iPad mini How to restore backup that is bigger than new iPad storage space

[mrochester]

Hi all.

My 256gb iPad Pro is off to Apple for a battery replacement and I am trying to temporarily use a 32gb iPad mini 4 in the meantime.

The problem I am facing is that my iPad Pro backup is approximately 39gb so I cannot restore the backup to the iPad mini.

However, the iPad Pro backup will be including items in the backup that are actually in my iCloud account (photos).

How would I go about restoring this backup to the iPad mini removing the content from the backup that would come from my iCloud account?

Many thanks.

M.

 

[AutomaticApple]

How would I go about restoring this backup to the iPad mini removing the content from the backup that would come from my iCloud account?

I don't think you can change the contents of the backup after it is created.

 

[sparksd]

The question has popped up elsewhere by others in the same situation and the answer has always been that the oversized backup is unusable on the new device - nobody has posted a solution. e.g.,

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250046285

 

[mrochester]

The question has popped up elsewhere by others in the same situation and the answer has always been that the oversized backup is unusable on the new device - nobody has posted a solution. e.g.,

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250046285

The annoying thing is I suspect the backup is only the size it is because of photos, which I have set to download and keep originals on the iPad Pro because it physically has enough space to do this (256gb).

The trouble seems to be the backup wants to restore all of those photos to the iPad mini despite all of those photos being available in iCloud photos.

 

[chrfr]

The annoying thing is I suspect the backup is only the size it is because of photos, which I have set to download and keep originals on the iPad Pro because it physically has enough space to do this (256gb).

The trouble seems to be the backup wants to restore all of those photos to the iPad mini despite all of those photos being available in iCloud photos.

iCloud backups do not include iCloud photos. Any photos not in iCloud photos will get backed up.

What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support

iCloud Backup helps keep your data safe by making a copy of the information on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro that isn't already synced to iCloud.

support.apple.com

In any case, there's no way to restore a smaller device with a larger backup.

 

[mrochester]

iCloud backups do not include iCloud photos. Any photos not in iCloud photos will get backed up.

What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support

iCloud Backup helps keep your data safe by making a copy of the information on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro that isn't already synced to iCloud.

support.apple.com

In any case, there's no way to restore a smaller device with a larger backup.

I’m at a loss as to how the backup size is so big then. My 2 biggest assets are iCloud photos and music, both of which shouldn’t be included in any backup.

 

[chrfr]

I’m at a loss as to how the backup size is so big then. My 2 biggest assets are iCloud photos and music, both of which shouldn’t be included in any backup.

Perhaps there are photos which hadn't successfully uploaded.

 

[mrochester]

Perhaps there are photos which hadn't successfully uploaded.

My full photo library is in iCloud photos as I can access it on all of my devices.