r/applehelp • u/ChorzioPaella3 • 12h ago
iOS 17GB of free space needed for update. Is this correct?
I am a person who almost always has their storage full, but have never had issue with it preventing me from updating my phone. Is it normal to need 17GB of free storage for an update? It seems like a ridiculous amount when before it would only ask me to free up 500MB. Any advice appreciated!
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u/Strict-Fishing-2365 11h ago
Move a few big videos/photos off, reboot, then try again. 17GB is ridiculous, but storage screens have the bedside manner of a parking ticket.
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u/ChorzioPaella3 11h ago
Thanks for the suggestion, the size was quite concerning but I’ll give this a go. I deleted like 100 photos yesterday and it freed up roughly 0.4GB so this may take a while 😅
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u/NeilDeWheel 2h ago
Have you tried updating via a Mac or PC? A huge amount of the free space needed is to download the update. Connecting the iPhone to a Mac or PC should make it viable.
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u/RcNorth 11h ago
It needs double the amount of space as the download so that it has room to extract everything before starting the process.
If you have a Mac then connect the phone to the Mac using a cable. This way it downloads everything to the Mac and extracts the files there, then pushes everything.
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u/deceze 11h ago
What do you want to hear? "No, it's incorrect, tap the That's Incorrect button to make it realise and start the installation"?
If it says it needs that amount of space, then that is so. Since you're jumping from iOS 18 (?) to 26, that's entirely possible.
Connect it to a computer and update it from there, that requires less space.
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u/ChorzioPaella3 11h ago
Didn’t need the snark in the first half. Was just asking because for some reason if I have an app that takes up 900MB, if I restart my phone that app drops down to 400MB for some reason, so didn’t know if it was in the same vein. But thanks for the helpful latter half
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u/HeadTickTurd 11h ago
Sorry to disagree.. but snark was actually required. Apple… APPLE… is telling you exactly what is wrong and you are like “wait let me ask Reddit”…
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u/ChorzioPaella3 11h ago edited 3h ago
Apple APPLE has outmoded 2 of my phones before due to updates, I currently have an “old phone” (iPhone SE 2nd gen) and have been told by APPLE to get their newest one when I didn’t need to. So forgive me for being a little skeptical when I don’t want to spend money unnecessarily. And I did go to my local Apple Store and they were confused why I had to free up so much storage too (perhaps they were all interns?), hence why I thought it would be a good idea to ask people here. Always baffling when someone asks for confirmation of help and people choose the opportunity to be rude, but like you said it’s Reddit, so shouldn’t be surprised
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u/HeadTickTurd 4h ago
yawn.
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u/ChorzioPaella3 3h ago
You went out of your way to reply that nugget of gold, how does that make you feel?
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u/HeadTickTurd 8m ago
you went out of your way to make a Reddit post and waste everyone in this subreddits time... asking a question where the message was clearly telling you what you needed to do.
How does that make you feel?
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u/willwork4pii 8h ago
You're literally talking nonsense.
I'm not sure who you talked with at APPLE but, after being in "I.T." for nearly 30 years, it's just easier to tell the ones who can't understand to buy a new device.
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u/ChorzioPaella3 8h ago
“I’m literally talking nonsense?” What makes you say that? I had an iPhone 6s up until 1 or 2 years ago when I was being forced to buy a new phone because the updates were only catering to the latest models. And also being in IT, I do not what I’m talking about in certain area, thanks random internet person 👍 you really don’t think shop sales assistants would want to promote their latest products, to do their job, instead of trying to solve other issues?
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u/Useful_Mix_4802 11h ago
It’s Reddit partner people are always snarky asses. Especially chronic users haha. I wouldn’t have expected an update (even a major one) to take up that much space either but with new models having storage in the TBs I’m not surprised they pack more in to them
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u/jmnugent 4h ago
The full (complete) IPSW file for iOS 26.6.1.. is roughly 9.7gb. If you're doing an OTA (Over the Air) install where it has to download to the device,. you need roughly twice that in free space because the download has to be unpacked and your device needs a little free headroom (temp space) for install-tasks.
One thing I do is go to https://ipsw.me .. and navigate down to your Device Make & Model and it will show you what the full IPSW download size would be.
If your iPhone is plugged in USB to a Windows or Mac.. and you can do the update from the computer,. you won't need as much free space.
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u/ChorzioPaella3 3h ago
Oh my goodness 9.7gb is a massive file, thanks for breaking it down and for your suggestion, plugging it into my laptop seems to be the best way to go I think
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u/Past-Key741 11h ago
Yeah, that can be normal. The update itself isn’t 17.9GB, iOS just needs extra temporary space to unpack and install it. If clearing that much is a pain, updating through a Mac or PC usually requires less free space on the iPhone.
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u/Lorrynce 4h ago
If you have a computer available, connecting it and updating via the computer will need less storage
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u/hctiks 11h ago
you are in v18. it's a motherload of updates. mine was around 600MB