCloud saves. When I started the game up for the first time, it had all my progress and levels unlocked from the first time I had the game installed months ago. The only thing I can think of is that this particular game stored its save data in the "Other" region and when I deleted the game it deletes the app itself but not the "Other" data that the app has written. I've done a backup and a restore before, that doesn't help because "Other" is part of the backup. The only way I know to fix it is to completely wipe the iPad and resync your apps and data back on fresh...but of course you can lose a lot of saved games, etc by doing this. Overall, I just deal with it...but I strongly suspect that there is some bad file management by iOS and developers behind the scenes here.
	1

Jan 9, 2013, 03:31 PM	#11
blackbear219 macrumors member Join Date: Sep 2012	Interesting. I will check that out.
	0

Feb 5, 2013, 08:58 PM	#14
racoonboy macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2012	its cache. Clear browsing data in safari should free up some space. When i did the software update, i shed around 2-300 mb.
	1

Feb 5, 2013, 09:35 PM	#15
jmccray macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2008	It could also be people sending you video and audio clips in text messages.
	1

Feb 5, 2013, 10:10 PM	#16
adnbek macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Montreal, Quebec	If you send/receive lots of pictures and videos through iMessage, those are all counting towards your usage as well. If they are in your camera roll as well, you can delete them.
	2

Feb 11, 2013, 09:23 PM	#18
adnbek macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Montreal, Quebec	You can check under Settings > General > Usage, you can see what apps are using what space on your iPad.
	0