Storage Issue on MacBook Air

[Tomos]

Good day to all.





I decided to have a look at my storage setup on my MacBook Air .


The drive is only 250gb storage (internal)


I went to the apple logo top left and selected the storage option and there I found a lot of storage has been taken by 54GB of iso files. Then selected the manage option and found Under iOS there is my iPhone and my iPad.


There is an option there to free up storage space is to permanently erase device backups and software updates to free storage space.





Can anyone enlighten me on that matter of all that iOS of 54gb.Do I really need the iPhone and iPad backup .

 

[Tomos]

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place.
Just wanted to know what would happen I I delete the iPhone from there?

Thanks David

 

[MacInWin]

Can anyone enlighten me on that matter of all that iOS of 54gb.Do I really need the iPhone and iPad backup .

That depends. If you don't have anything on the phone or iPad you don't mind losing forever, you don't need the backup. On the other hand, if you have pictures, or emails, or contacts, passwords, or anything on the iPhone and iPad that you do NOT want to lose, then you need the backup. Only you can know.

If you use iCloud, there is an option to back up to the cloud. It's not the same as a local backup, but if you want to free up the space, it's an option. Of course, if you back up to the cloud, you'll need internet access to restore if you need to do so.

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Find the right backup method for you.

support.apple.com

 

[Tomos]

Many thanks for your reply.
I do use iCloud for all my photos and important documents.All other are on the internal drive.
just to clarify if I delete the iPhone from the iOS section on the Mac hdd, what will that leave me with will it affect the iCloud contents photos etc?.
Thanks.

 

[MacInWin]

That display is for display only, not management, so you would have to find the IOS files to see what they are to decide what you might want to do. What version of macOS is on the MBA? You can see the backups that are on the MBA either through Finder or iTunes, depending on the version of macOS.

 

[Tomos]

Thanks MacBook Air running Monterey fully up to date.
Could you please tell me how to find those iOS files ?

Thanks David.

 

[MacInWin]

Yes. Connect your iPhone or iPad to the MBA by a cable. Wireless might do, but it works better with a cable. Now open Finder and the iDevice should be listed in the sidebar on the left, under "Locations." Select it an there should be a screen on the right side with Backups as a section. There should be a button named "Manage Backups..." there. Click it and the backups should appear in a popup window. You can delete them from there by clicking on one, then the "Delete Backup" button. In the backup section you can select to backup your most important data to iCloud, which will keep it off your MBA. Note that not everything is backed up in in iCloud backups. Again, read the link I posted earlier and follow the links in it for details.

I think from any iDevice you can delete all of the backups, but if the iPhone only sees the iPhone backup, you can attach the iPad and repeat. In any event, that will delete the IOS backups from the MBA for you.

EDIT: By the way, that same Finder screen is where you can set up how you want to handle syncing of Music, Movies, TV shows, Podcasts, Audiobooks, Books, Photos and even move Files to/from the iDevice to the MBA. It is also there for updates and restoration of the iDevice, if needed.

That pane is only there in Finder if an iDevice is attached.

 

[Tomos]

Thanks.Getting a bit late here in the uk.Will look into it tomorrow .Will definitely get back to you.
Big Thanks. See you tomorrow .

 

[chscag]

I think from any iDevice you can delete all of the backups,

Correct. Under "Manage Backups" you can delete a backup from any of your iDevices or all of them as you say.

 

[MacInWin]

Correct. Under "Manage Backups" you can delete a backup from any of your iDevices or all of them as you say.

Thanks, Charlie, I wasn't sure. I backup to the cloud now, not my Mac, so I didn't have any in the Manage backups area to see.

 

[Rod]

In Manage Backups using Finder for my iPhone and iPad I only keep the most recent backup. Old backups of previous iOS versions are of little use to me and I have both of my devices set to backup to iCloud over night.
So, if you check the backups on your computer and find you have several you cane safely delete the oldest ones. Bear in mind you may not see an immediate change in your computer storage in "About this Mac".

 

[Tomos]

Good morning to all All sorted thanks for you help once again.

Many thanks to all concerned.Another fine job well done.

David.