iPhone Tips

4 Frequently Asked Questions about iPhone Other System Data

by Anna Sherry   Updated on 2021-01-20 / Update for  iPhone Tips

Lots of people are having issues with ‘Other System Data’ consuming a large percentage of their iPhone’s storage space. Even after deleting lots of things to create free space, the problem may persist. Let’s consider 4 frequently asked questions that you need to answer about ‘Other System Data’ as you try to solve the problem.

iphone other system data

Question 1. What Is Other System Data on iPhone & How to View The Storage Space?

As the name suggests, ‘Other System Data’ is different from the actual system file. It is the category of various files that are usually too few for individual grouping. Other system data contains caches, dictionaries, logs, Siri voices, files, fonts, updates, and lots more.

In most cases, ‘other system’ data can take up as much as 10 GB of space on your iPhone. Nonetheless, it can increase to about 50 GB in some cases and, as such, make it difficult for you to use your device. If you want to view your storage space, do the following:

  • Go to “Settings” on your iPhone and then tap "General".
  • Navigate to “iPhone Storage”. This will show you a bar graph with the details of the storage space of your iPhone. It may require a few seconds before the graph is displayed. Under the graph, you will see a list of apps and the data they consume.

    iphone storage

Question 2. Why Is Other Storage So High on iPhone

If ‘other storage’ is so high on your iPhone, it could be due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, it could be because of the accumulation of cached files. This usually happens when you have streamed lots of music and videos from the internet. Hence, there are lots of cached files on your device.

Secondly, ‘other storage’ could be insanely high on your iPhone if the software updates are corrupted. In such a situation, the updates may continue downloading over and over again. Resultantly, it will fill up the storage space on your iPhone.

Question 3. How to Clear Other System Data on iPhone

The first method to clear ‘other system data’ on your iPhone is clearing Safari caches so that more free space can be created.

Way 1. Clear Safari Caches on iPhone

  • Navigate to the “Settings” app on your iPhone. Then, go to “Safari”.
  • Go to “Clear History and Website Data” and tap it. You will be asked to confirm to “Clear History and Data”; confirm it and clear Safari caches.

Way 2. Update iPhone to The Latest iOS 14.3

If your iPhone is not running on the latest iOS version, it may be having various problems with ‘other system data’. To deal with this, you just have to update it to the latest iOS 14.3 by doing the following:

  • Go to “Settings” on your iPhone and select “General”
  • Then navigate to “Software Update” and click the “Download and Install” option.

    software update

Before updating your iPhone to the latest OS, you are advised to keep a recent iCloud backup.

Way 3. Erase All Content and Settings on iPhone

Another thing you can do to clear ‘other system data’ on your mobile device is to delete all content and settings on it. However, you must understand that this process will restore your iPhone to the factory default settings. This means that your files and settings will be deleted from the device. Therefore, it is vital to back up your iPhone before using this method.

You can erase all content and settings on your iPhone through the steps below:

  • Open the “Settings” app on your iPhone
  • Now, click “General” and move to the top where you can see “Reset”. Tap it to continue. Select “Erase All Content and Settings”

    erase all content and settings
  • Click “Erase Now” and enter your Passcode when prompted to do so.
  • Input your Apple ID password. This will turn off the “Activate Lock” option and get rid of Find My iPhone on your device

When the process is done, set up your device like a new one and restore your data and settings from the backup.

Backup Tip: How to Backup iPhone and Selectively Restore

As stated earlier, you need to back up your data if you want to erase all content and settings on your iPhone. So, let’s show you how you can backup your iPhone and selectively restore the files. For this process, you need Tenorshare iCareFone, which is a tested and trusted tool for backing up data on iPhone, iPad, etc.

  • Connect your iPhone to the computer and tap “Trust This Computer” on your mobile device. Choose “Backup & Restore” to continue.

    backup and restore
  • Tick the ones you want to back up and leave others.

    back up iphone on icarefone
  • Depending on the size of the files you want to back up, the process may take some minutes. When it is done, check the backup data. Now, you have backed up your data.

    backup completed

If you want to restore the files, do the following:

  • Launch Tenorshare iCareFone and choose “Backup & Restore”. Look at the lower left-hand side of the screen and tap “To view or restore previous backup files”. You will see all the backup files made by iCareFone or iTunes.

    restore the file
  • Choose your preferred backup to continue the process. If you have encrypted the folder with a password, you have to input the password to access the files.

    preview and restore
  • Choose the specific files you would like to restore.

  • restore successfully

Congrats! You have restored your previously backed up files and can start using them on your iPhone once again.