iCloud Storage Full AGAIN? Here’s How I Backup iPhone Videos and Photos to Save Space, by CNET on YouTube. 6 min 31 s.
- Video length
- 6 min 31 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Check what is using your space. On your iPhone open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud, then Manage Account Storage. Photos and videos are usually the biggest item.
Get an external hard drive with more free space than your photo library. A 1TB or 2TB drive is a common choice for large libraries.
On a computer, open a browser and sign in at iCloud.com with your Apple ID. Click Photos.
Select the photos and videos you want to keep, then click the download button. They save to your computer's Downloads folder.
Plug the external drive into the computer and copy the downloaded files onto it. Keep them in dated folders so they are easy to find.
To copy straight from the iPhone, connect the drive with the right cable or adapter. Open the Files app and find the drive under Locations.
In the Photos app, select the videos and photos, tap Share, then Save to Files. Choose the external drive as the destination and wait for the copy to finish.
Once the files are safely on the drive, delete the copies you no longer need from iCloud to free space. Empty the Recently Deleted album too.
Tips and common mistakes
Check the copied files on the drive before you delete anything from iCloud.
Download in smaller batches, since large video files can fail or time out in one big selection.
Keep the drive somewhere safe and unplug it properly before storing it.
Questions
Will deleting photos from iCloud remove them from my iPhone?
Yes, if iCloud Photos is on. The library syncs, so delete only after the files are copied to your drive.
Do I need to pay for more iCloud storage?
Not if you move files off regularly. Upgrading to iCloud Plus or Apple One is an option if you want to keep everything in the cloud.
Can I back up to Google Photos instead?
Yes. The Google Photos app can back up your library, though free accounts store photos at reduced quality.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
