iTunes could not back up the iPhone because there is not enough free space on this computer to save

[tkwolf]

iTunes could not back up the iPhone because there is not enough free space on this computer to save the back up

I have more than enough free space though
34 GB of Free space on my iPhone
745 free space on my iMac.

I can't back up no matter what.

 

[tkwolf]

Anyone?

 

[tkwolf]

Hi guys, anyone who has encountered the same issue? Up for visibility

 

[Weaselboy]

Run the command below in Terminal and give it a couple minutes to complete, then post the output here for us to look at. It will show how much space is being used on the drive, including hidden and system files. Also tell us the size of the drive.

sudo du -d 1 -x -c -g /

 

[mavis]

Run the command below in Terminal and give it a couple minutes to complete, then post the output here for us to look at. It will show how much space is being used on the drive, including hidden and system files. Also tell us the size of the drive.

sudo du -d 1 -x -c -g /

I'm having the same issue. Neither my iPad nor my 7+ will backup; both devices are 256GB with about 200GB used, but I have more than 1TB available on my iMac ...

1 /.abackblaze
1 /.bzvol
1 /.DocumentRevisions-V100
1 /.fseventsd
0 /.PKInstallSandboxManager-SystemSoftware
2 /.Spotlight-V100
0 /.Trashes
0 /.vol
39 /Applications
1 /bin
0 /cores
1 /dev
1 /home
13 /Library
1 /net
0 /Network
7 /private
1 /sbin
9 /System
1810 /Users
1 /usr
1 /Volumes
1877 /
1877 total​

 

[Weaselboy]

I'm having the same issue. Neither my iPad nor my 7+ will backup; both devices are 256GB with about 200GB used, but I have more than 1TB available on my iMac ...

Assuming you have a 3TB drive then (?), I don't see anything wrong. Looks like you would have plenty of room to backup.

 

[mavis]

Assuming you have a 3TB drive then (?), I don't see anything wrong. Looks like you would have plenty of room to backup.

Right. And yet, neither the iPad nor the iPhone 7+ are able to backup. iTunes continues to give the 'not enough space' message ...

 

[komatsu]

I think this problem is related to encryption on your iPhone. You need to disable it.

copy and paste this link into your browser.

http://www.copytrans.net/support/how-to-disable-itunes-backup-encryption/

Follow instructions here under the heading:

How to turn off iOS backup encryption in iTunes

 

[mavis]

I think this problem is related to encryption on your iPhone. You need to disable it.

copy and paste this link into your browser.

http://www.copytrans.net/support/how-to-disable-itunes-backup-encryption/

Follow instructions here under the heading:

How to turn off iOS backup encryption in iTunes

But if I do that, my health data won't be backed up - the health data is the only thing I'm interested in backing up. I have a launch day Apple Watch, which means I've got a year and a half of activity rings and achievements, which I don't want to lose! Nothing else really matters, because it's all backed up in some other way (pics are iCloud Photos, music is iCloud plus Apple Music, both are backed up completely to an iMac which is itself backed up to Time Machine, Backblaze (online backups) and quarterly Carbon Copy Cloner backups. So, yeah - the health data is the only thing I need to backup on the phone, and the only way it will backup is with encryption turned on.

 

[skinuca]

Did anyone find a suitable solution for this? I am having the same problem. I also have plenty of space: more than 2x the total capacity of the iPhone free on my new MBP.

 

[macrlz9]

But if I do that, my health data won't be backed up - the health data is the only thing I'm interested in backing up. I have a launch day Apple Watch, which means I've got a year and a half of activity rings and achievements, which I don't want to lose! Nothing else really matters, because it's all backed up in some other way (pics are iCloud Photos, music is iCloud plus Apple Music, both are backed up completely to an iMac which is itself backed up to Time Machine, Backblaze (online backups) and quarterly Carbon Copy Cloner backups. So, yeah - the health data is the only thing I need to backup on the phone, and the only way it will backup is with encryption turned on.

Maybe try turning encrypted backups off, complete a backup. Then turn encrypted backup back on? As long as you don't erase your iOS device, your health data won't go anywhere...

Also, if you backup via iCloud, your health data is saved that way as well.

 

[mavis]

Maybe try turning encrypted backups off, complete a backup. Then turn encrypted backup back on? As long as you don't erase your iOS device, your health data won't go anywhere...

Also, if you backup via iCloud, your health data is saved that way as well.

Thanks for the reply! Actually, Apple fixed this bug some time ago, so everything is working now! Aside from the fact that some notifications seem to disrupt my sync, anyway - but at least it works in airplane mode.

 

[skinuca]

I have not turned off the encryption, as i want all of the data to back up. The bug is not fixed for me, it is a strange one. I can of course back up to iCloud, but would rather not pay extra (though i am) for a backup when i have plenty of space and the discipline to do it to my own machine.

I am over the 5gb space for backups and not quite sure why even with the iCloud Photo Library turned off. I assume most of the space in is messages and due to pictures and the like stored there. I can kill those, but would rather not. I adde the 12 bucks a year so it is backing up to iCloud. However, I still want a local backup. Just an annoying bug, not a critical one.

 

[johnadams1776]

This is the same problem I have. The free space on my hard drive is more than triple the total capacity of my phone.